Despite some Star Wars fans trying to pit Andor and The Mandalorian against one another, the series creators seem to be very supportive of one another. When Andor hit Disney+ in September 2022, it immediately drew positive attention from critics and fans for how different it was from anything else in the franchise, notably the more family-friendly and fan-service series, The Mandalorian. While The Mandalorian received more views in terms of audience volumes, Andor’s critical acclaim and accolades were unprecidented. Yet the idea of the two series being in opposition only exists in fans’ minds, as the man behind Andor has nothing but nice things to say about the creators of The Mandalorian and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

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Speaking with Empire, Andor creator Tony Gilroy spoke about the process of working at Lucasfilm and Disney and how the studio and the various executives like Kathleen Kennedy and Bob Iger have been very supportive of the series. He also spoke about how The Mandalorian paved the way for Andor. Gilroy also spoke highly of The Mandalorian co-creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, putting to bed any idea of rivalry or unrest between the creatives. Gilroy said:

“We were protected all the way down the line. Kathy [Kennedy] protected us. Lucasfilm protected us. Bob Iger protected us. The audience protected us. The Mandalorian protected us. We had all these people out there backing our play. The success of The Mandalorian gave us the platform to jump off. Their success is what would fuel the whole thing. I mean, no Baby Yoda, no Andor. Seriously. Don’t think that we don’t know that. Online, [people] try to drive a wedge all the time between us, and [Jon] Favreau and [Dave] Filoni. It’s horrible what people say; it’s terrible. And the truth is, we don’t have a show without them. They gave us the muscle to go.”

‘Andor’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ Were Never Against One Another

Internet fandoms like to paint conflicts between creatives when one doesn’t exist. Even though James Gunn and Zack Snyder are friends and supportive of one another’s work, sections of the fandom are desperate to declare war in the name of nothing. The same could be said for how some talked about The Mandalorian and Andor. Each show accomplishes something different, but the two shows are often put in opposition to one another. Andor is criticized for not being Star Wars enough. At the same time, The Mandalorian is accused of not elevating Star Wars and pandering to fans. Oftentimes, one series can’t be praised without needing to put the other one down.

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In many ways, Andor and The Mandalorian’s ability to coexist shows the power of Star Wars as a franchise. It is a good thing that it can fit both types of stories within its larger universe and cater to a wide set of fans. Andor is set to conclude with its upcoming second season, which will debut on Disney+ on Apr. 22, 2025. The Mandalorian will be moving from the small screen to the big screen as Season 4 of the series was scrapped in favor of a feature film. The Mandalorian & Grogu opens in theaters on May 22, 2026, and will be the franchise’s first film since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
Source: Empire

Andor

Release Date

2022 – 2025-00-00

Network

Disney+

Directors

Susanna White

Writers

Dan Gilroy