Andor is the fourth live-action Star Wars series that Disney Plus has made in the last three years, along with The Mandalorian, The Book Of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi. But we’ve also seen The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker expand the Star Wars universe, too. So it’s understandable that the normal viewer can be left a little confused where each new series actually fits into the Star Wars timeline.
There’s one main question that slightly confused Star Wars and pop culture fans are asking ahead of Diego Luna’s reprisal of his Rogue One character Cassian Andor, though — is Andor before Rogue One?
If you’ve seen Rogue One, the answer is rather obvious. Yes, Andor is set before Rogue One, as that sci-fi blockbuster unfolds just before the action in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. SPOILER, but the 2016 movie features the death of all of its main characters, including Luna’s Andor and Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso, who were on planet Scarif when it was blown-up by the Death Star.
But while we now know that all 12 episodes of Andor’s first season are set before Rogue One, when exactly it takes place is still a bit of a mystery. That means we need to answer the question …
Where does Andor fit in the Star Wars timeline?
Andor takes place five years before the events of Rogue One, during the early days of the rebellion.
This also means it takes place five years before A New Hope, too, as Rogue One is set around a week before that sci-fi epic. The the opening crawl of the original Star Wars movie describes how, "Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star." Andor, Erso and their gang were those spies.
In terms of the other Star Wars TV series and films, Andor takes place around four years after the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi and 14 years after Revenge of the Sith, the concluding installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Meanwhile, The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett are set around 14 years after the first season of Andor. This basically means that the story of Andor should lead directly into Rogue One.
When it comes to just how close Andor will get to the events of the above films, we already have a pretty clear answer from the main person in charge of the show.
How many seasons of Andor will there be?
Tony Gilroy, who created Andor and is the showrunner, has already started to explain the timeline for not just the first season, but future episodes, too. The 12 episodes of Andor’s first season covers a single year in Andor’s life.
However, the 12 episodes of Andor’s second season, which is already in development and is scheduled to begin filming in November, 2022, will unfold over four years. During his recent interview with Total Film, Gilroy explained how, in season two, every three episodes covers one year.
But that’s it. While it was initially believed Andor would consist of five seasons, Gilroy, his writing team and Luna, who is also an executive producer on the show, have already decided it will conclude with season 2.
Gilroy even knows how the finale with end, too as he told The Playlist, "Our final scene of the show is no secret; it’s going to be [Cassian] walking across the tarmac to get in the ship to go to the Rings of Karen to go meet, Daniel Mays’ [Tivik informant character that Cassian kills in Rogue One because he’s become a liability], he’s going there."
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director is more than happy to let fans know this, though. Rather than it being a spoiler, Gilroy insists that Andor’s two seasons are much more interested in "how and why" its characters end up in certain predicaments, instead of the "when and where" the story is set.
With that in mind then, it’s probably a good idea to get an update on exactly what the main characters have been up to ahead of Andor …
What characters are in Andor?
You’ve probably guessed by now that the main character in Andor is none other than Cassian Andor. While he has been fighting in the Rebellion army since he was just 6 years old, it has already been teased that this version of Andor is much different to who we saw in Rogue One, as the show will depict his evolution into that hero.
When it comes to other Rogue One characters, we know Genevieve O’Reilly reprises her role as Mon Mothma, a senator who is secretly helping the Rebel Alliance, while also contending with the politics of the Empire. Plus, Forest Whitaker pops up as Saw Gerrera, the leader of the Partisans militant insurgent group and a veteran of the Clone Wars.
Other than that, we’re not sure when the always glorious Alan Tudyk will get a chance to once again voice K-2SO, Andor’s sidekick in Rogue One. It should be a formality that he’ll appear at some point, although Disney hasn’t confirmed his inclusion. It’s also believed Bail Organa (Jimmy Smith), the adoptive father of Leia will feature, while some rumors have been going around of a possible Obi-Wan Kenobi appearance at some point; just chatter right now.
What we do know is that Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Fiona Shaw and Kyle Soller, each play vital roles in the upcoming first season of Andor as new characters.
You’ll get to see exactly how integral they are to proceedings when the opening three episodes of Andor premiere on Disney Plus on Wednesday, September 21, with each new episode of its first season being released every week until November 23.
