After time off the calendar, Star Wars: Andor returned to Disney+ in April 2025 with a second season that did more than continue Cassian Andor’s march toward destiny. It fundamentally reshaped Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), nearly a decade after the film first hit theaters.
When Andor debuted in 2022, the series, led by Diego Luna as the future Rebel intelligence officer, was hailed for its grounded storytelling and overtly political framework. It didn’t generate the same streaming metrics as The Mandalorian, but its reputation steadily strengthened. Over time, it earned a place among the franchise’s most sophisticated and meticulously constructed projects.
Set roughly five years before Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope (1977), Andor carved out a unique lane in the timeline. Instead of exploring the galaxy after 1983’s Return of the Jedi, the series operated as a direct prelude to Rogue One, the 2016 feature that concluded Cassian’s journey on Scarif.
Season 1 introduced a sprawling ensemble: Kyle Soller as Syril Karn, Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael, Fiona Shaw as Maarva Andor, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Andy Serkis as Kino Loy, and Denise Gough as Dedra Meero. From Ferrix to Coruscant to the prison complex on Narkina 5, the narrative examined both the birth of rebellion and the bureaucratic inner workings of the Empire, balancing insurgents and Imperial Security Bureau officials in parallel arcs.
Season 2 widened the lens. Rather than focusing on a single year, the story spanned four, leading directly into the events on Scarif. Episodes were directed by Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios, with scripts from Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Tom Bissell. The result: one of the most critically celebrated drama series in recent memory, earning 22 Primetime Emmy nominations and winning five.
The release schedule mirrored that ambitious structure. The season launched April 22 with three episodes on Disney+, followed by weekly drops in three-episode blocks until the final trio on May 13. Each chapter grouping represented a year in the escalating war against the Empire, emphasizing the speed at which the galaxy moved toward open conflict.
With its conclusion, Lucasfilm effectively constructed a continuous trilogy: Andor Season 2 fed directly into Rogue One, which famously flows into the opening moments of 1977’s A New Hope. Viewed together, the three projects chart the Rebel Alliance’s earliest sacrifices with a new sense of cohesion.
Now, Disney is revisiting that era once more.
“io9 can exclusively reveal that Marvel will mark Rogue One‘s 10th anniversary with five new one-shot comics set just before the events of the movie, focusing on a key group of characters from the film,” Gizmodo wrote. “Jyn Erso, Saw Gerrera, Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus, Darth Vader, and, of course, Cassian Andor will each get their own special issue, detailing a moment in their lives just before Rogue One brings them all crashing together.”
The anniversary initiative reframes Rogue One yet again, extending the connective tissue between Andor and A New Hope.
In a statement to io9, Lucasfilm senior editor Robert Simpson explained the creative impulse behind returning to this pocket of the timeline.
“From the moment the first images of Cassian, Jyn, Saw, Baze, and Chirrut were revealed fans have wanted to know more about the brave outsiders who risked everything to help combat the Galactic Empire and its terrifying superweapon, and to learn more about what Vader was doing before A New Hope. We always knew the end of Rogue One wouldn’t be the end of their stories, and we’re so excited for fans to get these glimpses into their pasts.”
The one-shots will begin rolling out in May, aligning with Lucasfilm’s theatrical return via Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026).
Even before Season 2 premiered, Andor creator Tony Gilroy and star Diego Luna made it clear that the new episodes would alter how audiences experience Rogue One.
“I mean, we know what we have to do. We never had a moment where we let down [after Season 1],” Gilroy said via Comic Book. “Everybody knew that we couldn’t be over-confident. And we also knew, if this works [on Season 1], we’d better write a bigger cheque for the second season. We knew that we had to go big. So, that’s what we’re trying to do. I mean, hell yeah. Hell yes. There hopefully are a lot of moments.”
Luna suggested the effect would ripple into rewatches of the 2016 film. “I have an answer for that one: not just in the [second] season. Even in Rogue One, you’re gonna hear some lines [on a rewatch] and go [gasps gutturally]. Before, you just passed over them. Not anymore.”
This kind of narrative layering is a hallmark of Star Wars. For decades, films, animated series, novels, and comics have reframed earlier chapters, enriching familiar dialogue and character beats. Andor Season 2 followed that tradition but did so with a sharper focus on character psychology, deepening the emotional toll of Rogue One’s final act.
The broader Disney+ slate has evolved since Andor first launched. While newer entries like The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew have drawn varied reactions, Andor’s return carried heightened expectations for viewers seeking a politically textured chapter in the saga.
Between the series finale and Marvel’s upcoming one-shots, Rogue One now sits at the center of an ever-expanding narrative corridor. For longtime fans revisiting the 2016 film, certain exchanges and fleeting looks may not land the way they once did.
How do you feel about this retroactive change to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? Let us know in the comments below.
