ChunkyLaFunga

Sir, the possibility of successfully finding a bouncy ball that was not part of this production is approximately 250,000 to 1.

I don't think it matters much, because anyone who liked Andor and knows it was a prequel is probably just going to watch Rogue One for the "real ending" anyway. IMO that is the appropriate order to watch too.

To be controversial, I think they can stand well enough without A New Hope.

Not at all.

It's a political thriller set in the ordinary "real world" of Star Wars, focusing on a variety of people on both sides, mostly the rebels. Apart from the famous Star Wars aesthetics and the mostly unsubtle Good Guys vs Bad Guys theme, it doesn't have much in common with the movies, let alone require them. It's played totally straight and the vibe is slowly escalating tension.

If nothing else, it's worth watching for the world-building. Cost like $300 million per season and the believability of what's on screen is astounding, never seen anything like it even in the movies. I'm not particularly a Star Wars fan but it really is something else, I was skipping sleep to plough through the second season.

Well yeah, who doesn't stick napkins to gloves and use them as formalwear.

It cost $650 million to make. Even if you're Disney you better get a lot of people in seats for that kind of money. And it overlapped with COVID and the writers strike and the actors strike IIRC. So yeah, that probably didn't help the budget.

Though still better overall value per hour than the movies and I'd argue it looks better than them too. I happen to be watching at the moment, by coincidence, and I can't get over how real it is... never seen anything quite like it in sci-fi or famtasy.

Anyway, it didn't do well with viewers at first but kept on climbing and has ended on top so they're probably happy enough.