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Andorfollows the titular Cassian Andor, a thief who becomes a spy for the newly forming Rebel Alliance. Andor is a prequel to the 2016 film Rogue One, which itself is a prequel to A New Hope, following the early days of the Rebellion, as people around the galaxy fight their own battles against the Empire.
As a whole, Star Wars has never been too concerned with telling its story in chronological order. If you follow the games, shows, and movies as they come out, you’ll be jumping between its different eras frequently. If you’re wondering how the Andor slice fits into the larger Star Wars pie, you’ve come to the right place.
There will be spoilers for Andor and Rogue One below!
When Does Andor Take Place?
Andor takes place five years before Rogue One, which itselfoccurs just before the start of A New Hope. The final scene of Rogue One is the plans for the Death Star being delivered to Princess Leia, leading directly into the first Star Wars movie.
We can place things a bit more accurately using theBattle of Yavindating system, where Star Wars events are either dated to have happened yearsBefore the Battle of Yavin(BBY) orAfter theBattle of Yavin(ABY). The Battle of Yavin was the battle that resulted in the destruction of the first Death Star in A New Hope.
The first episode of Season 1 of Andor begins in BBY 5, or five years before the Battle of Yavin. The entire first season takes place within this year, with Cassian meeting Luthen Rael, joining the rebellion, and escaping from the Imperial prison.
Season 2 of Andor begins with aone-year time skip after Season 1, dating itself toBBY 4. Then, another time skip occurs after episode 3, withepisodes four, five, and six now taking place in BBY 3.
As of the time of writing, the final six episodes of Season 2 have yet to air, but we can probably expect to seeone or two more time skips, which would bring Andor up to the beginning of Rogue One.
Andor Characters In Other Star Wars Media
Despite being a largely standalone spin-off series, quite a few recurring Star Wars characters appear in Andor. Cassian Andor himself is the obvious one, but we’ve also seen characters likeMon MothmaandSaw Gerreramake appearances in Andor, further connecting it to the larger Star Wars universe.
In Andor, Mon Mothma holds a seat on the Imperial Senate, representing her home world of Chandrila. However, behind the scenes, she works with Luthen to support the beginning of the rebellion, andeventually goes on tolead the Rebel Alliance in the original trilogy.
Saw Gerrerais a resistance fighter who has made several appearances throughout the Star Wars universe, and most recently in Andor Season 2. He’s been fighting corrupt regimes almost his entire life, making appearances in the Clone Wars, Bad Batch, Rebels, Rogue One, and even Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
We’ve also seen a few side characters in Andor that appear in other Star Wars media, likeRuescott Melshi, who Cassian meets on the prison complex of Narkina 5, and who eventually goes on to join the Rebellion, andOrson Krennic, an the Director of Imperial Military weapons development, who is also the main villain of Rogue One.
