Cassian Andor’s first Star Wars scene featured him killing a scared, injured rebel spy rather than letting the source get captured by the Empire. Cassian’s story then came to an end alongside Jyn Erso on the shores of Scarif. But we learned a lot about him in-between those two moments, and they’ll help frame Diego Luna’s upcoming Disney+ prequel series, Andor. What exactly do we know about the character and his role in the Alliance from his debut? Here’s everything you need to remember about the Rebellion’s most loyal—and most ruthless— member from Rogue One.
Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Diego Luna’s Captain Cassian Andor, from the planet Fest, was a high-level Rebel Intelligence officer who served under Mon Mothma. He opposed the Empire long before he formally joined the Rebellion, though. “I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old,” he told Jyn. He also said to her, “You’re not the only one who lost everything.” One of the people Andor lost in the fight against the Empire was his father.
A life spent battling the Galactic Empire cost him more than just his loved ones, too. It also cost Cassian part of his soul, because his superiors used him to do their dirty work. He admitted to Jyn that, like others, he’d “done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion.” We got a glimpse of what he meant when he killed a contact to protect the group’s secrets. He was also initially willing to kill Jyn’s father, Galen Erso, even though he’d told Jyn he’d bring her father in safely. Cassian, who was slow to trust others, would lie, cheat, and kill his way to victory after accepting an unsavory mission. He was the Rebel’s Machiavellian officer/pilot/soldier/killer. For Cassian, the ends always justified the means when it came to defeating the Empire.
Cassian Andor’s Droid
Cassian accepted orders no one else was ever to know about, but he didn’t execute them alone. His loyal droid, K-2SO, accompanied Cassian on his missions. Played by Alan Tudyk, K-2SO was a reprogrammed Imperial security droid. The reprogramming also gave the droid a blunt personality. He would say whatever came into his mind, no matter how unwelcome or unwanted his (often insulting) commentary might have been. It also made him pretty funny, as K-2SO’s brutal honesty also served as galactic deadpan.
Cassian Andor’s Death in Rogue One
Captain Cassian Andor died at the age of 26 on the beaches of Scarif. He and K-2SO (killed by stormtroopers inside Scarif’s Imperial base) helped Jyn Erso steal the Death Star plans and beam them to the Rebel Alliance. They pulled that off before General Tarkin used the battle station to destroy Sacrif’s powerful antenna. Neither Cassian or Kyn had time to flee before the resulting shock wave of the Death Star blast killed them. They died holding each other along the shore knowing they’d given the galaxy far, far away what it needed most – hope.
Cassian Andor’s Role as a Fulcrum Agent
The term “Fulcrum” was not mentioned in Rogue One. However, Cassian Andor was himself a Fulcrum agent, a concept fans of Star Wars Rebels know well.
Several high-level Rebel spies used that codename in the years leading up to the events of A New Hope. That included Ahsoka Tano, who first came up with the moniker. Imperial officer Kallus also went by Fulcrum while secretly working for the Rebel Alliance. The term was used in part to keep a source’s identity a secret, even from those the agent provided information to. But having multiple people using the name Fulcrum also helped to keep their identity a secret from the Empire. It was harder to track down what the Empire thought was a single source when “Fulcrum’s” information and actions consisted of numerous people who didn’t interact with one another.
Fulcrum agents did more than just serve as spies, though. They also recruited others to the Rebel cause. They then assigned and oversaw missions executed by those working under them. Cassian Andor did all of this while working as Fulcrum.
Andor and Endor are NOT the Same in the Star Wars Universe
Just as Tatooine is a totally different world from Dantooine in Star Wars, Andor with an “a” and Endor with an “e” are not the same person. In fact, Endor isn’t a person at all, it’s a giant gas planet with a famous forest moon. Rebels partnered with Ewoks on that forest moon to help defeat the Empire in Return of the Jedi.
If you need a way to remember which is which though, just give Cassian Andor an “A” for loyalty. That might sound silly now, but it won’t be if he visits Endor’s forest moon on his Disney+ show.
