A notable retcon of Cassian Andor’s backstory is included in Andor season 1, but this continuity change stands apart from most retcons in the Disney era of Star Wars. Andor stands out from most Disney+ Star Wars shows, approaching the established Star Wars myths and characters with a surprising amount of respect and maturity. The first season of the series explores the titular Cassian Andor as he joins a rebel cell and transforms into the character introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. About that, Andor it also explores the broader concepts of totalitarian oppression and the nature of an oppositional rebel movement.
Andor season 2 will continue to explore the backstories of Cassian Andor himself and the Rebel Alliance, with the next season seemingly bridging the gap between the end of its predecessor (set in 5 BBY) and the introduction of Cassian in Rogue One (defined in 0 BBY). Viewers have already begun to speculate that the season will include important events from the history (or prehistory) of the Rebellion in the modern world. Star Wars canon, like the Ghorman Massacre. The season may also perform continuity maintenance in a similar manner to the first season of Andorwhich would be welcome for some viewers.
How Andor Reconnected Cassian’s Past Without Erasing What Had Happened Before
Before AndorCassian Andor’s story has been explored (or referenced) in properties like Pablo Hidalgo’s Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide. Cassian Andor was initially established as having come from the world of Fest in the Outer Rim and was a child soldier in the Separatist Alliance during the Clone Wars. These early sources also established that Andor’s biological father protested against the Galactic Republic on Carida, but was killed during the protest. Andor Season 1 retcons elements of this backstory, however, reestablishing Cassian as having been born on the Mid Rim world of Kenari and going by the name Kassa.
Unlike many modern Star Wars canonical properties, however, Andor does not pave previously established sources in its new backstory for Cassian. The show also establishes that Cassian’s home world of Fest was an invention that he and his adoptive parents – Maarva and Clem Andor – kept. Andor’s retcon therefore allows Star Wars properties to maintain their canonicity, with the new origin simply recontextualizing them. Cassian Andor’s homeworld listed as Fest still makes sense as a facade, and perhaps his biological father’s death and Cassian’s past as a Separatist are also fabrications.
Andor Season 1 Retcons Return to the Era of Star Wars Legends
THE Star Wars The franchise – which has existed as a multimedia franchise for over 47 years – is no stranger to retcons, unsurprisingly. As the implementation of retcons, however, depended on the season and the continuity of the franchise. THE Star Wars Expanded Universe – now known as Legends – was the official Star Wars continuity in the first 37 years of the franchise. During the Legends era, retcons were used frequently and almost always served the purpose of clarifying continuity issues. without decanonizing properties.
For example, Boba Fett had multiple conflicting origin stories for a while, but they would all remain canon in some sense when a retcon established his origin story. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones backstory as the “real” one, while his previous origins were fabrications or rumors. Similar retcons would allow for the descriptions of the Clone Wars in Timothy Zahn’s book played trilogy to coexist with the previous films and Clone Wars multimedia projectand for the “death” of Wes Janson in the Marvel film Star Wars comics as a convoluted story used by Wedge Antilles to scare newly recruited Rebel pilots.
After replacing the Legends continuity in April 2014, the modern Star Wars Canon took a drastically different approach to continuity and retcons. Although the Legends timeline used retcons to ensure everyone Star Wars properties were equally canonical, the modern canon approaches Star Wars more like a folktale, with tangles of continuity being embraced and welcomed. In the Disney era, there are numerous cases of Star Wars properties completely overwriting themselves, with Star Wars: The Bad Batch and the last season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars paving of published works.
Andor’s second season promises to have much more continuity
Andor season 1 used a retcon in the same way that Legends continuity used to. Rather than simply decanonizing previous sources that list Cassian as a Fest native and former Separatist, the program allows them to maintain their legitimacy and canonicity – albeit with additional context. Andor Season 2, in addition to further exploring the backstories of the Rebellion and Cassian Andor, could also deploy more retcons in this way, allowing it to contradict older properties without decanonizing them.
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Upcoming Star Wars movies |
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The Mandalorian and Grogu |
May 22, 2026 |