‘Andor’ Review: Refreshing, Character-Rich Series May Be the Best ‘Star Wars’ Story Yet

Karen M. Peterson Production designer Luke Hull crafted a working city for “Andor,” the “Star Wars” series streaming Wednesdays on Disney+. The show, a prequel to the 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” follows eventual rebel hero Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and introduces audiences to new locations and planets. The most ambitious of these is Ferrix, a salvaging outpost on the edge of the galaxy that keeps itself free from the Empire’s interference. The planet Cassian calls home is an arid one, which presented Hull and showrunner Tony Gilroy with the challenge of designing an environment that felt different from Tatooine or Jakku, places “Star Wars” fans know well. Hull, who won an Emmy for his work on the limited series “Chernobyl,” says, “We didn’t want it to fall into the trap of being a town in a desert, or I was quite keen for it not to be a frontier town. Tony was keen that it had a very strong cultural heart. Like you really understood that the people came together, looked after each other there, they weren’t just part of the environment.”

“Andor” Episode 4 just debuted on Disney+ in the “Star Wars” series’ second week of release (the first three episodes were dropped on premiere day), and more than anything, this installment of the series cements that the new show is a very different approach to a galaxy far, far away. And that, according to showrunner Tony Gilroy, was entirely by design.“Andor” follows the radicalization of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who we last saw giving his life for the nascent Rebellion in “Rogue One.” The show eschews the almost videogame-like plotting of Lucasfilm’s breakout series “The Mandalorian” for something grittier and earthier; textures feel tactile; characters feel troubled and broken, they look for their way and move in with their parents; dialogue is emphasized.

It’s a more intricate and complex Star Wars than you’ve ever seen.

Jon Burlingame editor Writing new music for the “Star Wars” universe would be daunting for any composer, considering its iconic scores by the legendary John Williams. Luckily for “Andor” composer Nicholas Britell, writer-producer Tony Gilroy and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy gave him “total freedom” to imagine a new, totally unique soundscape for the backstory of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the rebel spy first encountered in the 2016 film “Rogue One.” So, unlike “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the “Star Wars” series for which Williams wrote a new theme earlier this year, there isn’t a note of Williams music in “Andor,” which launched a 12-episode run last Wednesday on Disney+.

James Earl Jones is reportedly stepping back from voicing “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader.

James Earl Jones is reportedly stepping back from voicing “Star Wars”‘ Darth Vader.

Vanity Fair reporting that the 91-year-old actor has agreed to allow a Ukrainian AI company to replicate his voice for future “Star Wars” titles. In Vanity Fair’s new report published on Friday, sound artists at Lucasfilm and the Ukrainian AI speech company Respeecher discussed how Jones’ voice was recreated digitally for the recently released Disney+ series “Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which saw prequel trilogy stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen return as Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker.

according to Vanity Fair.The Ukrainian start-up Respeecher, which specializes in voice cloning for content creators, used archival recordings and an AI algorithm to generate Jones’s voice for Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series, released in May.This was done in collaboration with Disney-owned “Star Wars'” production company Lucasfilm, which explained that Jones “guided” the character’s lines in the show, but his actual voice was generated by Respeecher, according to AV Club.Although the project coincided with the early days of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, Respeecher’s employees saw it to completion.

It looks like James Earl Jones will no longer be providing the voice of Darth Vader.

Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Netflix, Peacock, Discovery+ and even more streaming services, there’s no shortage of options when choosing what to binge-watch this weekend. However, sometimes the amount of great film and television available to stream can be overwhelming and lead to scrolling aimlessly — hoping to land on that perfect piece of content.  Scroll no more! To help you out, ET has rounded up the best movies and TV shows to stream this weekend, including new arrivals, nostalgia-filled favorites and titles you may have missed the (well-deserved) hype on that are worth circling back for.From a new season of  to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale and HBO's, we’ve got your content covered this week. For even more recommendations, make sure to check out our guide for everything new on Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV+ and more this month.

Luthen Rael, played by Stellan Skarsgård, has a terrific opening line in the third episode of the “Star Wars” spin-off prequel series “Andor.” “Cassian Andor,” he says with a dramatic pause, “the Empire is choking us so slowly, we’re starting not to notice. What I’m asking is this, wouldn’t you rather give it all to something real?” Rael’s talking about two things.

and, the universe continues to expand on TV with another new spinoff,. The latest Disney+ series created by Tony Gilroy and starring Diego Luna goes back in time before the film , to explore the political intrigue surrounding the dawn of the rebellion as everyday people push back on life under the Empire. For Gilroy, who co-wrote, the two-season series presented an opportunity to “go back and figure out how this person [Cassian Andor] ended up in, being the person that he is and doing what he does and giving his life for the galaxy,” he tells ET. Set five years before the events of the movie, which saw Luna’s titular character, Cassian Andor, sacrificing his life in order to execute the Rebel Alliance’s first effective blow against the Empire, an incident first referenced in the opening of, Andor’s ending may already be known but it’s the journey there that remains unknown.

SYFY noted the historic mention of sex, which happens in the first 10 minutes of the show, “makes the show an absolute game-changer for the nearly 50-year-old franchise.”Creator Tony Gilroy told Rolling Stone magazine that the very first scene of the first episode opens with a trip to a brothel, which leaves viewers in no doubt about the show’s tone.“It sure is a good tell when you turn in that first episode for them to say, ‘Whoa! OK, this is what the show’s gonna be like,’”“It was a marker, but it’s also good for the story. It served double duty.”The series marks a transition for the sex-less franchise, which has always been geared to more family-friendly content.

Disney has a new television series for the "Star Wars" universe that is already getting thumbs up from fans and critics alike.  On Wednesday, the company released "Andor," a prequel show to the commercially successful 2016 film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," on the Disney+ streaming service.The story focus on the journey of Cassian Andor, portrayed by Diego Luna, who also executive produces the series.  Set five years before the events of "Rogue One," the show focuses on the transition of Cassian from petty thief to the rebel hero we see in the film.The actor believes the show will provide fans with an "intimate" perspective of what life was like under the rule of the Galactic Empire.  "There has to be action and adventure and that like big scope of science fiction that you expect from 'Star Wars,' but at the same time, we can allow ourselves to be different," Luna said in an interview with Reuters. Diego Luna reprised his role as Cassian Andor for the prequel series released Wednesday on Disney+.  (Getty Images for Disney)  "What was the life like for people to be willing to sacrifice everything for a cause, you know? I don't think we've seen that," He told the news service.  Luna noted, "I don't think we've been in the most intimate life of the people that were having to live under the control of the Empire.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Yet another “Star Wars” series arrives on Disney+ today, this time a “prequel of a prequel” that centers around Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor following his home planet’s destruction and the rise of the Rebel Alliance. “Andor,” whose first three episodes premiered on the streamer on Sept. 21, stars Luna as the eponymous Rebel leader. It’s mostly set five years before the events of “Rogue One” with the exception of some flashback scenes tracing Andor’s childhood. Written by “Rogue One” co-writer Tony Gilroy, the series serves as an enthralling set-up to the dramatic mission that takes place in the 2016 film, which sees Cassian’s “Star Wars” legacy solidified when he successfully steals the Death Star plans.

“You just walk in like you belong,” Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor impatiently explains in the impelling Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel series Andor that debuts Wednesday on Disney+ with three episodes and rolls out once a week thereafter.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic “Andor” is, both by design and circumstance, immediately different from its “Star Wars” television predecessors. Where “The Mandalorian,” “Boba Fett,” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” wove their biggest reveals into the larger fabric of the Lucasfilm universe, “Andor” doesn’t rush toward those moments that might make fans gasp out of pure recognition. Instead, it does something more surprising still: it tells the story of people who have nothing to do with Solos, Skywalkers or Palpatines, but whose lives matter nonetheless. Of course, at least part of the reason the series can take its time this way is because haunted hustler Cassian Andor (Diego Luna, also an executive producer) isn’t a brand-new character at all. As the reluctant hero of 2016’s “Rogue One,” which portrayed the rebel pilot mission to steal the Death Star plans which drive “A New Hope,” Cassian’s “Star Wars” legacy is already written. We already know Cassian’s life will eventually intersect with someone like rebel leader Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly, returning for more in-depth work in “Andor”). We already know his fate — dramatic and hopeful and unforgettable in those final minutes of “Rogue One” — and that it’s well and truly sealed.  

Michaela Zee editor Diego Luna never expected Cassian Andor to return to “Star Wars” following the Rebel spy’s heroic sacrifice in 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” “I was shocked,” Luna told Variety at the “Andor” premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday. However, the titular star was ecstatic about the concept, saying that the show is “a beautiful journey, and an inspiring one.” “I think ‘Rogue One’ is a film about an event, but you don’t get to know much about these characters,” Luna said. “This long format [is] a great way to go deep into who they are and why they make the choices they make.” 

“Andor,” the new “Star Wars” series that serves as a prequel to 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (which itself was a prequel to 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope”), debuts this week on Disney+ with a three-episode premiere that perfectly sets you up for the new series. But if you really love “Andor” (and you are going to really love “Andor”), the wait for Season 2 will probably be longer than you’d like.While talking to TheWrap about the new show, we brought up that previously Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy had suggested leaning on Gilroy potentially as an ambassador for a suite of “Star Wars” films post-“Andor.” Gilroy said that he hadn’t talked to Kennedy about taking on a bigger cinematic project and that “Andor” suggests a deviation in the way he is accustomed to working.“This is the most home I’ve ever made.