STAR WARS HAS always been political, no matter what the MAGA types who cosplay as Imperial agents and scream about Disney shoving diversity into “their Star Wars” say.
The original trilogy showed a band of anti-imperialist fighters going up against a vicious pan-galactic state — based, according to its creator George Lucas, on the Vietnam War, with the Viet Cong “rebels” going up against the United States “Empire.”
The prequels showed the transformation of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire of the original trilogy. In 2018, during Donald Trump’s first administration, James Cameron interviewed Lucas about Star Wars’ anti-authoritarian messaging, highlighting a line spoken by Senator Padmé Amidala as Emperor Palpatine declares that the Republic is now an Empire: “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.”
Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney in 2012 and hasn’t been involved in production since then, but Andor, the new series set in the universe, doubles down on its anti-authoritarian roots, focusing on the creation of the revolutionary Rebel Alliance. In the process, it gives us a glimpse into the messiness and conflict that often accompanies building a movement on the left, as activists fight over which political philosophies and strategies work best.
I actually re-watched the original trilogy after watching Andor and the characters of the trilogy actually feel less relatable now than they did before and the whole thing feels somewhat shallower.
I would say that the original Star Wars movies were always “chewing gum for the brain”, whilst Andor is more of a full meal, even compared with other Star Wars TV Series (I don’t think it’s the extra time that a series has compared to a film that explains the difference).
I’d say the difference is the target audience. Andor is for a more sophisticated adult audience. The original trilogy is for everyone, and after that it’s almost all been targeted to kids.