In the past few weeks, Star Wars fans have been forgiving Disney for a couple of rushed movies after the universally acclaimed The Mandalorian won them back over. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Mouse House is bringing a handful of other original series based on Star Wars characters to its streaming service.
One series will center around Cassian Andor, the character Diego Luna played in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Although Rogue One stands among Disney’s better contributions to Star Wars lore, there are still a couple of concerns about the upcoming series. So, here are 5 Reasons We’re Looking Forward To Cassian Andor’s Disney+ Series (& 5 Why We’re Worried).
Looking forward: It’ll tell the story of the Rebellion’s early days
The new Cassian Andor series will reportedly explore the early days of the Rebellion. Obviously, Cassian will be the focus, but this will make for an interesting backdrop. The Rebel Alliance is well-established when we catch up with them in the original trilogy — and even when we catch up with them in Rogue One — so it’ll be fascinating to go back and show the Rebellion in its infancy, when they were struggling to find support.
Naturally, a story about the early days of the Rebellion will also show the early days of the Empire. As the galaxy succumbs to the Empire’s rule, the Rebels will emerge as a beacon of hope. That could be a great story.
Worried: The character wasn’t particularly well-developed in Rogue One
For all the great moments in Rogue One, particularly Darth Vader’s brutal, red-tinted massacre, the characters from that film are more memorable for dying before they had a chance to appear in sequels than for their actual characterization.
Cassian Andor didn’t have much going on in the movie. He was present during all the major action scenes, but he didn’t grow much as a person beyond loosening his grip on the trigger when a person who wasn’t totally evil was in his sights. The protagonist of an entire TV series needs to be more complex than that to hold our interest.
Looking forward: The series can develop Cassian more
Cassian’s arc in Rogue One may have left a lot to be desired, but that just presents the new series with an opportunity to develop him from scratch. What we did learn about Cassian in Rogue One — that he’s a dedicated, born-and-bred Rebel spy who’s been in this fight since he was six years old — is a good basis for a strong, interesting character.
As long as the writers hired to tackle Cassian’s solo series use it as a springboard for more well-rounded development, then this could still be a great show. The series is being developed by Stephen Schiff, a writer from The Americans, and Jared Bush, who worked on Zootopia and Moana, so we’re in good storytelling hands.
Worried: The writer worked on the Rogue One reshoots
During the making of Rogue One, Disney took over from director Gareth Edwards’ vision and reshot a lot of the movie. The studio did the same thing with Solo, and it’s even been reported that they did the same thing with The Rise of Skywalker, too.
When Disney decided to seize control of Rogue One, they hired Tony Gilroy to rewrite the script according to their ideas. Gilroy is also the writer that Disney has hired to write the pilot episode for the Cassian Andor series, as well as directing a few episodes, suggesting that they’ll be meddling in the creative side of things.
Looking forward: It could have a lot of exciting cameos
Being set between the rise of the Empire in Revenge of the Sith and the Rebellion’s theft of the Death Star plans (and the death of Cassian Andor) in Rogue One, Cassian Andor’s Disney+ series will be able to feature some interesting cameos.
Seeing as the story charts the early years of the Rebel Alliance, we could see cameo appearances – or even supporting roles — from such important Rebel leaders as Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Admiral Ackbar (after he was short-changed with an unceremonious, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it death scene in The Last Jedi). We could even see a live-action appearance by Ahsoka Tano.
Worried: It’s set in a well-worn part of the Star Wars timeline
The Star Wars universe has presented Disney with infinite storytelling potential. And yet, the Mouse House continues to create stories that revolve around the same period of the saga’s timeline. The gap between the prequel and original trilogies is one of the most well-worn areas of this story. With the upcoming Obi-Wan series occupying the same era, it seems like Disney just can’t let A New Hope go.
Comics, books, and previous animated TV series have covered the work of the Rebel Alliance. They haven’t covered it specifically from Cassian Andor’s perspective, but we get the idea. It would be more exciting if Disney did something totally new with this rich fictional world.
Looking forward: K-2SO is back
Perhaps the most popular new character introduced in Rogue One was K-2SO, the reprogrammed Imperial droid who joined the Rebels on their quest to retrieve the Death Star plans. So, it should please fans to know that the droid will be appearing in the Cassian Andor series.
Original voice actor Alan Tudyk is confirmed to return to the role, which is tantalizing because he brought a delightfully dry comic sensibility to the character in Rogue One. K-2SO was introduced as Cassian’s trusty sidekick, and the pair had a fun dynamic, so it’ll be great to see their relationship explored more in this upcoming series.
Worried: The spy genre might not suit the Star Wars universe
The upcoming Cassian Andor series has been described as a “rousing spy thriller.” As the story of a Rebel spy, it’ll be bringing tales of espionage to the Star Wars universe. However, the spy genre might not suit Star Wars. Spy stories are about meeting in dark alleys and exchanging documents.
Whereas The Mandalorian stood on its own while simultaneously fitting into the wider Star Wars universe as a “space western” — western motifs have been part of the Star Wars saga since Han Solo made his first appearance — the Cassian Andor show, as a spy thriller, might not really feel like Star Wars.
Looking forward: We’ll see a new side of the galaxy
Usually, when the Rebel Alliance is depicted in Star Wars movies, we see a bunch of generals in a war room, dispatching spies and pilots and soldiers to various corners of the galaxy to fight their battles for them. Cassian Andor is one of the secret agents doing those generals’ dirty work.
As we follow Cassian on missions across the galaxy, we’ll get to see a whole new side of the Star Wars universe, which was one of the things that made The Mandalorian feel so fresh; it gave us the inside track on the bounty hunting trade while also exploring post-Return of the Jedi politics.
Worried: We know Cassian’s grim fate
Would The Mandalorian be as fun if we went into the first season knowing that Mando would be obliterated by the Death Star in a couple of years’ time? We’ve already seen the end of the road for Cassian, so going back in the timeline and filling in some gaps might feel like an afterthought.
It all depends on how the series is handled. There’s every chance that it’ll have a plot that’s engaging and fresh, and Cassian’s death won’t have any bearing on fans’ enjoyment of it. Or, the writers could use storytelling devices to ominously foreshadow Cassian’s fate. But it could also put a damper on the show.