The most powerful moment from the first season of Star Wars: Andor occurs when Maarva, the adoptive mother of lead character Cassian Andor, speaks to a crowd of people who have gathered for her funeral; she pre-recorded a message as a hologram. After outlining her fears about the future, she ends with a rallying cry: "Fight the Empire!" That call inspires people to riot, and just like that, the Rebellion kicks off.
Originally, showrunner Tony Gilroy wanted Maarva's speech to end with a different line: not "Fight the Empire," but "F**k the Empire." True, the Star Wars universe doesn't often dip into the swear jar, but Andor is the most mature, grounded, and serious story that's ever been set in this universe. Maava calls the Empire "bastards" in this very speech, and the show marked the first time anyone in the Star Wars franchise said the word "shit." If there was any Star Wars where an f-bomb might be appropriate, it would be this one.
Gilroy certainly thought so, and wrote a memo he described as a "legal brief" arguing why Maarva should be allowed to drop the bomb. But in the end, that particular curse word was a step too far for Lucasfilm and Disney.
"That one word... It was always like, 'Hey, we're going to put it in there, it kind of works, and here's why we think you should do it," Gilroy told Mashable. "It wasn't a fight. It was a discussion, the way it should be."
Obviously, Disney won out, but Gilroy doesn't harbor any resentments about it. "The whole experience with Kathy [Kennedy, Lucasfilm president] and Lucasfilm and Disney, all the way through from Rogue One... I mean, nobody has ever messed with us at all," he said. "The gamble they've taken with us, the way they've backed our play, it's extraordinary. It's the thing every filmmaker dreams about...They've been unbelievable. So yeah, they were right."
Tony Gilroy wants to see a Star Wars sitcom, horror movie and courtroom drama
Still, I think the Star Wars universe has benefitted from Gilroy pushing the boundaries. This upcoming second season of Andor will be the show's last, but he's hopeful that the series has opened some doors within the franchise. "I think we've made our lane with Andor, and Skeleton Crew was trying to do their own, too," he told SFX Magazine, per Games Radar. "The hope is that you can do anything, and we're going to open up some canonical things and concepts in Andor that maybe will get people excited to do other things."
"I always fantasised that the show would break new ground, that someone would be able to make a three-camera sitcom in Star Wars or a horror movie. I think the first thing I said to Kathy [Kennedy,Lucasfilm president] when she said they wanted to open a line, was, 'Could you do a courtroom drama?' And why not? We've worked really hard on Andor to make our lane, and it's up to other people now to find another way to do it."
I think it comes down to whether the person making the show has the right vision and follow-through. Obviously, Tony Gilroy knew what he was doing when he committed to making a gritty political drama within the Star Wars universe. As long as the producers bring that same kind of passion and know-how, I'll gladly take a Star Wars sitcom or horror film or whatever.
The second and final season of Star Wars: Andor premieres on Tuesday, April 22...which is Earth Day, if that means anything. There are 12 episodes in all; they'll drop three at a time every week.
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