Star Wars series Andor not only seemingly canonized video game character Starkiller in episode 4, but also saw Luthen Rael mention “the uprising against the Rakatan invaders,” officially bringing another species into the sci-fi world. This left some viewers rushing to social media to sing the praises of the showrunners, but who exactly are the Rakata, and what is their history in the Galaxy? Here’s what we know.
Who are the Rakata mentioned in Andor?
These amphibious humanoid beings came from the planet Lehon, and are said to have been the first species to develop hyperspace travel. Though they are now extinct after being corrupted by the dark side of the Force, their infamy lives on thanks to their cruel and relentless domination over other species.
In their time, the Rakata formed the Infinite Empire, and were known to strip entire planets of resources, putting slaves to work to do their bidding. They were arrogant and sought out those sensitive to the Force so that they could train them as slave warriors that were known as Force Hounds. They would arm their fighters with lightsabers, teach them to use the dark side of the Force, and send them out on planetary missions.
Eventually, a civil war broke out within the Infinite Empire, with death and disease bringing the Rakata to their knees. Their connection to the Force began to wane due to a mutation in the plague that threatened to exterminate the species, and as time went on, they became incapable of manipulating their own Force-created technology. This meant the use of inferior devices, and when the species they had enslaved realized they had an opportunity to rebel, many uprisings took place and caused the collapse of the Infinite Empire.
Rakata began to re-emerge around 20,000 years after the fall of the Infinite Empire, and though they were eventually welcomed into the Republic, the species was unable to sustain itself, eventually leading to the Rakata becoming extinct. While they are no longer present in physical form, the Rakata live on through the Rakatan wraith boxes that have been spotted in 2018 anthology film Solo: A Star Wars Story. This came after their initial inclusion in the 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Where have we seen the Rakata in Star Wars before?
Uff!!! La referencia a los Rakata 🤌#Andor pic.twitter.com/v5rnaluSvM
— al'Chandler Corella (@TIEMithril713) September 28, 2022
The Rakata were first introduced to Star Wars fans as part of the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. They were then brought into the new Star Wars canon in an edition of the magazine Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon, and mentioned in 2015 comic book Star Wars, written by Kieron Gillen, and published by Marvel Comics. Their most-recent acknowledgement before Andor episode 4, was in the seventh issue of the comic book series Star Wars: Poe Dameron, published in 2016.
