Disney+ drops free episodes of Rogue One prequel series Andor on YouTube in UK

Diego Luna returns to his Rogue One character in Andor

The Walt Disney Company has made the first three episodes of the first season of Disney+ original Andor available to watch for free on YouTube in the UK.

The episodes are available on the Star Wars UK YouTube channel alongside a 14-minute season one recap.

The move comes ahead of the exclusive launch of S2 of the Lucasfilm-produced show on Disney+ on April 23.

The series is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction, the Death Star, setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film.

Andor sets the clock back five years from the events of Rogue One to tell the story of the film’s hero, played by Diego Luna, and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero.

The YouTube strategy comes after the Google-owned platform’s head of TV and film content partnerships in the UK, Neil Price, spoke at Content London last year and urged UK broadcasters to upload more full-length episodes to YouTube.