Book Review - The Art of Star Wars: Andor
- 4 minutes ago
- 6 min read
June 24th 2026
In the new era of Star Wars, one of the strongest receptions from fans was for Andor, the tumultuous life of Cassian in the lead up to Rogue One. It’s more nuanced and sometimes adult story landed well, but it was also no less visually impressive with its locations and sets, making The Art of Star Wars: Andor a book that a lot of people are excited for.
The book will be released on June 30th 2026 by Abrams Books and is once again authored by Phil Szostak. It was a longer wait than expected, but that was to cover both seasons of the show in one volume. A copy has arrived here a little early, so I’ve been able to sit with the book and can now share my thoughts!
Build Quality
If you have bought a Star Wars artbook from Abrams before, you know you’re going to get and that’s a good thing. The hardcover contains 288 pages of artwork and insights on high-quality gloss paper, coming in at 30cm x 27.5cm, making it a large book. It’s a sturdy hardcover too, and is surprisingly heavy. It is good then that the binding is also up to the same standard, holding the pages securely with a little flexibility. The print quality is also fantastic, with vibrant colours and great clarity, even with the darker images.
The cover from artist Chester Carr seen above is on the dustjacket, with another piece of art from Vincent Jenkins hidden underneath on the book itself. It’s always nice to get more artwork when the dustjacket is taken off, so I’m happy to see the extra effort here.
Content
The Art of Star Wars: Andor has as many details and visuals to enjoy as the show itself. This isn’t just a collection of artwork, this is a detailed behind the scenes history of the making of the show, as well as a look at the episodes and characters. That’s not to say it’s lacking in art either, because there is a huge amount to pore over, making this a book you can spend a lot of time with, as I did myself.
To speak on the art first, there’s no surprise that it’s incredible throughout. The bar is always set high for the Star Wars movies and shows, because Lucasfilm and ILM have some of the best in the industry working on their designs. From Adam Brockbank and Jake Lunt Davies, to Peter McKinstry and Chester Carr, the talent on display across the board is undeniable.
For me personally, I’m often drawn the ship and location concepts for Star Wars, as they look spectacular, while also remaining somewhat grounded to the real world. In this look at Andor though, the costume design also stood out, including the contrast between the practical and worn clothing seen on Ferrix, to the elegant costume designs for characters on Coruscant. There is a nice mix of contrast between many elements of the show, and therefore this book, which always makes volumes of art more interesting.
The book begins with a look at the journey of the show and its inception after Rogue One, including winning over Tony Gilroy to join and beginning the artwork for the show under the codename ‘Whitesnake’. All of this, and what follows in the book is delivered brilliantly by author Phil Szostak, and includes interviews with the producers, department directors, and more.
From here you get into the artwork for the show itself, that isn’t presented in episodes as I was anticipating, but rather the locations. The first is Kenari, where Cassian Andor came from, and much like the character, the books continues to tell the story of its production. This continues throughout, detailing the building of the teams, the problems shooting during covid and industry strikes, finding places to shoot in the UK, building sets, and so much more. It doesn’t hold back on sharing information, so fans will not be lacking for engaging insights.
The bulk of the written content is at the start of each chapter/ location, before sharing spreads dedicated to artwork. There are hundreds of pieces of concept art shared here, including for characters, costumes, set dressing, consoles, weapons, vistas, location interiors, ships, and keyframes. These range from full colour detailed images, to early sketches, and everything in between. Some chapters are larger than others in a similar way to their screentime in the show, such as Ferrix getting a lot of pages compared to Niamos, but they all get enough space to shine.
There are many highlights for me with the artwork, and I can see it being the type of book that has different people loving different parts of it, because so much is shared. It’s extremely well-balanced in what it features, not leaning heavily on just one element. I myself did enjoy seeing early designs for Bee (B2EMO) seen below, but it's hard to not love the droid of Star Wars.
In case that wasn’t enough, most of the images come with notes too, including from the artists themselves. The text is smaller than in most books, because they divulge a lot, including production details, the design approach, how things were used while filming, and more. There is as much here as in the main text, which is much better than vague or generic descriptions.
The only problem I had with the book, especially when in the middle of a UK heatwave, was the fingerprint-loving black pages. Even just turning the page lightly leaves a print mark that could bother some people. I’m honestly not a fan of black backgrounds for this reason, but usually it usually isn’t too much of an issue, but here it was much more noticeable, so keep this in mind when touching he pages.
When it comes to content, The Art of Star Wars: Andor is exceptional in what it shares, collecting an impressive amount of early artwork for both seasons of Cassian’s story, but also the insider details that add so much more for fans. Where other books might sacrifice the amount of images to accommodate the written text, this one takes advantage of the large pages and the amount of them to be generous with both, making it a perfect companion to the show.
Credits
As always with a Star Wars book, the artists are credited on every page for every image, the best way to do it. It’s something they have always been very good at and I don’t expect that to change. Early in the book there is also a ‘Who’s Who’ spread, giving the names of the people featured inside, including the directors, producers, artists, costume designers, and writers. You can’t ask for much more from the team at Abrams and Lucasfilm for this part of the review.
Use of Space
With so much found inside, it goes without saying that space is a valuable commodity, one that the book designers made use of very well. As you can see in the photos, there is no empty areas on the pages, because everything is used by text and images, while still being neatly organised. Image sizes vary and allow the art room to shine, but that does mean the notes for the art is in a small font, though it is still clear and readable.
There are images that cover an entire spread, as seen below in a piece from Chester Carr. Most of these avoid image loss in the centre fold, but some early and later on in the book do suffer a little. This is very minimal though, being found where the pages don’t quite lay flat without force, which isn’t uncommon for artbooks due to the paper thickness.
Value
A full priced copy of the book will set you back $60 or £44, which is little higher than most, but not by a huge margin. For the quality of size of the book, as well as how much is included, between $50 and $60 wouldn’t be considered high. The UK price is nice to see, as it comes to around $57, which is much fairer compared to the pricing of other publishers when looking at exchange rates.
There is good news too, because using Amazon as I always do for comparisons, the book can already be bought on offer. You won’t have to gather a team to rob the empire for this one, as in the US you can pre-order it now for $50, and in the UK at a very low £32.45. Prices will of course fluctuate, but artbooks are great for bargains and some can already be found. At these prices there is undeniable value.
Verdict
The partnership between Lucasfilm and Abrams Books continues to deliver, with The Art of Star Wars: Andor being another exceptional release to get lost in. The amount of stunning artwork shared alongside insights into the series is impressive, and will make you appreciate Andor even more. I found the book to be very engaging throughout and it will no doubt be a one I get lost in anytime I pick it up again.
The Star Wars legacy of superb artbooks continues with The Art of Star Wars: Andor, a book that would be perfect on the shelf of any fan, as well as one being of my favourite releases of the year so far.
If you enjoyed the review and would like to add a copy of the book for your own collection, you can order the book below;
If you enjoyed this and want more Star Wars, you can check out my review for the last book from Abrams and Lucasfilm, The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte, here.
