What is Yavin 4? Andor's stunning Star Wars twist explained after season 2 premiere

Daily Mirror

23-04-2025

The second season of Disney+'s Andor has premiered and the series made a direct link to a key location in the original trilogy - but what is Yavin 4?
The second season of Andor is officially underway, having premiered this week on Disney+.
This highly praised Star Wars prequel charts the adventures of brave rebel Cassian Andor (portrayed by Diego Luna) in the years leading up to the obliteration of the Death Star.
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Throughout his journey, he forms crucial allegiances as the Rebel Alliance gains momentum in its mission to overthrow the tyrannical Galactic Empire.
However, in the first two episodes of the second season, One Year Later and Sagrona Teema, Cassian experiences a temporary hitch when he crash lands on Yavin 4 with a stolen TIE Avenger.
Hoping to rendezvous with his contact Porko, he instead finds that the wild moon is already inhabited by a group of rebels from the Maya Pei Brigade, who mistake him for an Imperial pilot, reports the Mirror US.
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Fortunately, our hero manages a daring escape when the group is ambushed by a herd of native moon beasts.
But why does the name Yavin ring a bell for Star Wars enthusiasts?
Let's delve into the significance of this iconic moon in a galaxy far, far away....
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Yavin 4 is one of the main settings in the blockbuster sensation that started it all, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
Although it's not confirmed in Andor until Cassian departs, the distinctive pyramid structures verify that this moon is indeed the same one the Rebel Alliance later uses as a base.
Young Jedi and Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) finds himself on Yavin 4, orbiting the gas giant Yavin Prime, when he joins the Alliance to help obliterate the first Death Star.
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With guidance from Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and armed with schematics revealing a flaw in the superweapon's design, Luke outwits Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) using the Force to guide his torpedoes into a small exhaust port leading to the space station's reactor.
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This crucial moment in the iconic science fiction saga is later known as the Battle of Yavin, which becomes the focal point around which the Star Wars timeline revolves.
Years occurring before the battle are labelled BBY, while the era following the annihilation of the Death Star is referred to as ABY.
As Andor is currently set in the four years leading up to this pivotal space conflict, fans might be about to witness how the moon transforms into the resistance base that has been beloved since the original trilogy.