Andor is finally over, and, upon rewatching Star Wars' Rebel Alliance was founded or the development of Cassian Andor as a character, Andor changes a lot about how I watched Rogue One, turning the latter into almost an entirely different movie than it was.
In the time since Andor ended, me and my fellow Star Wars colleagues have dissected Rogue One in many ways. From the broader ways Andor season 2's timeline has tied the projects inextricably together.
15 Saw Gerrera's Phone Call With Galen Erso
Seeing Saw In A Different Light
The first small moment of Rogue One that I thought was notable to point out is Saw Gerrera's demeanor in the opening scene. Saw takes a phone call from Galen, the latter telling the former to be ready to pick up Jyn. After Andor, we have only seen Saw as a deranged, paranoid thorn in the side of the Rebel Alliance. Seeing him here as a much more calm, collected, composed figure, one who is committed to raising a child no less, was somewhat jarring and very different from Andor's depiction of him, despite being over a decade earlier.
14 Cassian's First Scene With Tivik
A Lot More About Our Favorite Rebel Makes Sense
Cassian's first scene in Rogue One is him meeting with Tivik, the informer mentioned in Andor season 2, episode 12. This scene feels so different now that we know what went down in Andor season 2, episodes 10-12; Cassian has the Death Star plans in mind yet does not know what weapon the Empire is building. Clinging on to this question with Tivik and latching onto the mention of Galen Erso blends perfectly with Andor, as does Cassian's somewhat cold-blooded murder of Tivik after witnessing his rebellious past.
13 Seeing Yavin 4 For The First Time
The Rebel Alliance Feels Much More Important
Yavin 4 and the Rebellion have always been vital parts of Star Wars, but never before has the band of soldiers, spies, and senators felt better fleshed out. Catching a first glimpse of Yavin 4 in Rogue One now feels much more rewarding. We have now seen how everything has been built, even how Cassian found the planet itself. That, linked to the development of individual rebels, the story given to Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and even General Draven, all makes Rogue One's Yavin debut feel like a massive pay-off rather than the quick introductory establishing shots they used to be.
12 The Rebel Alliance's Willingness To Do Dark Things
Andor's Maturity Bleeds Over
Perhaps my favorite aspect about Andor's two seasons was just how mature the storytelling was. The Rebel Alliance of the original trilogy contained the unflinching good guys, yet Andor made a point to submerge its characters in the gray area. They have all done terrible things, Cassian included.
As such, Draven's order for Cassian to kill Galen Erso as soon as they find him makes a lot more sense. Before, this order came as a shock and was even slightly controversial in 2016, as was Cassian's murder of Tivik. Now, it all makes sense after seeing what the Rebellion had to do to get to this point.
11 K-2SO Helping Cassian & Jyn On Jedha
The Droid Has Never Been Great At Following Orders
The moments I am about to focus on are smaller in both Rogue One and Andor, but it's interesting how the two now inform each other. In Rogue One, Cassian tells K-2SO to stay on the ship when they get to Jedha. K2 disobeys him and ends up saving Cassian and Jyn from stormtroopers. This harkens back to the final arc of Andor season 2, with K2 being tasked with watching the ship on Coruscant.
Thankfully he didn't and saved Cass, Melshi, and Kleya from the Empire. Before Andor, this moment from K-2SO was just seen as a humorous gag that highlights the droid's personality. Now, it links back to one of the most integral arcs of Andor in which K2's actions allowed the Rebel Alliance to find out about the Death Star.
10 "Rebellions Are Built On Hope"
One Line Has Its Own Character Arc
This point is perhaps the most obvious way Rogue One is different after Andor. The line "Rebellions are built on hope" is said by Cassian and Jyn in the film, which we now know stems from Andor season 2's Ghorman Massacre. The line came from a hotel worker on Ghorman shortly before the Empire enacted its brutal plan to exterminate the Ghormans. Nine years on from Rogue One, what was once a cool tagline from a movie now becomes a line with its own character arc, laced with the dread, grief, fear, and hope of Ghorman.
9 The Imperials Having "Recent Breaches" In Security
Tying Back To Massive Andor Characters
Andor's cast of characters proved to be an absolute triumph for the show, with several people being introduced to the world of Star Wars that we loved, hated, or loved to hate. In Andor season 2's final arc, characters like Dedra Meero and Kleya took center stage as the former was accused of being a rebel spy for inadvertently leaking information about the Death Star that fell into the hands of the latter. The entire arc centered around helping Kleya escape Coruscant so that she could on the information to the Rebels.
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Krennic played a big role in this as he and Partagaz tried to contain the leak. In Rogue One, Krennic is criticized for recent security breaches. At the time of Rogue One's release, this could have been in reference to literally anything. Now, though, we know it is in reference to the Rebel Alliance finding out that the Death Star even exists, making this scene much more important and rendering Tarkin's ascendance above Krennic one that now seems logical from an Imperial standpoint.
8 Cassian Being Presented As Somewhat Of A Bad Guy At First
Andor Improves Cassian's Rogue One Depiction
One scene that I found fascinating when I was rewatching Rogue One comes on Eadu when Cassian leaves his ship with the intent to kill Galen Erso. Chirrut Îmwe asks his friends "Does he look like a killer?" I watching Rogue One in 2016 and feeling unease about Cassian, leaning in to trust in the Force that he may be a dark killer, just as Chirrut puts it. Now, after watching Andor and accepting it as my favorite Star Wars TV show, this scene is so much more interesting.
Cassian is simply following orders and doing something that, in other cases, he has had to in order to progress the Rebellion's cause...
As the scene is presented, Cassian is undoubtedly doing a bad thing. Even now, after seeing Cassian's journey to becoming a fully-fledged member of the Rebellion, seeing the bad things he has done to get there, and witnessing him become an excellent Star Wars character, his plan to kill Galen Erso was wrong. He redeems himself, of course, but now, there is no unease. Cassian is simply following orders and doing something that, in other cases, he has had to in order to progress the Rebellion's cause. He then rebels against his own orders, fitting what we know of Cass after Andor.
7 Cassian Telling Jyn "You're In Shock & Looking For Some Place To Put It. I've Seen It Before"
Now We Know Exactly Where Cassian Has Seen It
Image via Disney+
After Galen's death in Rogue One, Jyn confronts Cassian despite the latter refusing to kill him. Cassian responds by telling Jyn "You're in shock and looking for some place to put it. I've seen it before." Before Andor, this was a mysterous line that hinted as Cassian's unknown history. In 2025, though, we know what Cassian is talking about.
I've made it no secret - especially in my review of Andor season 2, episodes 7-9 - that the Ghorman Massacre arc of Andor is, in my opinion, the best Star Wars has ever been. Naturally, I was thrilled to realize Cassian is referencing exactly this. In the Ghorman arc, Syril was placed into a state of shock, grief, and guilt upon seeing how he was manipulated into orchestrating the massacre of the Ghormans. He placed all of this shock on Cassian, resulting in a brutal fistfight. Cassian has seen Jyn’s reaction before, and it just so happens that, after Andor, we have too.
6 Cassian's Claim About Being In The Fight Since He Was 6 Years Old
Andor Adds Much More Context To This
Like the aforementioned line between Jyn and Cassian, the latter's claim in Rogue One that he has been in the fight against the Empire since he was six years old was nothing more than an intriguing tease in 2016. At the time, I wanted to learn more about Cassian, and assumed he was a child soldier of some kind. Andor adds intriguing context to this by revealing Cassian does not mean a literal fight, but that he has been feeling the effects of fascism since then. Since leaving Kenari, the Empire has been a dark part of Cassian’s life.
