Star Wars – How Andor links to The Force Unleashed in episode 4

The Star Wars series Andor (unsurprisingly) tells the backstory of rebel fighter Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Image Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm

Do you remember Star Wars: The Force Unleashed? Set between Episodes 3 and 4, the video game cast us in the role of Darth Vader’s apprentice, ominously named Starkiller . Parts 1 and 2 of the short-lived series are of course no longer canon, but they still hold a firm place in the hearts of numerous Star Wars fans.

So it’s no wonder that the latest episode of the TV series Andor is causing a bit of a stir in the community. Because there is an allusion to The Force Unleashed that can hardly be overlooked.

How Andor reminds of Starkiller

Be warned of minor spoilers from this point on. If you haven’t seen Andor Episode 4 yet, you might want to come back to this article later.

In the latest Andor episode, we accompany Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) to the well-known city planet of Coruscant. While there, it turns out he has a luxury antique shop that serves as a front to consult with Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) about the Rebel Alliance’s financial woes.

Unsurprisingly, Luthen’s shop is full of Easter eggs and references to all sorts of objects from the Star Wars universe, including Sith and Jedi holocrons, Mandalorian armor, a Gungan energy shield, and apparently even Plo Koon’s breathing mask see for yourself!

Of course, the most striking thing is armor that is clearly reminiscent of Galen Marek’s or Starkiller’s so-called Sith Stalker armor, which game fans know from the evil end of The Force Unleashed.

Remember, instead of choosing the light side and inspiring the birth of the Rebel Alliance through his own sacrifice, Starkiller kills Darth Vader only to be put in his place by Palpatine. Darth Sidious then stands his new apprentice in an armor that keeps Starkiller alive and whose design is of course obviously inspired by Darth Vader’s.

Incidentally, even Sam Witwer himself reacted to this discovery: The actor lent his voice and appearance to Galen Marek aka Starkiller for The Force Unleashed 1 and 2, but was also involved in completely different Star Wars projects. For example as Darth Maul in The Clone Wars and Rebels or Palpatine in several different video games.

Not the first video game link, of course

Kenobi also alluded to The Force Unleashed

The Mandalorian and Kotor

What Easter eggs and nods to the rest of the Star Wars universe have you spotted in Andor so far? How do you like the new TV series on Disney Plus so far? Let us know in the comments!