Andor Season 2 premieres on Disney+ tonight, whisking us once more to an epic story set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. However, before action on Andor Season 2 even starts, we’re told that this week’s new episodes take place a whole year after the Season 1 finale. The date is “BBY 4,” as if that’s supposed to mean anything to those of us on earth. When in Star Wars is Andor Season 2 even set? What does “BBY 4” even mean?
Andor is set during the height of the Galactic Empire, the evil fascist regime set up by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy details the miraculous ways in which Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), political power player Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and bold ace pilot and smugger Han Solo (Harrison Ford) save the galaxy by bringing that empire down.
Of course, it takes more than three people to topple an evil empire. The only reason why Han, Luke, and Leia meet in the first place is because the princess spirits the secret plans to the Death Start to Tatooine. Farm boy Luke discovers her plea for help, setting off a chain reaction just as explosive as his shot on the Death Star itself. How Princess Leia got those plans in the first place is tackled in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) leads a daring mission that gets the job done, only to forfeit his own life in the process.
Andor gives us Cassian Andor’s full story, from childhood on a Lord of the Flies-esque planet of savage children to his time in the Imperial prison system. The first season ends with him on the run, but committing to the greater cause. What will Season 2 reveal about this enigmatic hero? More over, when is Andor Season 2 supposed to be set? What does “BBY” mean?
Here’s everything you need to know about how and why Andor Season 2 Episodes 1-3 are set “BBY 4″…
When Does Andor Season 2 Take Place? What Does “BBY 4” Mean in Star Wars?
Andor Season 2 takes place in the four years leading up to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The first three episodes of Andor Season 2, streaming now on Disney+, specifically take place four years before the original Star Wars film.
Star Wars fans will remember the original film ends with Luke Skywalker successfully blowing up the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. Placing Andor Season 2 during “BBY 4” means it takes place four years before the Battle of Yavin. BBY = Before the Battle of Yavin. ABY = After the Battle of Yavin.
The Battle of Yavin is considered the major event in universe around which all of Star Wars storytelling revolves around. (Yes, this means that Luke Skywalker’s miraculous Death Star shot is given the same cultural weight as the birth of Christ in our world. Luke is Space Jesus.)
In the weeks ahead, new episodes of Andor will open with title cards letting us know when each weekly batch of three episodes is set in the Star Wars galaxy. BBY 3 would be three years before A New Hope, BBY 2 would be two years prior, and BBY 1 means in the run up to the Death Star’s original destruction.
Andor Season 2 takes place four years before the original Star Wars movie.
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