Summary
The upcoming second season ofAndoris bringing the TIE Avenger from the oldStar WarsX-Wingvideo games into Disney’s official canon. Like much of the expanded universe material made before 2014, the classicStar Warsvideo games were shuffled off into their own Legends timeline to make room for the Sequel Trilogy and other Disney-producedStar Warsworks, but this hasn’t stopped elements from appearing in canon shows, movies, and games since.
This rings true for 2016’sRogue One: A Star Wars Storyand its connected Disney Plus seriesAndor, as the former introduced black-armored Death Troopers that resembled the “Shadow Troopers” seen in Legends material like the 2008 video gameStar Wars: The Force Unleashed.Andorwould also include anEaster egg nod toThe Force Unleashedin its much-praised first season, as armor similar to Starkiller’s Sith Stalker gear could be spotted in Luthen Rael’s antique shop in several episodes.
Andoris getting an even more overt reference to classicStar Warsgames in its second season, as reported byGames Radar. Earlier this week, Disney released a teaser trailer for its upcoming wave of Disney Plus-exclusive shows, including the second season ofAndorwhich is set to premiere in April 2025. At one point, Cassian Andor is seenhijacking an Imperial Tie Fighter, and a closer look will reveal that it is in fact a TIE Avenger from the 1994 PC flight simulatorStar Wars: TIE Fighter, the first sequel toStar Wars: X-Wing.
Andor is Bringing Back the Classic TIE Avenger
The TIE Avenger (or TIE/ad starfighter as it is officially called) was introduced as an updated version of the TIE Advanced x1 fighterflown by Darth VaderinStar Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, and it would continue to appear inStar Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE FighterandStar Wars: X-Wing Alliance. It hasn’t been seen in officialStar Warsmedia since, even as other elements fromStar Warsvideo games have slowly made their way into the canon Expanded Universe.
SinceAndoris a prequel toRogue One(which in turn is a prequel toA New Hope), it seems that the TIE Avenger was already in development before Vader famously took the ship that inspired it into battle. Fans who grew up playing theclassicStar Wars: X-Winggameswill certainly appreciate seeing the TIE Avenger finally become official canon whenAndor’s second season airs on Disney Plus early next year.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
