Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Episodes 1-5 of Andor.Star Wars fans were in for a huge surprise during a scene in the fourth episode ofAndor, which revealed the lengths of the double life thatLuthen Rael(Stellan Skarsgård) leads to help the Rebel Alliance. Rael poses as a wealthy antique dealer on the planet of Coruscant, where he delivers information toMon Mothma(Genevieve O’Reilly). His shop also happens to be filled witha treasure trove of Easter eggs fromStar Warsmedia, including a nod to the fan-favorite video gameStar Wars: The Force Unleashed.
One of the more prominent artifacts includes a pair of holocrons. One is a golden cube with blue crystals, representing the Jedi Order. The other is triangular in nature, and bears a fiery red crystal which is usually affiliated with the Sith Lords. How Rael came across these holocrons is unknown, but their value cannot be denied — especially to the groups they represent. A holocron is a device used to store knowledge concerning the use and history of the Force. As a result, only Force users are able to open and utilize it for their own purposes.
The holocrons first appear in theStar Wars: The Clone Warsepisode “Holocron Heist.” True to its name, the episode features Cad Bane (Corey Burton) attempting to steal a holocron from the Jedi Temple. When Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and his apprentice Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) learn that the holocron contains a list of Force-sensitive children, they chase after Bane to get it back. After the end of the Clone Wars and the implementation of Order 66, the Temple was ransacked and the holocrons were scattered across the galaxy.
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One landed in the hands of Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and remained unsealed until Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) opened it. The holocron contained a message from Obi-Wan Kenobi, warning all Jedi to hide following Order 66 and the rise of the Empire. Ezra would encounter another holocron when he met the former Sith Lord Darth Maul (Sam Witwer). Maul sought Ezra’s help in unlocking a Sith holocron, using Kanan’s own holocron in the process. The end result gave both Force users a vision; Ezra learned that the key to toppling the Empire laid in “twin suns” — referencing soon-to-be JediLuke Skywalker- while Maul learned that his hated enemyObi-Wan Kenobiwas still alive.
Another Jedi on the run who encountered a holocron was Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan), the protagonist ofStar Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order. While on the run from the Jedi hunters the Inquisitors, Kestis encounters former Jedi Cere Junda (Debra Wilson), who seeks his help in opening a vault. Inside said vault is a holocron that contains a list of Force-sensitive children. A race across the galaxy begins, with Kestis fighting multiple threats including the Second Sister (Elizabeth Grullón) and coming to terms with his master Jaro Tapal’s (Travis Willingham) death. In the end, Kestis destroys the holocron, saying that the children should forge their own path.
Surprisingly, Rael isn’t the only person who’s added a holocron to their collection. InSolo: A Star Wars Story, the crime lord Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) is shown to have a collection of rare artifacts aboard his ship, the First Light. One of those artifacts just happens to be a Sith holocron, and it makes sense given a scene that happens toward the film’s end. After Vos falls in battle to his lieutenant Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), she reports to Maul - who is the leader of the Crimson Sun organization at this point inStar Warshistory - to tell him about Vos’s death. With more holocrons appearing in otherStar Warsmedia including comics and novels, the devices are bound to play a part in future projects.
