Andor - streaming on Disney+

[SHIELD Agent 47]

Diego Luna reprises his role as Rebel Alliance intelligence operative Cassian Andor in a prequel to Rogue One. The teaser trailer for the first season is finally here in advance of the series debut Wednesday 31 August 2022.

And for contextual reminder, the first look sizzle from 10 December 2020.

 

[Axaday]

New trailer is out and I love it. I found Saw's inclusion in Rogue One all to be awkward, but taking some steps back in time could really help. And of course continuity with Mon Mothma is exquisite.

 

[PiratedTVPro]

September 21 as the new date means it will still be sharing space with She-Hulk for a month. I'd assume that Disney+ would rather line these exclusives up one after the other to better pull and maintain subs.

That said, this LOOKS amazing. Way better than Kenobi ever did.

 

[MrBlud]

I saw and enjoyed Rogue One but have less than zero interest in watching this.

 

[Dake]

I saw and enjoyed Rogue One but have less than zero interest in watching this.

I felt that way too, but the trailer has me looking forward to it. I mean, I've already got D+ so it's not like I wasn't going to watch it - but now I'm also a little excited. My only concern is it will be by its very nature, "Dark-n-gritty" which is so (waves hands) everything already.

 

[Noideaforaname]

Those sure are bucket-wheel excavators in an open-pit mine. Ironically it still looks higher budget than the last few SW shows.

lol the Senate floor is literally the Empire logo. On the other hand, kinda intrigued that maybe politics are in Star Wars again.

 

[Ultra Magnus13]

This was lowest on my Star Wars hype list, but this trailer really amped it up. From this trailer it looks like this may there best looking show yet.

 

[Dake]

Apparently they didn't do any filming in the Volume - all location and soundstages.

 

[Axaday]

I'll bet they didn't really build the Senate.

 

[Dake]

That would be the "soundstage" part.

 

[Axaday]

That would be the "soundstage" part.

Right, but that's gonna be soundstage with green screen, which is a step below Volume.

 

[PiratedTVPro]

Right, but that's gonna be soundstage with green screen, which is a step below Volume.

Stagecraft - 'The Volume' is actually a brand name and the general term being used to describe this technology is 'stagecraft' - has its places and isn't a straight replacement for green screen. When shooting with natural light stagecraft isn't generally an option, as you need total control over all forms of light to make stagecraft work properly. It also changes the production flow as you need to have everything ready to go when shooting as opposed to a more traditional movie pipeline.

I feel like stagecraft productions need to be written with stagecraft in mind in order to properly make their way to screen. You're generally dealing with smaller spaces due to physical size limitation of the technology which leans towards more medium and closeup shots. Modern film is relying more and more on these shots because they end up looking better on mobile devices, but you can feel the difference between Andor's shots and The Mandalorian's and a large portion of that is the trailers' unapologetic use of wide and super-wide angles.

 

[SHIELD Agent 47]

 

[Dake]

Just one episode in and I'm already fascinated with Andor. This is shaping up nicely!

Also,

Spoiler

I think we've had the Star Wars Universe's first "I banged your mom" joke.

edit: Holy crap this show is amazing. I'm practically crying at the end of the third episode. If they can keep this up...

 

[Powered Convoy]

This was a very good start to this show. Likely to be the best Star Wars TV show or even media if it keeps this up.

 

[Noideaforaname]

Well at least it's not Tatooine and babysitting...

Spoiler

So with movies fizzling out, Boba Fett and Kenobi being duds, and Mando feeling a bit shaky, Andor kinda seems like a last chance at live-action Star Wars for now. And thankfully this show decided not to rely on memberberries or overly flashy visuals (for now...) while at the same time manages to not look horribly cheap. It's like anti-Disney Star Wars. I hope it lasts.

 

[Cybersnark]

Hey, Cassian has a Bryar pistol! Dark Forces reference! (And if it looks different from Kyle's, that's allowed for, as Kyle's was canonically made from a(n unseen) "Bryar rifle" that had been cut down and modded.)

And the flashback sequences raise questions/interesting worldbuilding details:

Spoiler

The modern-day segments refer to an "imperial mining accident," but the flashback clearly corresponds to the Clone Wars (and that colony looks to have been abandoned for generations; long enough for social infrastructure to break down, but recently enough that the machine-made fabrics and metal are still useable) --it makes sense that the Empire would retroactively rebrand the Republic as the Empire. People have speculated before about the state of education in the Empire (having seen just how much has been erased from public consciousness in just 20 years from RotS to ANH); deliberately muddying the past is a favourite tactic of fascist governments.

A bigger question is that crashed ship; the crew were wearing the Confederacy's symbol, but Maarva and her partner referred to dead Republic officers (which is why the Republic cruiser would've been after them). Is this a mistake, or did common people in the mid-rim not know (or care) who the different factions were?

 

[Noideaforaname]

Just once I'd like a Star Wars series to go without any major canon conflicts. Just once. I'd even settle for minor canon conflicts, like using the wrong button to activate a lightsaber.


(I mean chances are this'll be addressed, and we may even get a satisfying answer, but still)

 

[PiratedTVPro]

This, much like Kenobi, felt like one meal spread thinly across three episodes. There was a lot of Andor hiding out in random junk vehicles and talking to random people, without anything of consequence actually happening. It was fine when we had all three episodes at once, but this pace is gonna be untenable once we slow to one episode at a time.

Spoiler: What do we actually know that matters at this point?

What do we actually know that matters at this point?

• Cassian was rescued/kidnapped from Kenari by Maarva & Partner
• Cassian is currently looking for his sister
• Cassian has friends: Bix, Brasso, B2EMO on Ferrix
• Syril Karn, a Preox-Morlana Corp Deputy Inspector, is looking for Cassian
• Luthen, a man with deep pockets, is taking Andor somewhere to help fight the Empire

I'm tempted to edit it all down to one 44min episode.

I'm betting on a time jump before the next episode.

 

[Shadhausen]

PiratedTVPro sums up my feelings pretty well. I thought the whole thing was rather boring until the last 30 minutes or so.