Anthony Bergamini
Rogue One – A Star Wars Story is a 2016 prequel to the original Star Wars film, detailing how the Rebel Alliance retrieved the plans for the Death Star, allowing them to deal a drastic blow to The Empire. When this film originally came out, it was upon the heels of Disney’ first main continuity story that continued the original Lucasfilm trilogies, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. For many, Disney’s decision to make an entire feature film centered around one plot element of the original Star Wars was bizarre; however, fans were almost unanimously shocked and blown away as soon as the marketing kicked off. Additionally, the film was wholly different from The Force Awakens, which was created to mimic the stronger, character focused elements of the original Star Wars; instead focusing on a war style genre, within a franchise that cemented around a war, but previously focused more so on other elements. Now, with the release and conclusion of Andor, Rogue One once again can be painted in a new light, this time as a conclusion to not only Cassian Andor’s story, but also to the inner workings of a Rebel Alliance pre-Luke Skywalker and company.
From a personal perspective, watching Rogue One opening weekend in theaters in 2016 was a very different experience for someone who grew up with all of the other films and animated shows like Clone Wars and Rebels. The most obvious departure is the lack of a story focused on the Jedi/Sith, with Darth Vader’s inclusion being used to showcase the power of the Empire instead of the battle between the dark and the light. In Rogue One, the story is more a race against the clock, as the Empire’s newly completed Death Star becomes operational and threatens the existence of all the Rebels in the galaxy. Additionally, the film showcases a Rebel Alliance that is not as unified as the original Star Wars would presume. Instead, the Rebels main group on Yavin 4 is considered its main cell; however, other groups, such as Saw Guerrara’s, are also prevalent in the galaxy and are just as much on the Empire’s radar. The Empire themselves are also depicted in a new light, with the newly created Orson Krennic demonstrating the Imperial Officer’s willingness to find accolades and success in their own roles, regardless of who the Empire hurts along the way.
Rewatching Rogue One after Andor creates a whole new experience, as the film now comes off the heels of a deep character drama about the inner workings of an authoritarian empire and the lengths people will go to, to fight back. The other, more blatant difference is that Cassian can now be viewed from different perspectives, making his role as a background character feel more like the conclusion of his arc, with the events of Andor perfectly coalescing with the start of his journey here. But the biggest change in experience from watching Rogue One before and after Andor is the weight of the events of the film, and truly how momentous it all becomes.
A running theme throughout Andor is that the Rebels are very dysfunctional. This is demonstrated within an echo chamber in the first three episodes of season two when Cassian gets trapped in a camp where a small group of imperial dissenters refuse to agree on anything and start a civil war amongst themselves. In the grand scheme, this mirrors the way that the Rebel Alliance acts towards Cassian, Saw Guerrero, and any other characters or groups that do not uniformly agree with their perspectives. Going into Rogue One with this knowledge adds a lot of stakes to the conflict, with the time sensitive mission feeling very chaotic as a result. There are even small events that gain more context, such as Cassian freaking out when he learns that the message from Galen Erso was destroyed, leaving him no further proof of the Death Star plans even existing. This creates more tension amongst Cassian and the leaders of the Rebel Alliance and threatens to blow their operation away.
Another element from Andor that gets fleshed out more so than ever before is the inner workings of the Empire, specifically parts of the ISB. Within Rogue One, the Empire is more or less shown in the same light as it always has been in Star Wars media, with the introduction of Krennic being the new Imperial Officer to serve as the antagonist. With a greater understanding of how the Empire breeds corporate completion within its ranks, Krennic’s journey becomes more emblematic of how twisted the Empire truly can be, with the success and gratitude that its officers long for ultimately being for nothing. In Andor, this is shown in much lower, planetary ranks, making the same attitudes from Krennic and Tarkin in Rogue One feel like this is how the entire Empire operates, rather than just these two characters.
One of the more glaring changes in perspectives comes from the ending of the film when Cassian and Jyn share a hugging embrace as the Death Star destroys the base on Scarif. When watching the original film, there is some semblance of romantic tension implied, despite these two characters being reluctantly at odds with one another for the entire film. After watching Andor, this perspective is now shifted more towards Cassian’s desire to share one final, non-combat/war related connection with a human being prior to his death. Andor reveals that his true love, Bix, has left him in order to ensure that he can fulfill the prophecy of the force healer. Cassian would have left the Rebels if not for Bix’s actions and in the end, he always longed for a sense of normalcy and freedom in the galaxy. Instead of this hug being unfulfilled romantic tension, it more so demonstrates Cassian’s humanity shining through even in the face of death.
From a filmmaking perspective, there is a big shift in experience from Andor to Rogue One, mainly due to the longer, more drawn-out format of a TV show versus a movie. Some events in the movie feel like they would have been done over the course of hours within the show but are breezed through in the film. This kind of departure is bound to feel jarring, especially because of the nearly ten year gap between these projects; however, the significantly faster pacing does make the stakes in the film feel like a race against the clock, which is practically the essence of the movie. In this way, Andor’s more drawn out and layered story being in the format that it’s in does a lot for the feel of the film, even if this is accidental. The biggest takeaway is that Andor never cheapens the feel of Rogue One, with both projects still working to their full potential when together or separate.
Looking forward, the next big Star Wars project is The Mandalorian and Grogu, which serves as a follow up/sequel to The Mandalorian TV series. This is almost done opposite of what Disney did with Rogue One, so it will be interesting to see how the film builds upon the events of the show, and if the creators look at any notes from the way that Andor was retroactively built to (in part) enhance the story of Rogue One. With Andor, the creators were really able to look back at the film and see what elements they wanted to expand upon, while also creating their own unique story centered around themes that the film doesn’t truly touch on.
