Star Wars’ New TV Show Finally Fulfils A Promise Revenge Of The Sith Made 20 Years Ago

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Andor season 2, episodes 1-6

Star Wars’ newest show fulfills a promise made in Revenge of the Sith, two decades later. 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the final prequel film, the culmination of the trilogy, but also the conclusion of the Clone Wars that had lasted for three years in-universe. However, Andor season 2 confirms the galaxy never stopped being at war, even if the Clone Wars came to an end.

Despite being named after Diego Luna’s character, Andor features a robust cast of characters, Rebels and Imperials alike. Keeping that in mind, I saw Revenge of the Sith’s 20th anniversary re-release in theaters last weekend, only a few days after watching Andor season 2’s premiere episodes. Watching both Star Wars projects so close to each other made it easy for me to realize how the new show helps fulfill a key promise made by Revenge of the Sith 20 years prior.

Revenge of the Sith’s Opening Crawl Has A Key Phrase

“There Are Heroes On Both Sides. Evil is Everywhere”

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In Revenge of the Sith’s opening crawl, the first section touches on the struggles the galaxy has faced during the three-year Clone Wars:

“War! The Republic is crumbling under attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.“

Naturally, this sentiment becomes quite clear in Revenge of the Sith with the confirmation that Palpatine has orchestrated both sides of the war, uses the Clone Army to wipe out the Jedi Order, corrupts Anakin Skywalker as his new apprentice, and reorganizes the Republic itself into Palpatine’s own Galactic Empire.

However, this idea was also explored quite heavily in The Clone Wars animated series itself. A prime example would be the third season’s tenth episode, which notably took its title from Episode III’s opening crawl, “Heroes on Both Sides”. In it, Ahsoka Tano aids Padmé Amidala as she seeks to negotiate a peaceful truce between the Galactic Senate and Separatist Parliament with help from her former mentor (and now Separatist), Mina Bonteri. While Dooku secretly ensures that the peace talks fail, Ahsoka still learns that the war itself is not nearly as black and white as she’d thought.

20 Years Later, Andor Fully Embodies This Idea In Multiple Ways

The Lines of Good and Evil Are Blurred

During the Clone Wars, the galactic conflict was far messier than one side being good and one being evil. However, the concept of a complex galaxy in crisis is something that absolutely continues even after the Clone Wars end and the Empire begins, as proven by Andor. Set in the years just before the dawn of the Rebellion in Rogue One and the original trilogy, Andor season 2 in particular has shown that there are indeed heroes on both sides, and evil is everywhere.

While fighting for a galaxy free of Imperial tyranny, neither Luthen Rael nor Saw Gerrera should be considered wholly “good” by any means, despite being Rebel heroes. They’ve both done some pretty heinous things in the name of “The Cause.” The same goes for Mon Mothma, who’s been forced to compromise many of her values as she works within the Imperial Senate hierarchy.

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Cassian probably wouldn’t refer to himself as a hero either, but simply a soldier fighting for freedom (and willing to do whatever’s required to make that happen and protect those he cares about). Conversely, Andor also wants you to care about the other side and the journey of the Imperial Security Bureau’s Dedra Meero and Syril Karn. For instance, the jury’s still out about where Shyril will end up, as his loyalties have already been tested with teases that his Imperial values may soon be shaken, perhaps enough to the point where his allegiances could shift.

Andor Depicts A Very Real Galaxy In Complex Crisis

Beyond The Light and Dark Sides of the Force

There’s nothing wrong with the Jedi who served the light side of the Force and their Sith Lord rivals who’ve embraced the dark. On an overarching mythological level, those characters and their conflicts represent the greater cosmic balance that’s being fought for. It’s often incredibly exciting to see, and the franchise can always use more of it.

However, the reason why a show like Andor is succeeding and doing so well is because it’s willing to explore the more granular, grounded, and gritty side of the galaxy, looking at where it was during its darkest period, what it took to defy the oppression that had overwhelmed the galaxy, and focused on those who had to make hard choices in the name of revolution (who don’t possess impressive abilities through the Force or wield flashy laser swords). As such, it’s been fascinating to watch Andor season 2 progress, especially as it continues exploring its various “heroes on both sides” as they all grapple with the galaxy’s ever-present evil.

New episodes of Andor season 2 release weekly on Tuesdays at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST on Disney+.