Max Nocerino 
Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Lucasfilm's ANDOR, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Max compiles a list of the elements he wants to see come into play in the upcoming Star Wars: Andor series – streaming on Disney Plus this September
The Star Wars: Andor Disney+ TV series is rapidly approaching and will give fans one of the longest “seasons” to date of the Star Wars shows. The Mandalorian had 8 episodes a season. And the limited run The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi were even shorter at 7 and 6 respectively. Andor has 12 episodes in its first season and another 12 for Season 2 (which has also confirmed to be its last). With so much runtime, I want Andor to deliver a truly mind-blowing experience as it further expands the immense Star Wars universe.
I read an article that an ENTIRE fake city was built for the show. And it promises a lot of practical sets, instead of CGI. This is already a good sign as the original movies contained no CGI. And they were of course, the best after all. Without further ado, here are 5 things I want from this show.
1.) Good adult acting
Andor is being touted as the first Star Wars show for adults, so I am expecting that all the actors will preform incredibly well like any other adult show. I am sick of movie snobs who say Marvel and Star Wars are not real cinema. While I get their point, I feel that the Original Star Wars was real cinema. And that perhaps the newer iterations are more fan service than actual moviemaking skills. I want this to change. Andor could be the first Emmy winning TV Series in Star Wars. And while this is a very unlikely scenario, a nerd can dream, cant he?
2.) Mo’ planets. Mo’ problems
Usually I don’t like too much planet-hopping in Star Wars. Simply because I like getting to know a location when it is presented and oftentimes like entire Star Wars novels that take place in one solar system. However, this is a live-action spy series. And Cassian Andor will be setting off on a string of espionage missions for the fledging Galactic Alliance. Serious spies (sorry Kaz) are always on the move, because DUH, they cant be seen! Cassian should crisscross the galaxy in his mission to restore freedom, and he should visit as many planets as possible.
3.) No forced cheesy humor
The newer Star Wars and superhero genre movies often try to insert laughs in between the action. And while this is a legitimate movie-making technique, it doesn’t flow organically in these movies and often feels forced. The Original Trilogy had its funny moments, mostly the quarrelsome relationship between R2-D2 and C-3PO. It really enhanced the movie, and felt right at home with the rest of the story. Star Wars needs to go back to that. Cassian will likely meet K-2SO in this series as it is a prequel to Rogue One. And the droid’s dry and often humorous honesty could be the vehicle to deliver some legitimate laughs in this new series.
4.) Spy tech
What is James Bond without Q. A good spy always has something technologically intuitive up his sleeve, and Cassian should be no different. Star Wars is often typecast as science fantasy and NOT fiction. But most of the characters in the galaxy are not Jedi and rely on science and tech just as much as us. With the advanced nature of the galaxy, the opportunity for magitech is endless, and Cassian could use some really cool stuff to accomplish his missions. Let’s get creative!
5.) Palpatine
I’ve saved the most important for last. We NEED some Palpatine screen-time. The reason I say this is that the Imperial Senate appears in the Andor trailer. And we are entering uncharted waters, as we never have seen how the Imperial Senate worked before it was dissolved in the middle of A New Hope. It would be interesting to see how the Emperor interacts with the Senators, as their existence only remained because of the vast size of the galaxy and the fact that the Death Star wasn’t built yet. Once the Death Star was complete, Palpatine could rule through fear alone, but now he needed something to help control all the many systems of the galaxy.
In a way, Palpatine maintained the illusion that his Empire was a democracy, and I would like to see how he dealt with sessions of Senate. Was he as deceptively benign like he was as Chancellor? Did he rule with passive aggressiveness? Or something in between. This is very important to me and I feel it should be explored in this series.
What would you like to see in this series? Please share in the comments below.
Andor hits Disney+ September 21st. Get your popcorn and Red Bull ready, as they are releasing Episodes 1-3 on the first night with episodes resuming weekly.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
