Star Wars: New Official Andor Trailer Breakdown & Analysis

Another official trailer for?Star Wars: Andor??is here! After showing the?Andor?teaser trailer ?during?Star Wars? ?Celebration, Disney and Lucasfilm have just released a full-length?Andor?trailer ahead of the three-episode premiere on September 21. Watch the new?Andor?trailer below or on the official?Star Wars?YouTube channel , then join us below as we break down and analyze the footage.

Imperial Invasion

The?Andor?trailer opens with various characters watching an Imperial Star Destroyer fly overhead. Such a lush forest environment leads us to assume this might be Cassian Andor’s? home planet Fest?.?We then fade to black. Tense music overlays Cassian Andor’s opening monologue. “To steal from the empire,” he explains, “you just walk in like you belong.”

At first, we just see an unknown child crawling through a construction site as well as through some sort of wreckage. This kid also appears to find a body — alive or dead, we can’t be sure. But as soon as Cassian finishes speaking, we cut to him dressed in a gray Imperial uniform. If the Empire is going to invade his home, it seems, Cassian is going to infiltrate their territory as well. This theory is further supported by Cassian saying how the Empire probably “can’t imagine that someone like me would get inside their house.”

Luthen Rael

Next we see Luthen Rael? presumably recruiting a more cynical Cassian to the Rebel cause. Luthen gives a rousing speech over shots of?stormtroopers? ?marching, an Imperial officer flanked by?Death Troopers? , and Adria Arjona’s as-yet-unnamed character surrendering to a local police force. As Luthen tells Cassian, “they” — the Rebels and the common people — are being “slowly choked” by the Empire.?Andor?is about what happens when people break free of that chokehold.

This new trailer focuses heavily on Luthen, a newcomer to the series. We flash between Cassian’s job — looks like construction in the same setting from the teaser footage — and Luthen’s plea for Cassian to become a spy, plus Luthen’s own espionage activities.

Saw Gerrera and Edrio

“I need all the heroes I can get,” Luthen tells Cassian. Thus it’s no surprise that the next scenes show a few allies. Some are more familiar than others. Two very important characters that are shown in the latest?Andor?trailer are Saw Gerrera? and Edrio Two Tubes?. Luthen appeals to Saw’s freedom fighter group by telling them to join for the greater good. But Saw? Saw, already scarred both mentally and physically from his battles against tyranny, calls this war.

The Imperials Strike Back

Our Imperial antagonists are extremely aware of the threats upon their control. Once our protagonists have had their say, the villains add some terror to the trailer. We move through various scenes depicting the Empire’s power, prestige, and purpose. Multiple ships and units descend upon suspicious areas. Officers meet to discuss tactics that will help them defeat our heroes. Cassian and his friends flee, bleed, and fight to no avail. There will clearly be extreme odds against the Rebels in this 12-episode first season.

Luthen's Secret

Spies skulk in the shadows, so Luthen’s cloaked and secretive attitude makes sense. But then he puts a gold ring and royal purple outfit on, and all our guesses about who he really is are out the space port window. Is he royalty? A senator? Luthen gets accused of “slipping” before he plasters on a fake smile and greets Mon Mothma?. If we are meant to trust both of these characters, why is their interaction so full of pretense?

In the next instant, we see Luthen piloting a spacecraft and seeming much more at ease with himself. Plus, he has a different haircut. And he says he’s hiding. Could one of these scenes be a flashback? Which version of Luthen is hiding? It seems we’ll find out come September.

Mon Mothma

Speaking of Mon Mothma — we get even more time with her in the second?Andor?trailer. This senator is navigating Imperial politics while secretly forming the Rebel Alliance. Now, we know she survives through the original?Star Wars?trilogy. But it will be interesting to see the trials and tribulations she experiences at the inception of this intergalactic conflict.

Final Impressions

In typical trailer fashion, we hit montage mode in the last thirty or so seconds. We see a woman in a red cloak. Cassian, costumed as an Imperial, flips a switch that likely causes catastrophic issues wherever he’s stationed. In a different scene, our titular character holds a blaster as he’s chased through dark tunnels. Three uniformed people bungee-jump off a bridge or dam. Prisoners run in a hallway, then Cassian smashes a control panel to bits as bright light emanates all around. Words flash onscreen, telling the audience that they are going to witness the beginning of the rebellion.

A doctor performs surgery. An insurgent throws a flash grenade at an oppressive security force. Stormtroopers suppress a crowd. Some silhouetted figure sprints through a storm. Wearing a determined yet frightened expression, a woman holds a spear at an unseen adversary. Finally, Cassian pilots a stolen?T.I.E. Fighter? ?as he escapes the Empire’s wrath. This exciting scene concludes the trailer, taking us to the title card in the next beat.

Are you excited about?Andor? Join the conversation about this highly anticipated?Rogue One??prequel series?at?side.show/geekgroup , and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!