Andor is one of the most interesting pieces of the Star Wars universe, and though it's so unique, it's intrinsically tied to the franchise's 45-year history. Every decision that the show makes is in conversation with those of the earlier entries, up to and including the look of certain props.
The lightsaber is the most iconic weapon in the Star Wars galaxy, but the most common is the blaster. There have been tons of laser guns throughout the franchise, from the standard infantry loadout to the specialized weapons of iconic characters, but the new Disney Plus series introduces some new tools.
The plot of Andor thus far has followed the eponymous hero Cassian Andor as he joins a high-price heist for the cause of the Rebellion. This choice put him on a team of hardened Rebels, who come armed for the task. Rebel forces have always been the heart of the galaxy, but previous entries have been a bit more romantic about the concept. Andor isn't interested in simple black-and-white morality and is unwilling to shy away from portraying its protagonists as criminals and terrorists. Their actions would mark them as enemies in the typical narrative, but under Empire rule, any act of resistance is morally justified. That bold narrative declaration has come with some unique design decisions to establish the crew's bona fides. One such decision is the look of the Rebel weaponry.
The most notable blaster in Andor is the long and wide handgun that the hero carries on his belt. It looks distinctly like Rick Deckard's gun from Blade Runner. However, the most well-publicized weapon in the season so far is the rifle carried by Gershwyn Eustache Jnr's character Tamaryn Barcona. Many fans have noted that the weapon is a largely undisguised AK-47. Some were frustrated by this choice, while others leaped to its defense. Some made comparisons to the modern-day car glimpsed in Peacock's Halo show. However, the weapon isn't identical to the Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifle that came to prominence in the 40s and has since become the most popular weapon system on Earth. The AK-47 has a certain cultural cache that is absent from most weapons. The Star Wars universe has always borrowed from the look of real-world guns in its prop design but choosing to put an almost unaltered AK in a Star Wars show means something.
If someone asked a Star Wars fan to draw a blaster from memory, the thing they'd put to the page would probably look most similar to the E-11 Blaster Rifle. It's the standard military issue weapon in the hand of every stormtrooper. The E-11 wasn't just built with the design of a real-world gun in mind, the props themselves were built out of prop guns. The original E-11s were crafted using the Sterling submachine gun, the go-to rifle for the British army from 1953 to the early 90s. Fold in the stock on a Sterling SMG and look at the way any soldier held it at rest and the similarities will swiftly become clear. Han Solo's iconic handgun, a modified DL-44 heavy blaster pistol, is an old Mauser with some additional bits and bobs thrown on to look more science fictional. George Lucas didn't like the idea of making his lasers look like the ray guns of the old space adventure serials, he wanted to build them after real weapons. That idea has carried forward to this day, but Andor has demonstrated a new direction in the franchise's prop design.
Star Wars guns always resemble real guns to some extent, but putting a firearm that is still used in the modern day in the hands of a character in the galaxy far, far away is notably jarring. To quote Nic Cage's character in Lord of War "It's the world's most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love." It's the weapon that lazy filmmakers hand to extras in mildly offensive misunderstandings of religious clothing. It's the weapon that every Call of Duty player remembers finding on a million enemy corpses. It's Hollywood shorthand for villainy. When was the last action movie in which a hero won the day with his favorite trusty Soviet-made gas-operated assault rifle? The movie industry is happy to give just about any gun to its hero, but far too many villains shop at the same arms dealer. Meanwhile, showrunner Luke Gilroy and production designer Luke Hull looked at the heroes of their story and said "yes, they should use the go-to terrorist gun with almost no sci-fi augmentation."
Andor is bold and staggering in its presentation. Even the smallest lines of dialogue and most incidental elements of set design stand out as important pieces of world-building. Future Star Wars projects have a lot to learn from the clever presentation of this instant classic series.