Andor Was Right to Leave Out Big Character Cameos (And Star Wars Needs to Learn From It)

In the wake of Star Wars: Andor‘s conclusion, it’s a great time to reflect on what the Disney+ series teaches about cameos. Created by Tony Gilroy, Andor prefaces the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, chronicling Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) journey to becoming a revolutionary leader. Differing from other Disney+ series such as Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka, Andor doesn’t feature major character cameos or supporting appearances at any point during its two seasons. Instead, Andor opts to focus on telling Cassian’s story, while developing the arcs of Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona), Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), Dedra Meero (Denise Gough), Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), and more.

By keeping prominent Star Wars figures out of its story, Andor successfully delivers a contained narrative with all of the spectacular action and compelling characterization fans of the franchise love. The likes of Darth Vader, Princess Leia, or Jyn Erso could have appeared in Andor in some form, however, the series never exhibited a need for this type of presence. Looking ahead, Star Wars must learn that the key to its long-term triumph as an IP revolves around in-depth stories with relevant themes and interesting characters rather than repeated cameos of the same legendary personas.

[RELATED: Andor Proves That Star Wars Can Leave the Jedi Behind Entirely]

Andor Never Needed Cameos to Take Over Its Spotlight

Even while functioning as a prequel, Andor prevails as an excellent story in the Star Wars Universe. Over 24 episodes, the show dives deep into the beginnings of rebellion against the Empire, fixating on the perspectives of resistance operatives, ordinary citizens, and Imperial authority figures. Andor‘s broad scope enables it to engage with its subject material with a remarkable level of complexity. Audiences learn and see the Empire’s atrocities and behind-the-scenes meetings in a way Star Wars has never brought to the screen, and it’s incredibly eye-opening to draw comparisons between the series and real-world events. Andor‘s own score of compelling characters leaves no room for the larger-than-life presence of icons like Darth Vader or Princess Leia, while the involvement of Jyn Erso likely wouldn’t have fit during the series’ place in the timeline.

Gilroy explained his reasoning for excluding Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso from Andor, telling EW that there just wasn’t space for her involvement.

“In the end, I realized if people didn’t absolutely have to be there, they shouldn’t,” he said. “And it would’ve been lame to bring Jyn back as a cameo. That would’ve been really disrespectful in a way. I’d rather honor Rogue and keep it straight.”

Furthermore, Gilroy revealed that a Princess Leia cameo was also on the table before Andor‘s writing team decided it was unnecessary.

“There was some basic cool things for a scene, but it never got past that, and it never went to the casting stage, or it never got more real than that,” he told Screen Rant. “I remember talking to [Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy about it and talking to [Star Wars lore advisor Pablo Hidalgo] about it, but it never got traction, and then it became a distraction.“

All in all, big character cameos would have taken away from Andor‘s fascinating exploration of what it means to build resistance under a fascist government, as the concept of well-known faces popping in and out is entirely antithetical to Gilroy’s approach. Darth Vader’s menacing Rogue One appearance was a sight to behold, but something akin to that scene never would have worked in a smaller-scale, more fleshed-out story like Andor. Andor’s success proves that it’s better to focus on a show’s main characters and let them shine in big moments rather than forcing beloved franchise icons into an unnecessary spotlight. Thankfully, Andor doesn’t make the mistake of ruining its finale with a big cameo like The Mandalorian Season 2 finale did with a random Luke Skywalker reveal.

Star Wars Needs to Learn Andor‘s Lesson About Major Character Cameos

The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett nearly ruined their contained narratives by needlessly bringing in a CGI-rendered version of Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. Ahsoka‘s inclusion of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) makes more sense, yet the character’s return always felt more like nostalgia bait than a necessary element. Forcing characters where they don’t belong isn’t good storytelling, and Andor hints that Star Wars could be heading in the right direction when it comes to cameos. Future Star Wars showrunners and writers need to consider whether a cameo is truly necessary for the story they’re telling before moving forward with one. By following Andor‘s model of an outstanding character-driven narrative with deep political themes and not a legendary character in sight, Star Wars seamlessly moves toward a new era of top-notch movies and TV shows.

All episodes of Star Wars: Andor are available to stream on Disney+.