The Andor Season 2 premiere paid homage to LucasArts with a deep-cut reference to a beloved Star Wars video game from the 1990s. Now that the first three episodes of the second and final season are finally out, the official Star Wars website published a rundown of interesting behind the scenes trivia regarding Andor. One of the entries concerns the Imperial ship Cassian steals in the first episode. On a mission, he is tasked with stealing a new kind of TIE fighter — one he unknowingly is not trained to pilot. This is called the TIE Avenger, which first appeared in the game Star Wars: TIE Fighter, published for various computer systems in 1994.
The TIE Avenger model audiences see in Andor (which was a practical set) takes cues from Kylo Ren’s personal TIE Whisper as seen in The Rise of Skywalker. The Star Wars website says it is a “rare full interior and exterior TIE Fighter set build.”
After much anticipation, Andor Season 2 debuted on Disney+ on April 22nd with a three-episode premiere. Much like the first season, Season 2 was widely acclaimed, earning the best Rotten Tomatoes score for a live-action Star Wars project. Critics praised the series’ mature storytelling approach and strong performances.
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A sequel to Star Wars: X-Wing, Star Wars: TIE Fighter was available on DOS, Macintosh, and Microsoft Windows. In the game, players took control of an Imperial fighter pilot who embarked on various missions across the galaxy, engaging in combat against the Rebel Alliance and other enemies. The game’s story chronicles the pilot’s attempt to thwart a coup against Emperor Palpatine. It received widespread acclaim and today ranks among the best games of all time.
Andor is notable for its lack of fan service, as showrunner Tony Gilroy made a point to not lean on nostalgic callbacks as a crutch. However, as part of a larger franchise with nearly five decades of history, Andor still has plenty of connections to the overall lore and mythology. The key is that these references aren’t always so obvious to viewers. Season 1 followed a similar playbook; there were several Easter eggs present in Luthen’s shop, including one related to the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. These deep-cut nods are ideal, as they don’t distract from the gripping story at the heart of Andor, but are still exciting for die-hard fans to spot. Anyone who’s played TIE Fighter before was probably smiling at the sight of the Avenger becoming franchise canon.
As Andor Season 2 continues, its references and connections will likely become more overt. This season is building to the events of Rogue One, with the Death Star being teased. But given Gilroy’s track record, there will probably be additional obscure Easter eggs for eagle-eyed viewers to notice. No matter how Andor handles this aspect moving forward, viewers can rest easy knowing any and all nods to the franchise will be organic and have a place in the story. Lucasfilm didn’t force Gilroy to include anything in Andor, which was the perfect approach.
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