‘Andor' Is Not the Resistance You're Looking For

New York Times

22-04-2025

'Star Wars' has always been political. When the main thrust of the narrative is about rebels rising up against empire, that's simply hard to avoid. 'Andor,' the Disney+ streaming series that premiered in 2022, wears its politics openly: The show is about the brutal sacrifices people make, or are forced to make, in resistance to authoritarianism. As the new season begins streaming on Tuesday, it seems especially prescient.
The first season of 'Andor,' which tells the story of Cassian Andor's first steps into the life of a revolutionary leader, is vivid and heartbreaking. By sidestepping the idea of the Force and avoiding the Jedi entirely, it is a 'Star Wars' story about the otherwise ordinary people who dedicate their lives and hearts to resisting an empire. 'Andor' examines all sides of how empires operate, including servants of the Imperial core, like the hapless wannabe Syril Karn, who are trying to track down and eliminate the rebels that Andor aids and abets. There are also wealthy establishment types trying to make changes from the inside, only to be forced to take a side.
If you're thinking this doesn't sound like the typical offering from a multinational corporation best known for its child-friendly fare and nostalgia-bait sequels, you would be right. The show's creator, Tony Gilroy, says that Disney afforded him freedom to tell the exact story that he wanted to tell — one in which an apathetic man is pushed, by circumstance and community, into resistance. But I have always found the overwhelming praise for the show's revolutionary politics to be at odds with the means of its production.
Andor's fictional radicalization and eventual rebellion is rooted in real-world inspirations. Mr. Gilroy said that the character Nemik, who writes a manifesto that inspires Andor, was modeled on Leon Trotsky as a 'young, naïve radical.' Benjamin Caron, who directed three episodes of the first season of the series, said that he was inspired by the film 'The Battle of Algiers,' which follows both the homegrown rebels and the soldiers occupying their country during the French-Algerian war.
After Andor has been captured and sentenced on a bogus charge, he finds himself in a prison where everyone is always observed, and also always expected to complete a grueling task within an extremely small margin of time. Who could watch this show and not think of the Amazon warehouses? Or the private prisons of America, where inmates often work for cents on the dollar, or for no pay at all?
The series' ability to capture a radical ideology has been the source of much of the show's critical praise. I found that seeing my own anticapitalist, anti-empire ideals reflected back to me in this show was affirming, as well as inspiring. But it also made me feel conflicted. After the creator of 'Star Wars,' George Lucas, sold his production company to Disney in 2012, the series became part of Disney's larger economic ecosystem. The company's existing 'intellectual property' — for it is always property, not art — becomes commerce: spinoffs, merchandise, theme park rides. Even the great revolutionary Cassian Andor is available for purchase as a part of 'Star Tours — The Adventures Continue' at Disney World.
By the time Disney had colonized 'Star Wars,' it had also acquired the comic book company Marvel and had embarked on an ambitious expansion of the blockbuster culture that 'Star Wars' helped usher in, to the extent that Disney experienced total dominance over the box office, choking out other, original fare. In these decades of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney has extracted as much as it could out of 'Star Wars' and its dedicated fan base.
But something got lost along the way. The sequels lacked urgency, and the Disney+ streamer spinoffs were even more empty (sorry, Baby Yoda, it's true.) That is, until 'Andor.'
More than just the conditions of Hollywood, the political aims of Disney as a multinational corporation sometimes also chafe me. After the election of Donald Trump, Disney has removed a transgender story line from a streaming show, and Robert A. Iger, the company's chief executive, decided to settle a defamation suit brought by Mr. Trump against ABC News, a subsidiary of Disney.
Yet if you feel inspired by 'Andor' as a viewer, that doesn't make you a hypocrite. And if it does, then I am among your number. Being true to yourself in a society ruled over by huge corporations like Disney is often impossible. The show is somehow both a politically affirming piece of art and an agent of corporate commerce. Its goal is not change, much less revolution, but to get you to pay between $9.99 (with ads) and $15.99 (without) a month to subscribe.
I worry that for many people the consumption of this television show feels pacifying, as if watching it is a replacement for joining a protest, their fandom for the rebel alliance a stand-in for their politics in the real world. Disney wants to provide every product to you, even the language of your rebellion against Disney. What's the point of feeling affirmed if the ultimate goal of Disney is to get you to spend more money on its brands?
Mr. Gilroy has said that the critical success of the first season of 'Andor' has given him even greater freedom in its second season. That's great news — but it also shows how important the show's critical success is for Disney's continued use of the 'Star Wars" intellectual property. The show is one of the few offerings that has succeeded in giving Disney both viewership and clout in terms of critical praise.
'Andor' also needs Disney. Specifically, Mr. Gilroy needs Disney's money and the reach that the brand gives him. The show is a high budget science fiction spectacle on top of being a piece of political art. Disney reportedly spent $645 million on 'Andor,' and you can see all that money on the screen. It's in the incredible pedigree of the cast — Stellan Skarsgard, Diego Luna, Andy Serkis, Fiona Shaw, Forest Whitaker. It also shows in the moments of serene beauty that serve to punctuate its political message. In one of the early arcs of the show, Cassian Andor joins a heist that uses a once-in-a-lifetime astrological event as cover. As Andor and his crew navigate through this nanoparticle cloud, streams of light surrounding them, they realize that they, too, have pulled off a once-in-a-lifetime act of rebellion.
People can learn how to embody their radical politics from anywhere. One of the first times I took leftist politics seriously was when I picked up 'Rock Against Bush' anthologies at my Best Buy. I grabbed them because I was trying to impress a boy, but they also introduced me to explicitly political bands like the (International) Noise Conspiracy and Against Me!, which helped me more clearly define my own politics. If 'Andor' does the same for its viewers, then despite my misgivings about Disney, I am grateful for it. Allow yourself to truly identify with Cassian Andor, someone who hadn't even wanted to join a cause initially, but found himself, over time, unable to just sit by.
In the struggle against authoritarianism in real life, many of us are like that, moved to action even before we know what we truly believe. If nothing else, 'Andor' visualizes a simple truth that I try to remember when the news is grim: There are more of us than there are of them.