Will 'Andor' Have a Darth Vader Cameo?
With the release of Andor now achingly close, fans are set to finally discover which legendary characters will make a cameo. What do you mean, "How do we know there'll be any cameos?" We all know how this works!
Now, with the show focusing on how a motley crew of rebels was galvanized into a galaxy-defending army that took on the Empire and destroyed the Death Star, it's no surprise there are rumors about which members of the Rebel Alliance might make an appearance. But could we be about to get a glimpse of another iconic character – Darth Vader?
On the face of it, no. Andor is set five years prior to the events of Rogue One and the chances of Vader coming into combat with street-level rebels are slim. But this is Star Wars we're talking about, so let's not rule anything out too hastily.
You see, the Andor trailer (which, let's face it, has plenty going on) shows a character holding a slugthrower. Not a huge surprise, you might think. After all, the Rebellion we see in the show is very much in its infancy and may well have been armed with some pretty rudimentary weapons.
But could the appearance of a slugthrower in the Andor trailer be a clue to the fact that the rebels will at some point be faced with a lightsaber-wielding defender of the empire? And if so, could that be Vader?
"What's the link between slugthrowers and lightsabers anyway?" You may well be asking.
Well, when Obi-Wan tried defending himself against slugthrower ammo with his lightsaber in the 2016 canon comic, Obi-Wan and Anakin, let's just say it didn't work out too well for him. Rather than being deflected, the bullets were turned into molten metal and burned his face.
It's worth noting that, at this point in the saga, the Imperial Inquisitors are gone – leaving only one real candidate to be the (potential) saber-wielder. Any temporary victory over Vader would have been enough to catapult the Rebellion to another level and show that there was hope. And that A New Hope came just after Rogue One suggests that something significant had previously happened to garner support and provide that initial 'hope' that the Empire could be defeated.
The truth, of course, is that as much as it's great to speculate, we simply don't know.
One thing we do know is that Vader will definitely be appearing in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series season 2 if said season actually happens. But does that mean he definitely won't appear in Andor?
Thankfully, we don't need to wait much longer to find out: Andor is set to premiere on September 21.