I think most fans understand the challenge facing the Cassian Andor show. It’s the same challenge that faces all prequels, we already know what happens later. Cassian Andor is dead, K-S20 is dead and the story of Rogue One has already played out. Normally, prequels don’t work, though there are some exceptions to that rule.

When we look for prequels that didn’t work, we don’t have to look too far. I’d hold the Star Wars prequels up as the very best examples of how bad a prequel story can be. Yet Star Wars failings with the prequel trilogy were not really due to us knowing the end. There really wasn’t all that much we did know about the early Star Wars universe, and thus there was appetite to find out more. Instead, those movies suffered from the same problems as any movie can have, poor script, poor direction, and wooden acting.

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However, I would say Solo on the other hand, experienced all the problems one would associate with a prequel. Fans already knew Solo‘s story, and didn’t think every aspect of Han’s background explained in detail.  The Solo movie was if nothing else painfully obvious from start to finish, it lost any kind of tension. So the challenge facing the Cassian Andor show is familiar to all prequel stories. Star Diego Luna made was all too aware of that challenge when he spoke to IndieWire recently.

“I can’t really talk about it. The thing I can tell you, and it’s a nice challenge and it’s a great way to approach a show, but what happens when you already know the ending?” Luna said. “Then it becomes about the story. Everything is in how you tell the story and how many different layers you can find. This can’t be a show now where at the end we surprise you with like, ‘Oh no it wasn’t him!’ We’ve already seen the ending.”

Luna continued,

“If you think about it, Rogue One started with the same task. The last scene of Rogue One is a scene we all know. It makes another part of your brain work [as a storyteller]. You can’t use the same formulas for storytelling you’ve known all your life with this because it’s very different. The big thing is now we start with a character that people already know what he’s capable of.”

Luna is correct in that Rogue One faced a similar task, though not quite as daunting for me. Rogue One told a specific story that had a beginning, a middle and a sort of an end. I don’t think it mattered that the story of Rogue One was briefly covered in the opening crawl of A New Hope. However the Cassian Andor show is squarely going to be focussed on Cassian’s time as a spy working for the Rebels. The trick is going to be crafting a story, and an arc for Cassian that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s no easy task, but, it can be done.

Can Prequels Work?

If we take a look at prequels that absolutely did work, then I’ll hold up Better Call Saul as my exhibit A. The TV show Better Call Saul is a prequel in every sense to the phenomenal Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul is a prequel, but it went on to surprise everyone. Not only was BCS a very different show to Breaking Bad, but it was really just as good a story.

Better Call Saul doesn’t deal with Walter White or Jesse almost at all, instead dealing with the arcs of characters who were secondary in Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul is the story arcs of those characters crafted into it’s own narrative. It just to happens that some of these arcs and events shape the Breaking Bad world fans are familiar with. The showrunners have the perfect balance in that show, and this is where Cassian Andor’s show should be aiming. No one expects a Star Wars show to be as good as Better Call Saul, but aim for the top and you might just land close.

What do you think of Luna’s comments? Is the challenge facing the Cassian Andor show one that can be overcome? Leave your thoughts in the usual spot below.

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SOURCE: IndieWire

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