Editorial: A Good Blaster at Your Side - The Long History of Cassian Andors Pistol

Season 1 of Andor gave us a look at Cassian Andor before he became part of the Rebel Alliance. The creators of the series gave Cassian a new weapon not seen on-screen before: the MW-20 Bryar pistol. While this specific model is brand-new to Star Wars, the design behind it has a long history with personal and thematic ties to Cassian himself.



Finding the right weapon for Cassian was a top priority the design team. Prop master Martyn Doust spoke about the importance of getting it right in an interview on StarWars.com:

The creators eventually settled on the Bryar pistol for Cassian, though the large-barreled design presented a challenge for Doust when making it as a live-action prop:

The weapon saw a lot of use in the series. It started Cassian's journey when he used it to kill the corporate security guard on Morlana One, and followed him into battle many times, even being used to take down an elite Death Trooper on Ferrix.







Within the series itself, the Bryar pistol has a meaningful history. Flashbacks in the third episode, Reckoning, show that Cassian's adoptive father, Clem, carried the weapon before him, making it something of a family heirloom. It is likely that Cassian inherited it when Clem was arrested and murdered by the Empire, giving it even more weight and significance.



Fans recognised the distinctive shape of the blaster and had begun to speculate on it, but the 'Episode Guide' for Reckoning gave the first confirmation that this was, indeed, a Bryar pistol:

Tracing the Bryar pistol back to its first inspiration takes us first to 2015's Star Wars Battlefront reboot. The Bryar pistol was added to the game in an update (released in 2016) where the developers sought to add new and exciting weapons to the multiplayer shooter.

The Bryar pistol's history goes all the way back to 1995 as it was created by game designer Justin Chin as the default starting weapon of mercenary Kyle Katarn in the classic first-person shooter Dark Forces. Even as the Dark Forces sequels morphed into the Jedi Knight games -- giving Kyle Force powers and a lightsaber in the process -- the Bryar was always a part of the player's arsenal.



While no longer canon, Dark Forces and its sequels have had a strong influence on the current wave of Star Wars storytelling -- the most notable being the Dark Troopers (the main antagonists of Dark Forces) appearing in the second season of The Mandalorian. Kyle Katarn has also remained a fan-favourite character to this day.







Looking into the history of the Bryar pistol uncovers a number of similarities between Cassian and Kyle Katarn. They carry the same weapon, which they both inherited from their fathers. They both came to the Rebellion as mercenaries initially. But perhaps most significantly, they both stole the plans to the Death Star. The first level of Dark Forces has Kyle Katarn infiltrating an Imperial base on Danuta to steal the plans, while Cassian aided Jyn in stealing them from the vault on Scarif.



It is unclear whether it was fully intentional or just serendipity, but the choice of weapon provides a nice link between the current and the old; forging a new story in canon while acknowledging the past story enjoyed by many fans in the Expanded Universe, now known as Legends. And, with Cassian still in possession of his trusty Bryar pistol, it looks like the famous blaster has plenty more adventures ahead when Andor returns for season 2.



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