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When Star Wars: The Phantom Menace debuted in 1999, fans were clamoring for a new look at the Jedi and their metaphysical relationship with the Force. What they got instead was a scientific reason couched in midi-chlorians—a decision that unintentionally reduced the Force from a mystical, mysterious energy into a quantifiable biological trait. That wasn't something that appealed to a lot of the veteran adherents of the saga.
Fast forward to the Disney+ age, and Andor, a Cassian Andor-centric show about the beginnings of rebellion, is subtly making waves, both for its gritty tone and realistic politics, and for the way it subtly recaptures the original spiritual essence of the Force without on-the-nose exposition. In fact, as mentioned by Screen Rant's article, Andor restores the Force as a metaphysical energy and not a scientific event.
That distinction isn't just thematic—it changes how fans interact with the galaxy far, far away. By eliminating midi-chlorian statistics and instead celebrating personal belief, spirituality, and the intangible connections that bring together rebels and worlds, Andor provides something The Phantom Menace cannot: respect for the Force as an unknowable energy present in intuition, sacrifice, and rebellion.
The Force in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: A turn from mystery to science
In Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, George Lucas attempted to expand the mythology with the introduction of midi-chlorians—minuscule life forms within cells that determine the level of Force-sensitivity. While intended to add depth, this served to dispirit many fans. In explaining the Force, it removed the mysticism and spiritual aspects that had defined the original trilogy.
The Force was now not available to anyone who would train and believe, but became hereditary. Such a shift narrowed the audience's understanding of inclusivity and drastically altered the franchise's spiritual undertones.
Andor finds its way back to the spiritual nature of the Force
While The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi hardly speak about the Force, Andor rarely speaks of it at all. Yet its spiritual undertones are present. By characters like Nemik and the dignified tone in Ferrix scenes, Andor tells us that belief and mission are possible without lightsabers or Force pushes.
Nemik's manifesto, say, is written almost like scripture, emphasizing individual empowerment, belief in unseen things, and resistance. No midi-chlorians in evidence—just raw human faith. The Force is here again, not by naming, but by being.
Ground-level storytelling makes the Force even more intangible
One of the best aspects of Andor is its realistic narrative. By focusing on everyday people—not Jedi, not Sith—it recontextualizes the Force as a felt presence, rather than an exercised power. In Andor, humans are driven by emotion, belief, and principle, not a prescribed power structure. This storytelling choice is deliberate: it allows the Force to rebuild its mystique.
The viewer feels the Force in Luthen's altruism, Maarva's words, and the communal spirit of rebellion, without explanation.
Faith and rebellion: The Force as a moral guiding principle
The second significant difference between Andor and The Phantom Menace lies in the way it treats faith. The Jedi in The Phantom Menace are treated nearly like bureaucrats—ranked officials with councils and measures. Andor, however, draws on faith as a moral compass.
Without ever once calling it the Force, the series puts it into the ways people stand up against oppression, hold on to hope, and sacrifice for a greater purpose than themselves. These are classic Force themes—redeemed by human action, not space opera histrionics.
Andor Season 2 continues where its predecessor left off: reclaiming the Force as something more than science. Without ever so much as dipping into lore-fantasy exposition, it allows the Force to live once again in metaphor, feeling, and faith. The contrast from The Phantom Menace is stark—while Lucas tried to define the Force, Andor lets it breathe.
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And in so doing, the series redeems the legacy of the Force, illustrating how occasionally the strongest tales are the ones that don't try to explain everything.
Also read: Andor Season 2 is still keeping the spirits of an iconic Star Wars character alive
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