Andorhas become a bit of a milestone inStar Warsmedia, with many fans praising it as the best thing to come out of the franchise sinceThe Empire Strikes Back. But it also almost carved another decidedly not-family-friendly notch in its final episode before Disney stepped in.
TheAndorseason 1 finaleelevated an already-ambitious and engaging show to new levels. Focusing on the backstory of Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor before the events ofRogue One: AStar WarsStory, the series shone the spotlight on several other characters in its story of rebellion and anti-fascism. One such character was Cassian’s adoptive mother Maarva, played by Fiona Shaw. After a season of building tension between her home of Ferrix and the invading Imperial forces, her own pre-recorded eulogy at her funeral seemingly radicalizes the whole city to fight back. But the speech initially had a much more explicit climax.
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Andorshowrunner Tony Gilroy recently joined director Benjamin Caron, cinematographer Damián García, and Shaw herself in an interview withVarietyto discuss this particular scene from the show’s finale. In it, they confirmed a long-suspected rumor regarding Maarva’s speech. “The final line in Maarva’s speech was ‘f*ck the Empire!'” Caron said. “But Disney wouldn’t let us use it. So we changed it to ‘fight the empire.’ I remember having a call with Tony Gilroy saying, ‘Are we gonna get away with this?'”
Gilroy realized that Disney would likely not be happy with the idea but wanted to give it his best try anyway. “I made a case for it,” he said, “I wrote a legal brief for it. I wrote a memo on it and said, ‘Here’s why I think it’s economically prudent, and here’s why I think it’s good.'” In the same interview, Gilroy revealed that he never saw the massive outdoorcity set used for Ferrix onAndor. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t committed as a showrunner, as evidenced by this effort.
The scene was amasterclass in pacing and tension, with a funeral procession and speech coming together to keep the audience on edge the entire time. That was equally thanks to Shaw’s performance and Garcia’s cinematography. “The camera is almost constantly moving,” Garcia explained. “When the fight starts, it changes to a much more hectic and handheld crazy camera, and the camera during the procession and during Maarva’s speech, it’s almost always moving, but very gentle and soft.” Meanwhile, Shaw walked around her hometown practicing her speech, learning to appreciate it for what it was. “Unlike most scenes where you’re playing in reaction to another actor,” she explained, “this was going to be entirely a sort of thesis by this woman on her own.”
Some may have some concerns about thepotential pacing ofAndorseason 2. But regardless of what the future holds, there’s no denying that season 1 was a huge accomplishment forStar Wars, even if Disney removed an aspect that would have kept people talking for years to come. The love and care put intoAndorare clear as day, and here’s hoping it continues to stand as an argument in favor of creative freedom for a long time to come.
Andorseason 1 is available to stream on Disney Plus.
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