When Andor season one was airing, we speculated that season two could show the Ghorman Massacre. In recent days it became increasingly clear that this major turning point would be included in the show, and now showrunner Tony Gilroy has confirmed as much.
Speaking with Collider as part of the press tour for Andor, Gilroy said that the Ghorman Massacre will be a key part of the season – so much so that it will actually be a story developed over five episodes.
“There’s also a bit of confusion about the Ghorman Massacre, and what is the Ghorman Massacre? There’s a lot of confusion within canon. So, it was an opportunity to rebuild in a really significant way. It’s a very significant part of our show that can do a lot of different things for us. Quite honestly, it’s very expensive to build, so we really want to use it as much as possible so it carries over five different episodes. I’m really confident that the really deep, passionate Star Wars community will appreciate how we’ve straightened out that story.”
He also mentioned that though this event is clearly established in canon, the story hasn’t really been told – meaning that they have a lot of room to tell it. What we do know is that the Ghorman Massacre was a pivotal turning point in the rebellion against the Empire that reached a breaking point two years prior to the Battle of Yavin. The Empire committed such atrocities that Senator Mon Mothma went public with her disgust for the Emperor and his Empire, blaming him for the atrocities on Ghorman. She resigned from the Imperial Senate in protest and became the most wanted fugitive hunted by the Empire. But the rebel cells smuggled her to safety, where she gave a rousing speech to the galaxy from above Dantooine aboard the Ghost, formally organizing the Alliance to Restore the Republic – more commonly known as the Rebel Alliance.
But exactly what happened in the Ghorman Massacre, we don’t know. In Legends, Grand Moff Tarkin landed his ship on top of protestors – but the event is different, and in a different place on the timeline, in canon, so the canon story isn’t really known. That gives Andor the perfect chance both to tell the story of a known event, but do so in a fresh way. I just hope it leads to Genevieve O’Reilly getting a chance to give a stirring speech to the Senate in protest.
What is especially significant about Gilroy’s comment, though, is that this will play out over five episodes. That’s important because the second season of Andor will be made up of three-episode arcs, each of which take place a year apart, meaning that we’ll probably see the oppression of Ghorman slowly building as the series works up to the massacre.
This is a key moment in the rebellion against the Empire, and it’s exciting that we’re going to actually be seeing it play out.
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