Andor episode 7 brings back fan-favourite villain from original movies

Andor episode 7 spoilers follow.

As Tony Gilroy's Andor continues to pick up steam, the sci-fi spy series has been praised as a Star Wars show that doesn't need to be a Star Wars show.

October 19's 'Announcement' was no different, as we explored the mundane corporate bureaucracy of the Empire and visited Miami-inspired holiday resorts. But while there wasn't a Star Destroyer in sight (oh wait, there was), there was a deep cut to "classic" Star Wars.

More than most Star Wars shows, for some fans, Andor has become an Easter egg hunt for obscure references to the larger franchise and its various retconned canons. Andor being a prequel to the original trilogy and Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story means viewers have been keeping their eyes open for major cameos from characters like Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera.

While there haven't been any yet, you might've seen a familiar name from the height of the Empire's reign in Andor episode 7.

Picking up with the fallout of the heist on Aldhani in episode 6, it's battle stations for the Empire at the Imperial Security Bureau. Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) and the other officers gathered under Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser), but instead of the Game of Thrones actor running the show, he's outranked by a certain Wullf Yularen.

Actor Malcolm Sinclair plays Yularen, who you might recognise as the corrupt MI6 chief called Dryden that Bond kills in Casino Royale's black and white opening. While the name Yularen might not mean much to casual viewers, the character goes all the way back to 1997's A New Hope, where he was played by Robert Clarke.

Although Yularen only appeared as a background character in the shadow of Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope, he's a cult favourite and has since popped up in animated outings like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

Introduced in The Clone Wars, Yularen served alongside Anakin Skywalker as Admiral of the Republic Navy, attended the trial of Ahsoka Tano, and was a close friend of the 501st Legion (Vader's Fist). In Rebels, he became the right-hand man of Admiral Thrawn and learned that his former ISB pupil Alexsandr Kallus was the Rebel spy known as Fulcrum.

Speaking at Dragon Con 2018, author Timothy Zahn explained he was so intrigued by Yularen, he had to include him in the Thrawn novel. Interestingly, Yularen was never meant to be an important character.

He walked past a disguised Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, but for some reason, was remembered because Lucas dressed him in a white uniform instead of the standard grey the rest of the Empire's higher ranks wore.

Years after A New Hope, Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game finally gave him a name. Even this has been toyed with over the years, as spellings flip between "Wullf" and "Wulff," while The Clone Wars incorrectly credited his name as "Yularan" in the credits.

Whatever you want to call him, Wullf Yularen has a strange place in Star Wars lore. What makes Yularen's cameo even better in Andor, is the fact his name isn't mentioned. It's only via the subtitles or the episode's credits that we learn Sinclair is the mustachioed villain.

Still, the ramifications of Yularen's cameo can be felt. As well as him name-dropping Emperor Palpatine, it is he who delivers news that the Aldhani heist has caused the Empire to bring in stricter punishments for anyone aligning themselves with the Rebellion.

We feel the personal impact of these changes at the end of the episode when Cassian (Diego Luna) is sentenced to six years imprisonment for a crime, we're told, which used to only cost you six months.

Given Yularen's presence in the ISB, his debut in Andor makes a lot of sense while still fitting Gilroy's promise that the show won't pander to fan service. Much like we know doom is on the horizon for Cassian Andor and the rest of the Rogue One crew, Yularen is also poised to perish.

Alongside Tarkin and the rest of the Empire's goons, he'll meet his maker in 0 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), when Luke Skywalker lands that killing blow and destroys the Death Star.

For now, it's unclear how Wullf will factor into the rest of Andor season one, and its second season of 12 episodes. But as the net closes in on the Senate, he's likely to be a thorn in the side of heroes like Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) and Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård).

Andor streams on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday.

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Tom Chapman

Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen. 

Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.

These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN. 

Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.

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