What Only Hardcore Star Wars Fans Know About Utapau From Andor
The new Disney+ series "Andor" is chock full of Easter eggs that reference other moments in the "Star Wars" timeline, and that's never more apparent than in Episode 4.
During the episode, we learn more about Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), the mysterious operative for what will end up becoming the Rebel Alliance. When Luthen isn't trying to recruit lone wolf mercenary types like Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), he runs an antique shop on Coruscant. It serves as a front for his illicit activities, but Luthen fully immerses himself in the job. He changes his hair, adopts more friendly mannerisms, and he does his best to supply his store with valuable ancient artifacts.
When Senator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) visits his shop to talk Rebel business, her cover story is that she's there to find a gift for her husband's Day of Days, a Chandrilan custom. Luthen knows that her husband is interested in military history, so the first thing he offers is the oldest artifact in the shop: a "Utapaun monk cudgel." "You see the ceremonial variety in many places, but this is the real thing," he explains proudly.
Is this just a random throwaway line? Of course not. This is "Star Wars." Utapau is a planet that plays an important role in the history of "Star Wars."
Utapau is one of the major settings in Revenge of the Sith
As fans of the 2005 prequel film "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" well remember, Utapau is the planet where Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) defeats the robotic General Grievous (Matthew Wood) in a lightsaber duel. Grievous had traveled to the planet as part of a Separatist plot to recover a giant kyber crystal.
Utapau has nine moons and is covered with massive sinkholes, which are home to intricately built cities (via Star Wars). Three species live on the planet: the native Pau'ans and Utai, and the immigrant Amani and Sugi. The Pau'ans are physically the largest species and rule the planet. The Emperor's Grand Inquisitor, played by Rupert Friend on "Obi-Wan Kenobi," is a Pau'an (via Star Wars). Cudgels are used for smashing things, obviously, but it's unclear what exactly a Utapauan monk is or whom they might use their cudgels on.
Going even deeper, the name "Utapau" has long been a part of "Star Wars." It was George Lucas' original name for Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) home planet of Tatooine (via Smithsonian), as well as his original name for the planet Naboo in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (via IMDb).
Hardcore "Star Wars" fans love the franchise because of its deep and complex lore. For them, "Andor" is definitely delivering the goods.