Andor was a Star Wars TV series unlike any other, swapping lightsabers for a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of Cassian Andor and the Rebellion's formative days.
The show proved key to the wider Star Wars mythos, however, and revealed Cassian's unwitting role in building pieces for the Death Star while imprisoned on Narkina 5. We'd speculated that might be the case, though it wasn't confirmed until Andor's post-credits scene.
It was a great moment which was made particularly poignant by the fact Cassian helped build the superweapon he'd one day help destroy. Talking to the LA Times (via SFFGazette.com), Andor VFX Supervisor Scott Pritchard revealed a hidden nod to A New Hope in the stinger which we all missed at the time.
"Where you see the little robots placing the 'product' onto the surface of the Death Star, right at the back of the shot, you see a wall," he explains. "And the wall has these shapes on it which are identical to the shapes of the trench run from 'A New Hope.'"
"It’s a lovely detail that shows the kind of passion the [Industrial Light & Magic] artists bring to their work."
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That is a terrific Easter Egg and one which shows the sort of care which goes into creating these memorable Star Wars moments. Interestingly, it wasn't the only meaningful part of that sequence.
"The Arrestor Cruiser in high orbit was an absolute treat," Pritchard notes. "And not just for the fact that the Arrestor Cruiser was an original design from [one of the franchise’s first concept artists] called Colin Cantwell, who designed, along with the first X-Wing, the first Millennium Falcon and the first TIE fighter."
"It was May last year, Colin died very tragically. So to finally bring his design to life and give it a starring role in the series was a real treat and a real honor. If you listen to the audio, it says, 'Arrestor Cruiser, Cantwell Class.'"
The Death Star's trench was built secretly by Galen Erso in the hope that the flaw could one day be exploited to bring down the worst weapon ever created by the Empire. Ultimately, it was Luke Skywalker who did exactly that in Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope, but only after those Rebels stole the Death Star plans.
Andor season 2 is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ next August.