It's a new month and we are now one month closer to the next journey in a galaxy far, far away! A spoilery new trailer for the Andor series coming to Disney+ has landed, and it features heaps of new footage, dialogue, and confirmation of returning characters.
You can also head over to SFFGazette.com to check out the new Andor poster that dropped today as well!
Following a few establishing shots of characters looking up to the sky as something disrupts their day-to-day lives, we cut to a beautiful scenic shot of a river running between two mountain ranges. An impressive over-the-shoulder shot that shows an Imperial Star Destroyer and an escort of Tie Fighters entering the atmosphere of the planet.
After that, we get a special treat in the form of a voiceover from the main character, Cassian Andor. It is unclear who he is speaking to, but he advises that the best way to steal from the Empire is to simply "Walk in like you belong," and that they are all so "far and satisfied, that they can't imagine that someone like me would ever get inside their house." Clearly, this advice is intended for someone, but it is unclear who it is intended for.
This seems to track well with the arrogance of the imperial war machine, as we have seen several times across the timeline of Star Wars when our heroes have taken advantage of their adversary's laziness by disguising themselves and walking right in the front door. In these instances, our heroes have been able to accomplish their goals. Even though it's a trope that some people might consider to be overused, it can still result in storytelling that's tense and interesting.
After that, we get another look at the character that Stellan Skarsgard is playing, who has not been given a name yet. He is currently having a conversation with Cassian, and it appears that he is trying to convince Cassian to join the fledgling rebel alliance. We hear him say, "I need all the heroes I can get," despite the fact that interviews with star Diego Luna suggest that our main protagonist is not a hero at the point in the series where we find him.
Fans of Rogue One, Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels will be pleased to see the return of the Onderonian zealot Saw Gerrera and his band of rebel extremists. Saw Gerrera will once again be played by Forest Whitaker.
Saw, for those who aren't aware, grew up during the separatist occupation of his planet, and he was assisted by none other than Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano in setting up a fledgling group of revolutionaries intent on freeing their planet from the droid army.
For those who aren't aware, Saw grew up during the occupation of his planet. Saw's anger grew steadily worse after the death of his sister, and he adopted increasingly brutal strategies as a result. He joined the Rebel Alliance early on in its fight against the Galactic Empire, but he would eventually have a disagreement with the counsel and be shunned for his viciousness and extremist tendencies. He was a founding member of the Rebel Alliance.
The teaser trailer makes it abundantly clear that the current era is one of widespread unrest across the galaxy as the Empire exerts increasing pressure on anyone who refuses to submit to its authority. We witness riots in the streets, the destruction of what appears to be an elevator system on Coruscant, and other things as well.
Skarsgard's nameless character is revealed to be (or have been) a Senator at some point, clean shaven and in much finer clothes than anything we've yet seen him in, and we're treated to some new shots and bits of dialogue from Genevieve O'Reilly's Mon Motha, who hopes that being seen as a "Nuisance" will stop people from noticing "What she's really doing." Genevieve O'Reilly plays Mon Motha.
As the music builds to a crescendo and the shots come faster and faster, we see Death Troopers, a crying Fiona Shaw, another look at new droid companion B2EMO, explosions, blaster fire, people running, general panic, and a Tie Fighter chase; all of these things culminate in the most shocking revelation to date...
The revelation that the first episode of the series will not be one, not two, but THREE episodes will be made available on the Disney streaming service on September 21st.
The teaser trailer accomplishes everything it sets out to do, and the series appears to have inherited all of its predecessor's class and charisma.