One of the most important worlds in the Star Wars canon is Yavin 4, where the Rebel Base was located in A New Hope. In fact, it’s so important that Lucasfilm delineates the entire Star Wars timeline as “Before the Battle of Yavin” and “After the Battle Yavin.” Usually, abbreviated as “BBY” and “ABY.” And the second episode of Andor might just gave us the origin story of Yavin 4 as the Rebellion’s most important base of operations. After all, from here they launched the offensive against the Death Star that delt a deadly blow to the Empire. This jungle covered planet is of huge historic significance to the overall Star Wars saga.
In episode one of Andor season two, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) steals a new prototype TIE fighter. This is approximately four years before the events of Rogue One. He then goes to a discreet backwater planet to turn it over to another rebel agent. When he arrives on this jungle moon, a band of rebels who don’t know who he is instantly ambush him and take him prisoner. This storyline runs through much of episode one, and at the end of episode two, Cassian takes his ship back and escapes. As his TIE fighter takes off into space, we see he’s flying away from the ancient temples, with the red gas giant of Yavin looming above. The suggestion here is that Cassian Andor is the rebel who discovered Yavin, suggesting it for use by the Rebellion.
One of the original bases for the Rebellion was the planet of Dantooine. This is where Leia Organa told Tarkin they were operating from to save Alderaan. However, by the final season of Rebels, we know that the Rebel Alliance had a base operating from Yavin 4. We assume Cassian tells someone in the Alliance that Yavin 4 would make a perfect, remote headquarters for their operation. One that is deep enough in the Outer Rim Territories that the Empire isn’t likely to find them. The ancient Massassi temples on that world, abandoned for thousands of years, could provide the perfect cover for the Rebellion’s fleet of X-wings and other ships.
Ultimately, how the Rebel Alliance found out about Yavin 4 wasn’t a question most fans really needed answered. Yet Andor season two finds a way to give us this little morsel of backstory anyway. We know the final episodes of Andor tie into Rogue One (and A New Hope) timeline-wise. So we imagine we’ll be spending more time on the jungle planet in future episodes. Old Star Wars Legends novels used the temples of Yavin 4 as the home of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy. This is something that the sequels ultimately didn’t go with. But hey, Rey is starting a New Jedi Order in her own movie soon. Maybe Yavin 4 becomes the home planet for her own training Academy? And if she does use it, we now know she owes its discovery to the late Cassian Andor.
Content shared from nerdist.com.