Storywise, Andor may be avoiding the reference-heavy tropes of other Star Wars Disney+ shows but there’s still plenty going on for eagle-eyed fans to analyse. Last week, it was the Rakatan invaders; this week, in “The Axe Forgets,” we learned that one of the characters owns something very near and dear to fans of another popular franchise. But, unless you were looking for it, there’s a chance you missed it.
The moment in question comes toward the end of the episode when Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) is visited by his concierge, Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau). They’re discussing the heist that will go down tomorrow on Aldhani and, on the back right shelf of Luthen’s room, you see two dark, oval-shaped stones with three marks on each one.
These, as most of you already know, are the Sankara Stones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They’re the stones Indy must liberate from the Thuggee cult which, when combined, light up and bring life or death to their owners. Which, no, does not necessarily mean Indiana Jones exists in the Star Wars universe (or will exist eventually, because remember, this is a long time ago); almost certainly, putting them with Luthen on Coruscant is just a little wink to fans of the Indiana Jones franchise. A franchise that, like Star Wars, is controlled by Lucasfilm. Luthen is a collector and dealer of rare antiquities, kind of like a Star Wars version of Indiana Jones, so putting them with him on Andor just works.
It also continues a long tradition of Indy and Star Wars crossing over. Did you know R2-D2 is on the Lost Ark? That the club in Temple of Doom is Club Obi-Wan? There are more too. So this is just Star Wars keeping the tradition going.
But if we want to get super nerdy, you can attempt to break down the significance of Luthen having not just the stones, but two stones. In Temple of Doom we learn there are five total stones, three of which we see in the movie. The other two are presumed lost. So, are Luthen’s stones the two lost stones? Or, in putting two stones together without a third, are the filmmakers giving us a visual representation of the struggle in Luthen’s life? That he’s still looking for the final piece of the puzzle? This is the kind of nerdy shit that we live for.
Of course, the stones aren’t the only noteworthy things on Luthen’s shelf. He’s got both a Jedi and Sith Holocron too, though those are larger than most that we’ve seen in Star Wars so maybe they’re just replicas? And, in the last episode, we saw that he has a ton of stuff — such as the Starkiller armour — in the front. Maybe one day we’ll get a breakdown of all the treasures he’s accumulated over the years.
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.
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