In an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue, Cassian Andor will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a Rebel hero.

Disney+’s new Star Wars TV series is a prequel to 2016’s Rogue One, itself being a direct prequel to A New Hope (1977). Diego Luna returns as Andor, who we find here in the rain-drenched Preox-Morlana Corporate Zone. He’s trying to track down his sister, a Kenari, but he’s troubled by some guards and this leads to violence and sets in motion a revolution.

While on the face of it, Disney releasing the first three episodes all at once feels like a treat, but when you watch them, this is actually a necessity. These first three instalments form one single introduction to the story, and fragmenting them (and making viewers wait a week in between) would run the risk of losing those not yet convinced.

Tony Gilroy created the show and wrote these three episodes, having also been heavily involved in the reshoots on Rogue One. His is a show that feels the least Star Wars-y to date, with no sign of a lightsaber, Jedi or Stormtrooper. In all honesty, this is no bad thing, because the alternative is the continuity-heavy Obi-Wan Kenobi that was beholden to so much legacy. By contrast, Andor is a far gloomier show, with (at this stage at least) the stakes not so high and the opportunity to go where it wants.

What this show demonstrates is the snowball effect of two murders, which leads to a raid on a community and the consequences it invokes. At the same time, there’s a series of flashbacks to the Kenari homeworld where a bunch of young children investigate a crashed vessel (it’s actually recognisably Black Park, where the Alzarians harvested their fruit in Doctor Who’s Full Circle, but I digress.)

As we already know from Rogue One, Luna is great as Andor, and he has some heavyweight support here from the likes of Fiona Shaw and Stellan Sarsgard, and it feels like we’re now at a point where things are going to take off.

Verdict: Not the Star Wars we’re used to, visually or in terms of pacing, and certainly not one for the kids. Promising, but not yet fully formed. 7/10

Nick Joy