Now that the trailer is here for the forthcoming Disney Plus Star Wars spinoff, Andor, the show is already being overshadowed by talk amongst fans regarding one of the most well-received modern narratives set in a galaxy far, far away, The Mandalorian.
Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, AKA The Mandalorian, is the stoic hero whose nickname, Mando, trended on Twitter Monday, coinciding with the release of the Andor trailer. That’s partially due to favorable comparisons between Andor and The Mandalorian, based on the images we’ve seen so far, as one fan was bold enough to predict on Twitter,
“The way this show is already the best looking thing since Mando S1 on Disney +.”
And of course, one person was scrutinizing a select frame from the Andor trailer to find any trace of the purported appearance of somebody who follows The Mandalorian Creed and dons the same armor as Din.
“New Andor trailer 1:37 (Mando armor?),” one fan wrote.
Another Twitter user was incensed at the idea that Andor filming on real sets, rather than utilizing more LED-generated synthetic backgrounds — known as volumes — as in The Mandalorian, would somehow make the former look superior.
“Before everyone hops on the ‘ANDOR looks good cause they’re not shooting in a volume’ train may I remind you all that the far and away worst-looking episode of MANDO was one of maybe two episodes shot predominantly on-location.”
Another fan’s prediction was that Andor just might “be on the same level, if not BETTER of an overall show than Mando, this looks absolutely incredible.”
Another user agreed, “this actually looks pretty good.”
Andor is a spinoff of 2016’s Rogue One, featuring many of the same characters. Depending on who you ask, the film was either a textbook example of wasted potential, or one of the finest modern Star Wars films to grace theaters in the past 20 years. One thing is for certain, Andor will take place in an entirely different part of the overall timeline compared to the adventures of Din Djarin — before Star Wars Episode: IV – A New Hope — with The Mandalorian taking place years later, after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. That could potentially mean very little by way of the two shows overlapping.
However, there’s still the common thread of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, who was around during both the prequel era of Star Wars and the universe’s post-Return of the Jedi period — making her a prime candidate amongst The Mandalorian cast to possibly cameo in Andor, too.
But regardless, we’ll have to see if Andor lives up to its potential, with Diego Luna returning from Rogue One to reprise his role as the titular Cassian Andor, when the show comes to Disney Plus on September 21.