And it was always going to be this way—at least, to some extent. Andor, a TV prequel to Rogue One (itself a theatrical prequel to A New Hope), is the most mature title Star Wars has ever released. The Tony Gilroy series was an intelligent, serious, and gripping exploration of fascism, the nature of resistance, and sadly evergreen topics like genocide. Yet for as rewarding as “Star Wars for grown-ups” was, the franchise couldn’t be for grown-ups when it returned to the big screen for the first time since 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Adult fans sometimes forget, but Star Wars is for kids as much (if not more) as it is for them—not just philosophically, but economically. The Mandalorian and Grogu, an extension of a much more adventure-focused series that has plenty of connections to Star Wars cartoon series and the highly marketable character informally known as “Baby Yoda,” is the stuff four-quadrant summer tentpoles are made of.
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