Warning! This article contains spoilers for Andor episode 6.Andor is slowly proving itself as the mature, adult Star Wars project that George Lucas never made, all while staying firmly in line with the original creators' vision for the franchise. Andor's adult themes certainly come from the talent behind the camera, with creator and writer Tony Gilroy pouring all of his thriller experience from the likes of the Bourne trilogy and Michael Clayton into the project. Despite these adult themes and the overall tone and style of the show separating Andor from anything Star Wars has done before, the show still captures Lucas' original vision.
The Andor show coming from Disney means it has the greater freedom of allowing other filmmakers, writers, and minds to conjure Star Wars projects, meaning Andor includes many things that may seem inconsequential in the real world, but bring a different type of maturity and adult nature to a galaxy far, far away. Some of these things include real-world curse words, casual sexual relationships, cigarette breaks, and political scheming, all on top of the much more serious yet still mature (for Star Wars) themes of cold-blooded murder and plenty of death. All that being said, Andor still manages to capture that intangible Star Wars feel, and align itself with Lucas' original vision.
Why George Lucas Always Insisted Star Wars Was For Kids
One thing that Star Wars creator George Lucas has always been adamant about is that Star Wars is, at its core, for children. While Lucas has made plenty of comments regarding this since the original Star Wars' release in 1977, never has he summed it up as concisely as he did at 2017's Star Wars Celebration. During an interview with Warwick Davis at the Star Wars-centric convention, Lucas reiterated what the franchise means to him: “Friendships, honesty, trust, doing the right thing, living on the right side, and avoiding the dark side. Those are the things it was meant to do.” This quote came shortly after Lucas mentioned that Star Wars was always meant to be enjoyed by 12-year-olds. With Lucas having this view of the franchise, and Andor containing things some people might consider conventionally too mature for children, the show still captures the core themes and vision that Star Wars has always had.
How Andor Fits George Lucas' Vision (Despite Being More Adult)
Plenty of things included in Andor, despite being different from anything the franchise has seen before, fit Cassian killing fellow Rebel Skeen in order to deliver credits to the Rebellion's cause.
Through this action, Andor exhibits these vital traits of Star Wars straight from Lucas himself: doing the right thing, living on the right side, and evading the dark side. However, this is where Andor's more adult themes come into play, with Cassian having to kill someone simply trying to survive in this universe to do so. While Skeen is certainly portrayed as a complex character, he exhibits traits of the "dark side" by lying about his reasons to fight the Empire that go against the first things Lucas mentions: honesty, trust, and friendship.
In attempting to deceive his fellow Rebels as well as the Andor episode 6's final minutes, with the other five episodes containing plenty of similar situations.
Would George Lucas' Live-Action Star Wars Show Have Been Like Andor?
It is worth exploring, however, how a potential live-action Star Wars show from Lucas would have been similar or different to Andor. It is safe to say that a Lucas-made Star Wars show might not have been on the same level of maturity as Andor, as Star Wars projects of the past have proven Lucas' idea of mature themes is conveyed in different ways. For example, arguably the "darkest" Star Wars projects made with Lucas' involvement are The Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith. The latter especially includes plenty of death, destruction, and victory for the enemies through Anakin and Order 66. However, they are portrayed with grand shows of light vs. dark as per Lucas' style, whereas Andor shows the smaller, yet inherently more mature dark themes as well as the grander story of good vs. evil. In these ways, Andor is similar to what a Lucas Star Wars show would have been, if not without the obvious differences to an auteur like Lucas' more distinct style and tone.
New episodes of Andor release on Wednesdays on Disney+.
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