Andor introduced several retcons to the Star Wars franchise that only improved the movies in the saga. Star Wars after Andor is an entirely different franchise than it was before. Not only is Andor considered the best of Star Wars‘ many TV shows, but its quality could have a great influence on the future of the franchise.

Filmmakers like Simon Kinberg, responsible for developing a new Star Wars trilogy, have been outspoken about how much Andor has influenced the way movies and shows in a galaxy far, far away can be made. Beyond how Andor can impact the wider franchise from a filmmaking perspective, though, the show has proven to change a lot in-universe, too.

By the time of Andor season 2’s climactic ending, the show had developed a lot about the wider Star Wars universe. Andor‘s placement in the Star Wars timeline means it had big implications on the Galactic Civil War, the characters involved, and, thus, the plots of the franchise’s biggest movies.

That said, some of Andor‘s biggest retcons only went to improve the Star Wars movies rather than hinder them.

Mon Mothma’s Pathway To The Rebellion

One such retcon was the addition of Mon Mothma’s involvement in Star Wars’ Rebel Alliance. Before Andor, Mon’s only movie appearances were limited to Return of the Jedi and Rogue One, as well as a deleted scene in Revenge of the Sith. However, none of these appearances explained how exactly Mon became involved in the Rebellion, with Andor retconning this exact story.

Andor revealed exactly what Mon Mothma had to sacrifice and the trials and tribulations she had to go through to see to it that the Rebel Alliance was founded. As a result, Mon’s inclusion in Rogue One and Return of the Jedi now has heaps of context, only improving the perception of her character.

Luthen & Kleya’s Involvement In The Rebellion

As with Mon, Andor outlined some of the other key founders of the Rebel Alliance. Luthen Rael and Kleya Marki were two of these characters, with both seasons of the show showing how they met, their mutual hatred of the Empire, and their matching dedication to seeing the tyrannical organization crumble.

Without Kleya and Luthen, two of Andor‘s best characters, the Rebel Alliance would not have succeeded. Now, when watching the original trilogy, knowing the sacrifices of Kleya, Luthen, and Mon Mothma only makes the Rebellion’s plight all the stronger. Andor ensured that audiences knew how Star Wars’ heroic band of rebels came to be, improving the already-great original trilogy.

Luthen’s Discovery Of The Death Star Plans

Rogue One explained how the Rebel Alliance came to steal the Death Star plans, but the film never revealed exactly where the Rebellion got its information from. The film explained this well enough, but Andor provided even more crucial context in a big retcon.

The final arc of Andor season 2 reveals that it was Luthen who discovered the Empire was building a planet-killing weapon. Luthen and Kleya then relayed this information to Cᴀssian Andor, who then gave it to the Rebellion’s higher-ups. This plot point retcons how the timeline of the Death Star’s destruction began, improving Rogue One mᴀssively.

K-2SO’s Ghorman Origin Story

Retcons can be described as retroactively adding things to canon that were not there before, or outright changing an established story to have a new continuity. Undoubtedly, the biggest instance of the latter in Andor was the reveal that K-2SO, Cᴀssian’s loyal droid companion, was obtained at the Ghorman Mᴀssacre, changing an earlier comic book story of their meeting.

However, the new story improves Star Wars as a whole. The Ghorman Mᴀssacre is one of the most emotionally affecting moments in the entirety of Star Wars. Rewatching Rogue One with the knowledge that Cᴀssian and K2 were both there, on different sides, only to come together against the Empire, makes the film much more impactful.

The Ghorman Mᴀssacre

Speaking of the Ghorman Mᴀssacre, its inclusion in Andor at all was a retcon. Previously, the Ghorman Mᴀssacre was described in non-canon Legends stories as Grand Moff Tarkin landing a Star Destroyer on a crowd of peaceful protestors. This was still confirmed as canon in Andor, only with the show retconning in a second Ghorman Mᴀssacre.

The second Ghorman Mᴀssacre was, as alluded to, brutal, harrowing, and incredibly emotionally effective. Witnessing the sheer evil of the Empire in such a compelling way made for the best episode of Andor and resulted in the audience wanting to see the Rebellion triumph more than ever before. In this way, the Galactic Civil War of the original trilogy is improved tenfold.

Bail Organa’s Andor Story

Like Mon Mothma, Bail Organa’s story was limited in the Star Wars movies. He appeared briefly in the prequel trilogy and Rogue One before dying off-screen in A New Hope. The loss of Bail and Alderaan was effective, but Andor has made both so much more emotionally resonant.

Andor outlines Bail’s importance to the Rebel Alliance in a way the Star Wars movies rarely did. Now, when rewatching the brief appearances Bail has in the franchise, the backstory and importance to the Rebellion that Andor added to his story will make Alderaan’s destruction a more harrowing event.

Andor Aiding In The Death Star’s Construction

George Lucas once said that Star Wars is like poetry; it rhymes. Perhaps the most overt case of this in Andor came via a big retcon, with the reveal that Cᴀssian’s time in prison saw him contribute to the Death Star’s construction.

As Rogue One showcased, Cᴀssian was instrumental in the destruction of the Death Star. Andor established that he was equally instrumental in the construction of the planet-killing weapon. This was a poetic retcon that adds a great deal of thematic resonance to Cᴀssian’s eventual quest to destroy the Death Star, making Rogue One all the better for it.

Force Healing Gives Anakin A Tragic Retcon

Andor season 2 confirmed that Force Healers were real in the Star Wars galaxy during the Civil War. This is a retcon, as other canon stories have only shown Force Healing as being a thing from Star Wars’ New Republic era onwards. Andor, however, reveals that Force Healers must have been around during the days of the Republic.

This makes the Star Wars prequels better, as Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side was a result of his trying to save his wife from death during childbirth. Anakin could have utilized a Force Healer to ensure Padmé’s survival, but the machinations of Darth Sidious in the prequels resulted in Anakin becoming tunnel-visioned. Therefore, Andor makes the Chosen One’s journey sadder.

Force Healing Improves Rey’s Story

With the confirmation that Force Healing existed as far back as the Galactic Civil War, Andor improves Rey Skywalker’s Star Wars movies. The Rise of Skywalker includes Rey using Force Healing, one of the first instances of the power being used in canon, at least in Star Wars’ release order.

When considering the new chronology of Force Healing being introduced much earlier, though, it makes a lot more sense that Rey is so knowledgeable in the technique.

Cᴀssian Andor’s Relationship With Bix