Star Wars: Andor Callback Just Set Up a Massive Jedi Cameo

This Star Wars: Andor article contains spoilers.

Do you remember when the Andor previews came out and fans were told not to expect any easter eggs? Well, that turned out to be a ruse less convincing than Supreme Chancellor Palpatine not being Darth Sidious. While it’s true that showrunner Tony Gilroy’s spy thriller doesn’t feature the traditional in-your-face fan service, it’s proved to be a much deeper dive into the franchise’s lore than anyone expected. Just watch the latest episode.

While much of “The Axe Forgets” was taken up by Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and a group of Rebels planning an Imperial payroll heist on Aldhani, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance from Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael had us asking even more questions about the shadowy mastermind of the Rebellion.

As a weather-worn Rebel by night and long-haired peddler of lost relics by day, Rael is a character who is clearly keeping lots of secrets. We know he hates the Empire and that he’s living dual lives in order to keep his operation under wraps, but is there more to Rael’s story than meets the eye?

Case in point: the haul of items at his Coruscant galleria hint at some potential ties to the Jedi and the Sith. Among the many artifacts for sale in this shop are a pair of holocrons, Star Wars data cubes that usually contain ancient knowledge about the light and dark sides of the Force. Even though it’s the first time they’ve appeared in live-action, holocrons have previously been referenced outside of the movies, including as MacGuffins in the Rebels animated series, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and plenty of books. 

But what do these artifacts mean for Andor? Some viewers have claimed that the gigantic size of the holocrons on the show compared to their previous appearances means they’re replicas. After all, it would be dangerous to store real Jedi and Sith artifacts out in the open like that in the age of the Empire, let alone next to each other. But others think these Andor easter eggs are actually setting up season one’s endgame and a potential cameo on par with Luke Skywalker stopping by in The Mandalorian. It wouldn’t be all that surprising considering Star Wars shows have become synonymous with big cameos like Luke, Ahsoka Tano (also in The Mandalorian), Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett, and Qui-Gon Jinn in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is someone going to come for those holocrons?

The bigger questions are: who is the show preparing to unveil and is it a Jedi…or a Sith?

Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) spoke about bringing someone else into the Rebel Alliance in episode 4, and if this is not signaling the return of Jimmy Smits as Senator Bail Organa, it’s likely someone else who can cause a rumble in the Force. If it is a Jedi, it would make total chronological sense despite Andor taking place over a decade after Order 66 and the rise of the Empire.

Andor is set in that sweet spot between the Prequel and Original Trilogies, which means several fan-favorites could appear. Fallen Order’s Cal Kestis has direct ties to holocrons, which he spends most of his video game adventure searching for, and with calls for Cameron Monaghan to make the jump to live action, Andor seems like a good fit. But Cal’s next game, Jedi: Survivor, takes place around four years before Andor, and we don’t know yet if he’ll actually survive his next encounter with the Empire. There are at least two other Jedi we know are still around during this era: Obi-Wan Kenobi, who Ewan McGregor just recently reprised earlier this year, and Ahsoka Tano. The latter cameo would make particular sense since we know Ahsoka does end up working for the Rebellion around this time as one of the operatives known as “Fulcrum.” Whatever the case, if that Jedi holocron is going to be opened, it has to be done by someone with the powers of the Force.

But there’s also the possibility the Force user could be someone more sinister. Heading to the dark side of the Force, the holocron hunter might not be Team Luthen at all. Interestingly enough, the armor of Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, is also part of Rael’s collection, and although this beloved The Force Unleashed character is no longer canon, it’s possible Darth Vader’s troubled apprentice could have his story reworked somehow for Disney continuity. Like with Monaghan, fans have long petitioned for Sam Witwer to show up in live action.

It’s also long been rumored that Lucasfilm is interested in bringing comic book character Doctor Aphra to one of the Disney+ shows. An archaeologist turned criminal who’s a cross between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, Chelli Lona Aphra is known for hunting down unobtainable artifacts for her own gain — which might also explain the bizarre Indiana Jones references that keep popping up in Andor…

Yet, there’s also the possibility that the big Jedi twist will come from inside the house. Alongside the holocrons, the fact Luthen gifted Cassian a blue kyber crystal, which can be used to power a lightsaber, at least suggests he has some ties to the Force. Reddit user u/Soden takes things one step further by suggesting Luthen Rael himself may be a Jedi in hiding after Order 66. They theorize that the kyber crystal is from his lightsaber or belonged to a fallen ally. Considering it also looks like Luthen owns the Kel Dor breathing mask of Jedi Master Plo Koon, it’s not impossible that the pair knew each other. Whether Rael’s kyber crystal is a key to unlock the holocrons or a way for Cassian to prove he’s fighting the Empire when he meets some surprise Jedi, there are questions about why Rael would give away this almost priceless heirloom. 

Going against all these theories of surprise cameos from hiding Jedi or sinister Sith, Luna himself told Screen Rant that Andor wouldn’t be your usual Jedi-centric series. It’s possible the holocrons are just there to add to Rael’s backstory or were simply leftover from the prop department of Dryden Vos’ own collection in Solo: A Star Wars Story. We’ve been burned before when those Qi’ra/Crimson Dawn theories turned out to be a bust in The Book of Boba Fett, so the Andor holocrons could just turn out to be nothing more than easter eggs. After all, we never did find out what was in the Pulp Fiction suitcase.

Star Wars: Andor is streaming now on Disney+.