Andor: what is Luthen Rael’s plan? Luthen Rael is one of the more mysterious Star Wars characters. Played by Stellan Skarsgård (who also stars as the formidable Baron Harkonnen in another mega science fiction movie series) the character has been in the new sci-fi series since the beginning.
He helped Cassian Andor to escape from Ferrix, and recruited him to help with the heist on the new planet in Andor, Aldhani. Luthen also has an antique shop on Coruscant, which he uses as front for his links with rebellion, and as a method of having regular conversations with Mon Mothma.
However, from the start it has never been completely clear what Luthen’s aims are. So what does he want, and what is Luthen Rael’s plan?
What is Luthen Rael’s plan?
It isn’t 100% clear what Luthen Rael is planning just yet, but from his actions and conversations we can make plenty of educated guesses. As far as we can see his plan can be split into two parts: short term goals and long term goals.
In the short term, Luthen’s plan has been to pull off the heist in Aldhani, which saw Andor and the group of rebels stealing an quarter’s worth of credits in salary for an entire Imperial sector. The immediate goal here seems to be stealing the money in order to help fund to the Rebellion and anti-Empire activity.
Luthen’s longer term plan in the TV series is to aggravate the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine so that they crack down on the normal citizens across the galaxy.
This might seem counter-productive at first, because as Mon Mothma says, it will cause more suffering for the people that they’re trying to help. The reason why Luthen wants this is because it will generate more anger among the normal citizens of the galaxy towards the Empire. This creates better conditions for a rebellion.
Of course, this might not be the most moral way to get what he wants. However, Luthen Rael doesn’t seem to care too much about morals, and instead he’s all about the greater good. That is, until he witnesses Maarva‘s funeral and her stirring speech which rallies the people of Ferrix and he realises there may be another way to inspire the galaxy.
So, in summary, Luthen’s plan was to trick the Empire into acting too harshly, which will create more anti-Empire sentiment, and will help the Rebellion in the long term. As we await Andor season 2, though, it looks like Luthen will take more of a lead by example approach.
Why does Luthen Rael want to kill Cassian Andor?
Luthen Rale travels to Ferrix with the intention to kill Cassian Andor, knowing that he’ll be there attending Maarva’s funeral. Luthen Rael wants to kill Cassian because after the heist on Aldhani, Cassian in a loose end and could lead the ISB and Dedra Meero back to him.
In the end Cassian manages to find Luthen Rael before Luthen find’s him, and convinces him to let him join the Rebellion.
For more Andor deep dives, check out our guide to Kino Loy and Syril Karn in Andor. Or, find out more about the best Star Wars cameos and the best Star Wars droids.