Lessons to be learnt from Andor?

 

As we're nearly half way through the season, I thought of touching upon the conversation around Andor and comparisons between it and other live action Star Wars content. Andor has generated a lot of chatter online, both negative and positive, but mostly positive. Critics and fans alike are impressed with the writing, direction and overall look of the series. Andor clearly has a generous budget that has been utilized to create a show on a massive scale. The show has looked more like a movie than a TV show right from its first trailer. 

It has made no use of ILM's Stagecraft technology which was used heavily in the production of The Mandalorian and Obi Wan Kenobi, the later of which received criticism from some fans for it appearing to be on a tighter budget, with sets that lacked the grandness required for a show of the stature of a legacy character like Obi Wan. 

In comparison to Obi Wan Kenobi, which was highly anticipated but had to be wrapped up in just 6 episodes, all directed by Deborah Chow, Andor has 12 episodes to tell the story of Cassian Andor, as well as multiple directors with their own unique vision to lend to the show, similar to the way The Mandalorian has been made. 

Overall, so far the real hero of  Andor appears to be its writing, which, barring a sudden decline in quality, is probably some of the best of any Star Wars content. But the series had made some fans wish that same attention.

The fact remains however that every series will feel different. If they all begin to feel like Andor, then where will The Mandalorian lovers go? Where will the Kenobi and Ahsoka fans go? Star Wars creatives need to find a way to strike a balance in their content and continue to focus on quality of shows over the quantity. Perhaps if Kenobi had been allowed more production time and a higher budget, the results would have been even better. It certainly deserved all the time and care after fans of the character waited nearly two decades for Ewan McGregor's return as their beloved Obi Wan Kenobi.

I hope future Star Wars shows and movies benefit from Andor, which is a high quality production. Fans should also hope for the same, instead of bickering over why The Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi lacked so and so elements. Hopefully, the appreciation Andor has garnered will help enrich the writing, direction and visuals of upcoming shows, including any potential second seasons of Boba Fett and Kenobi, should they be greenlight.

Stay tuned for more updates on Andor, including regular episode reviews.