When does Andor take place in Star Wars? Timeline explained
Disney+Andor, a prequel series to Rogue One, has finally arrived on Disney Plus – but when does it take place in the Star Wars timeline? We’re here to break it down for you.
Star Wars has been confusing viewers with its timeline from the very beginning. While such back-and-forth storytelling is common now, particularly with the MCU, George Lucas was the first to put people right in the middle from the get-go.
In 1977, A New Nope was simply titled Star Wars. However, following its success and the release of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V), the studio allowed him to release the first film under a new title, as well as add Episode IV.
Decades later, we’re watching Andor, a prequel to a spinoff that took place before the movie that started it all. It’s been a wild ride through the galaxy far, far away, so from the earliest point in the timeline to the most recent, let’s see where Andor takes place.
Andor Star Wars timeline explained
Before we explain this, there are a couple of abbreviations you need to know: BBY and ABY.
The former indicates the time period before the Battle of Yavin, the mission to blow up the Death Star seen in A New Hope, while the latter marks the years after the Battle of Yavin.
When does Andor take place?
Andor takes place in 5 BBY, five years prior to the events of Rogue One and A New Hope.
The first season will take place across a single year in the Star Wars timeline, while Season 2 will cover four years, so 4-1 BBY.
Where does Andor fit in the Star Wars timeline?
We’ve made a comprehensive list of every canon Star Wars movie and TV show and their respective time periods below, from the earliest to the latest, including Andor.
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – 32 BBY
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – 22 BBY
- The Clone Wars – 22 BBY-19 BBY
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith – 19 BBY
- The Bad Batch – 19 BBY
- Solo: A Star Wars Story – 13 BBY-10 BBY
- Obi-Wan Kenobi – 10 BBY
- Andor – 5 BBY
- Star Wars Rebels – 5 BBY-1 BBY
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – 0 BBY
- Star Wars: A New Hope – 0 BBY
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – 3 ABY
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – 4 ABY
- The Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2 – 9 ABY
- The Book of Boba Fett – 9 ABY
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens – 34 ABY
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi – 34 ABY
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – 35 ABY
The main outlier is Star Wars: Visions, the anime anthology series that dropped on Disney+ last year.
Executive producer James Waugh told Digital Spy: “I think these shorts are all authentic Star Wars storytelling. But some are less on the timeline than others. Some could very much fit within our timeline.”
All episodes of Andor are available to stream on Disney+ now. You can find out more about Season 2 here, and you can sign up to Disney+ here.
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