‘Andor’ Season 2 Becomes the Highest Rated Star Wars TV Show or Movie

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Although Andor doesn’t feature any Jedi Knights, the power of the Force remains palpable in the latest season of the Star Wars prequel series.

The highly praised second season of Tony Gilroy’s drama series, titled “Andor,” follows Rebel Alliance fighter Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna). This TV show, which airs its premiere tonight, has received the highest critical acclaim among all live-action Star Wars television shows and films on Rotten Tomatoes, currently boasting a 98% positive rating.

The latest season surpassed the highly acclaimed first season of Andor, scoring an impressive 96%.

Following this, we have the universally loved Star Wars film, “The Empire Strikes Back,” which boasts a remarkable 95% positive rating. It’s interesting to note that initially, some critics found fault with “Empire.” Critics from 1980 expressed concerns that the sequel was too dark, confusing, and even bland according to The New York Times.

2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” ranks as the least favorably-received live-action Star Wars movie, earning just 51% approval, which is lower than both 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (69%) and 2002’s “Attack of the Clones” (61%), a fact that might come as a shock.

Regarding the series “Andor”, Disney+ provided all the episodes of the new season to critics beforehand, which means the show’s rating encompasses the entire 12-episode arc. In contrast, for other live-action Star Wars titles on Disney+, they usually only share a few episodes with critics prior to the series debut. Last year, for instance, three episodes of “Skeleton Crew” (with a 92% positive rating) and four episodes of “The Acolyte” (with a 78% positive rating) were sent in advance.

Studio practices often involve distributing partial seasons to critics as a standard approach, making it less suspect. However, if a series experiences a creative downturn in the middle of its season, its Rotten Tomatoes score usually remains high unless reviewers revisit and reassess the show, which is uncommon. Therefore, sending an entire season is often viewed as a demonstration of confidence – or an indication that the first part of the season may have been less engaging but the second half has more strength (as seems to be the case with Andor season two, according to critics). In the review by The Hollywood Reporter, Andor season two was described as “a powerful testament to storytelling within the Star Wars universe and our own,” although it was acknowledged that it starts off slowly.

The scores on Rotten Tomatoes can fluctuate, especially at an early stage like this (the review embargo was lifted yesterday). As the series progresses, critics who haven’t seen the episodes ahead of time will share their opinions as well. So it will be intriguing to see if the current score remains consistent.

When considering the upcoming season two of Andor, one might ponder if the 2016 film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (84 percent), will receive a fresh evaluation. Given that Andor season two sets up Luna’s character, which is introduced in Rogue One, it could be seen as the concluding chapter of the Andor series. After watching all of Andor season two and then re-watching Rogue One, it seems to me that the series does enhance the film, even though some narrative details may not perfectly align – much like the story details in Rogue One and A New Hope don’t always match up.

Despite the high praise given to Andor, it’s worth noting that there are Star Wars animated titles that have received similar acclaim, although they don’t always get as much attention from mainstream media outlets. For instance, shows like Star Wars Rebels from 2014 and Star Wars Visions from 2021 both boast a 98% positive rating.

Andor begins its premiere on Tuesday at 6 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, airing the initial trio of episodes. Following this, an additional set of three episodes will be made available every week.

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2025-04-22 20:25