Andor Easter Egg Makes Knights Of The Old Republic Canon
Tony Gilroy's Andor is leaving us shaken and stirred, as the Star Wars spin-off series delivers the sci-fi spy thriller we never knew we needed. We're only four episodes into the 12-episode first season, and despite early reviews claiming it doesn't have the typical crop of Easter eggs, Andor is proving them wrong.
More than your standard R2-D2 cameo or theories that Luke Skywalker could pop up at any moment, Andor has proved to be the thinking person's Star Wars series with some much more subtle Easter eggs. While the many years of Star Wars video games sit in a weird place with the franchise's lore, Andor just made Knight of the Old Republic canon.
How Does An Andor Easter Egg Make Knights Of The Old Republic Canon?
During September 28's 'Aldahni', we got to learn more about Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael and his plans to bring down the Galactic Empire. We know Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and the rag-tag Rogue One crew are successful in stealing the plans to the Death Star, but with Andor being set five years before that fateful mission to Scarif, the series focuses on the Rebel Alliance's infancy.
Rael is clearly steeped in old Star Wars lore, and in one scene, gives Cassian a "Kuati signet" as down payment for his services. The necklace is made of blue kyber and apparently "celebrates the uprising against the Rakatan invaders." For anyone who's played BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic, the mention of the Rakata will undoubtedly have piqued your interest.
Although Knights of the Old Republic's MVPs are Darth Revan and Darth Malak, there's plenty of backstory about the Rakata - some 3,000 years before the events of the game. These amphibian-like creatures first created hyperspace technology and ruled the galaxy with their "Infinite Empire." By the time Knight of the Old Republic introduces the Rakata, they're a shadow of their former selves and have largely been wiped out by a virus manufactured by the slaves they captured.
Is Knights Of The Old Republic Star Wars Canon?
Click to enlargeThis isn't the first time the Rakata have been referenced in mainline canon, and although Disney's purchase of LucasFilm in 2012 largely rendered Legends canon and Knights of the Old Republic obsolete, it's slowly crept back in for the likes of Rebels, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett. Still, Disney isn't willing to make the leap. A description for the upcoming (and delayed) KOTOR remake on StarWars.com reads: "KOTOR, which is part of Legends storytelling, dials the Star Wars clock back to over 4,000 years before the Skywalker saga."
As for the Rakata, there were some Rakatan Wraith Boxes in the back of Dryden Vos' collection in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Importantly though, Andor is the first time the species has actually been mentioned by name in live-action. Similarly, Andor Episode 4 also canonised Star Wars: The Force Unleashed with Rael's own collection of antiquities including the Sith Stalker Armour that belonged to Galen Marek, aka Starkiller. All we need now is a Cal Kestis cameo and Andor can go three for three in canonising Star Wars games.
