Right from the first scene of the first episode of Andor, the latest Disney Plus Star Wars series, it's clear that this isn't going to be the kind of story that fans have seen before. Everything from the cinematography to the sets to the noir-inspired mood indicates that Andor is setting up a tale far removed from what is usually found in the galaxy far, far away.
In the first three episodes, Andor proves that the Star Wars universe still has plenty to offer in terms of storytelling potential. If there is still lingering skepticism about basing a series on a character only seen in one non-mainline Star Wars movie, Andor will quickly convince viewers that this story was just waiting to be told.
Andor begins with a crime. The titular character, Cassian Andor (a returning Diego Luna) finds his way to a brothel tucked away in a back alley on an industrial planet. Rain pours down, making this feel more like a scene from Blade Runner than Star Wars. After a fatal run-in with two security officers, Cassian goes on the run from the law, doing his best to scrape together an escape plan to keep himself and those close to him out of trouble. That involves a meeting with a mysterious buyer (Stellan Skarsgård) to sell an Imperial MacGuffin. Meanwhile, an overzealous lawman (Kyle Soller) is on Cassian's trail and eager to serve justice.
Peppered throughout the first three episodes are flashbacks to Cassian's youth on the planet Kenari. Here, Cassian (called Kassa as a child) and a group of children living a low-to-no-tech existence in the forest, come upon a crashed Republic ship that upends their entire existence. These flashbacks are probably the weakest part of the story, but they do provide some needed background for the current story.
Andor's plot within the first three episodes could be described as sparse. This is a much slower, more serialized story than what has previously been seen in shows like The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett. Sometimes that is to Andor's detriment, as these three premiere episodes feel like they might have worked better as two longer stories. However, the pace of the storytelling really allows for some deeper character moments than have been seen in previous Star Wars stories. Conversations actually feel weighty and consequential, peeling away the layers of the characters to reveal hidden vulnerabilities.
It helps that the cast is uniformly great in their roles. Diego Luna lends the titular character the right amount of righteous anger. Morbius's Adria Arjona exudes a tired frustration as Cassian's ally Bix, and Kyle Soller's straightlaced, all-serious performance as Syril Karn is pitch perfect, calling back to the uptight Imperial officers of the original trilogy.
All credit goes to the direction and writing of Toby Haynes and Tony Gilroy, respectively. Gilroy, who also created the series and wrote the screenplay for Rogue One, really gets to apply his spy movie bona fides. Having penned four Bourne movies, along with the legal thriller Michael Clayton and the underrated State of Play, Gilroy knows exactly how to weave tension into Andor's slower moments, playing on classic cat-and-mouse spy tropes without making them feel like clichés. All of the characters also inhabit a moral gray area, at least for the time being. Even Cassian Andor doesn't entirely feel like a noble person, though fans already know his story ends. It's a refreshing turn away from the binary good and evil nature of Star Wars.
Gilroy previously admitted that he is not a fan of Star Wars, and surprisingly this is what makes the series work. Andor remains a Star Wars story without feeling like it is beholden to the past. Gilroy was told not to include any easter eggs or fanservice in this series and is it ever refreshing to watch a franchise project that doesn't feel like it's constantly winking at the audience and slyly asking "remember this?" Andor truly feels like its own thing. Watching some scenes play out, it's even possible to forget that this is the same universe where troubled Tatooine teens chased down a car on brightly-colored space scooters. Anyone who isn't a lifelong Star Wars fan could easily make Andor their first entry into the franchise without feeling like they're missing anything.
Toby Haynes, who directed the stellar Black Mirror episode "USS Callister," brings a distinctly dirty and gritty tone to Andor. The scenes set on Ferrix, the mining planet that Cassian calls home, deliver the used future aesthetic that Star Wars first became famous for before abandoning it almost entirely. The ground is slick and muddy, the buildings are dirty and rundown, and the overcast atmosphere always seems to be threatening a downpour. By contrast, the security forces operate out of high-tech and well-funded headquarters. Things are a little cleaner and more organized in these areas, and yet the technology still has that distinctly retro-future look.
It also helps that Andor is the first Star Wars series on Disney Plus that isn't shot using Stagecraft, ILM's virtual production tool more commonly referred to as the Volume. Though Gilroy has praised the Volume, he promised that the scope of Andor would have made it impossible to use. He wasn't bluffing, as an extended chase and action sequence in Andor's third episode shows. Shooting on real sets and in outdoor environments makes a huge difference in how the show looks, and puts it miles ahead of Disney's previous Star Wars shows in terms of presentation.
So far, everything delivered in Andor's premiere episodes is extremely promising. The action is satisfying and the storytelling feels more mature and complicated than the typical entry in the franchise. Disney has something special on its hands with Andor: a Star Wars show that genuinely feels like an espionage thriller, a complicated story that doesn't pander to the audience. With nine more episodes to come, there's plenty more opportunity to spin a great tale.
Andor's three-episode premiere arrives on Disney Plus on September 21, with new episodes each Wednesday.