When Does "Star Wars: Andor" Season One (2022) Take Place?
"Star Wars: Andor" season one is a science fiction television series showran by Tony Gilroy that premiered September 21st, 2022. So when is "Andor" season 1 set?
It takes place on the fictional Star Wars timeline in the year:
5 BBY
We know this because ALL the Star Wars franchise stories are simply set “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”. As stated on Wikipedia, the final scenes of "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (1977) depict a space dogfight and "This battle has become known as the Battle of Yavin, and its date is used as a place-marker for events in the expanded Star Wars universe. Events before the Battle of Yavin are marked by BBY ("Before the Battle of Yavin"), and events that occur after are marked by ABY ("After the Battle of Yavin")."
This show depicts Cassian Jeron Andor's life in the 1 year before events audiences see in season one episode twelve "Rix Road", which takes place in 5 BBY. Season two episode one is literally titled "One Year Later". So the season begins in 5 BBY.
-1 - 4 = -5.
Furthermore, season one episode one "Kassa" includes a time and place setting title card superimposed over the footage very early on that reads: "MORLANA ONE PREOX - MORLANA CORPORATE ZONE BBY 5".
This is the system most fans use as it was introduced first. It originates in a 1996 role-playing game. Wookieepedia includes an explanation entry.
There are also two more fictional calendars created for the Star Wars universe in the 2010s. By the CRC or Coruscant reckoning calendar, year 5 BBY is 7972. It's explained on Wookieepedia. By the Lothal Calendar, year 5 BBY is 3272 LY (for Lothal year). It's explained on Wookieepedia.
If you want to read a scientific attempt at making sense of an actual year on the Gregorian calendar when the Star Wars franchise takes place, there's an excellent article at Wired. Taking the "long time ago" part as gospel but recognizing the time it takes for any "galaxy far, far away" to form with stars and solar systems and planets with intelligent lifeforms. The author, Patrick Johnson, can only place it somewhere between 4.7 billion years ago to the more recent past something like 1,000 years ago. So sometime between 470000000000 BC and 1000 AD.
Additionally, season one episode one "Kassa" through season one episode three "Reckoning" include numerous flashbacks to Cassian's childhood. In the film "Star Wars: Rogue One" (2016), Cassian says to Jyn Erso, "I've been in this fight since I was 6-years-old! You're not the only one who lost everything. Some of us just decided to do something about it." While he is far from certainly referring to the events seen in these flashbacks, he is actively fighting the adults in them so he almost certainly isn't any younger than 6-years-old. He does not appear to be possibly older than 50-years-old in the main action so it is very unlikely more than 44 years previous to the main action. So it must be after 49 BBY.
50 - 6 = 44
and
-5 - 44 = -49.
More specifically, in the second season one episode three flashback, the droid B2EMO reports to Clem Andor and Maarva Carassi Andor, "Republic frigate approaching." and audiences see the Galactic Republic cease to exist as a political entity in the moment of the creation of the Galactic Empire in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" (2005), which takes place in 19 BBY. Therefore it must be during or before 19 BBY. These flashbacks are all otherwise unplaceable.
It is a chronologically midway TV series in the Star Wars universe and can be watched at its timeline point.
v
