Yavin 4? Andor Just Changed the Origin Of One Pivotal Star Wars Location
Do you know the way to Yavin?
In the original 1977 Star Wars movie, the entire climax of the film comes down to protecting a small moon in orbit of a gas giant that, up until the last act of the movie, nobody had ever heard of. But the moon Yavin 4 has become a much bigger deal in Star Wars canon since then. It's the first site of a true Rebel Base, and as such, its importance is burned into the imaginations of Star Wars fans everywhere. And now, nearly five decades after we got our first look at Yavin, Star Wars canon has reintroduced the earliest appearance of this pivotal moon.
At the end of the second episode of Andor Season 2, we learn that the Rebel sect Cassian has been struggling with is living on the jungle moon of Yavin 4. Here’s who these Rebels are, why this changes the Yavin backstory, and how it sets up the rest of the season — and literally defines the entirety of Star Wars canon.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Episodes 1-3 of Andor Season 2.
Who are the Rebels Cassian Fights?
Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is having a hard time getting rid of this stolen TIE Fighter.
At the end of the first episode of Andor Season 2, Cassian brings his stolen TIE Avenger to a predetermined location. The only problem is, the person he’s supposed to hand it off to isn’t there, and instead, he’s attacked by a frustrated and somewhat feral group of disaffected Rebels. Cassian eventually learns that this group is affiliated with Maya Pei, a leader of a specific sect of Rebels, who we learn here has been slain.
Now, if you feel like you forgot who Maya was in Season 1, don’t be too hard on yourself. Just like in these episodes, the character never appeared and was only one of several other Rebel leaders, like Anto Kreegyr, who were discussed by Luthen and Saw, despite not having any true screentime. (Kreegyr got a hologram image in Season 1. Maya didn’t even get that.) In Season 1, Saw mentions various different types of Rebels — he’s a Partisan, Kreegyr’s group was the Neo-Separatist Coalition, while Maya’s Rebels are Neo-Republicans.
Why is Yavin 4 So Important?
X-wings leaving Yavin 4 in 'A New Hope.'
Filmed on location in ancient Mayan ruins in Tikal, Guatemala, the striking imagery of Yavin 4 is an iconic part of Star Wars. This is the base from which the Rebel Alliance launches its desperate attack to destroy the Death Star in A New Hope. It is also the location where, after that battle, Princess Leia and the surviving Rebels honored Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and Han Solo.
We know that Andor Season 2 will eventually show us a lot more of Yavin, especially since the timeline of the show will jump forward a year after every three episodes. And, by the end of the series, we’ll be very close to the events of Rogue One and A New Hope, so a lot more Yavin is certainly coming.
In Legends canon, including 1990s Tales of Jedi comics and the first animated version of Clone Wars, we get more backstory about the famous moon. In fact, in the old Expanded Universe books, Luke Skywalker even starts his first Jedi Temple on Yavin 4.
But at this point, in the current “real” canon, this appearance of Yavin 4 in Andor represents the earliest point we see this moon in the Star Wars timeline. And that’s super relevant because Andor is reminding us what year it is every three episodes, thanks to the handy text on screen that says “Year 4 BBY.”
As many Star Wars fans know, “BBY” stands for “Before the Battle of Yavin.” The entire clock of the Star Wars universe is set around what happens before and after the iconic battle above this small, tucked-away moon. By introducing Yavin 4, formally and somewhat innocuously, Andor just demonstrated how time and destiny never quite operate as you might expect.
