Andor star Fiona Shaw almost got to say the first ever f-bomb in the Star Wars universe.
Spoilers for Star Wars: Andor follow.
During an interview with Variety, director Benjamin Caron revealed that Maarva Andor’s speech to “fight the Empire” originally used a very different f-word.
“But Disney wouldn’t let us use it,” he revealed. “So, we changed it to ‘fight the Empire'. I remember having a call with Tony Gilroy saying, ‘Are we gonna get away with this?’ ”
The F-bomb that sparked the revolution was cut last minute despite a lengthy brief from #Andor series shorwunner Tony Gilroy | Variety’s Making A Scene presented by @HBO https://t.co/uTwBI1YnA6 pic.twitter.com/KMdwTKjYsW
— Variety (@Variety) June 12, 2023
Unfortunately, they didn’t, but it sounds as though showrunner Tony Gilroy did put up a fight.
“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,” he explained.
Maarva’s speech was one of the most emotional moments of the entire series, delivered via hologram after Maarva’s untimely death.
It’s the catalyst for an uprising, and it’s also Cassian’s only chance to save his friend while being hunted by both the Empire and the Rebellion.
“We have all these different balls in here,” explained Gilroy. “We have Cassian’s journey in the middle of it. He has to find out what’s going on, he has to go through tunnels, he has to come up to the side, he has to save Bix; he has to do all these various things.”
While all this is going on, we have the people of Ferrix following Maarva’s funeral procession – that’s a lot of different moving pieces to pack into one sequence.
“What’s really complicated in making this sequence is that we have a lot of protein that we have to hit on camera, and now it turns into a math issue,” said Gilroy.
Ultimately, it was all about how to “bring the audience on that journey,” according to Caron, and it certainly does drag us along for the ride. Even if we didn’t get to see that impressive f-bomb.
IGN’s review of Andor gave it 9/10 and said: “Andor is off to a fantastic start thanks to its compelling performances, corporate espionage undertones, and considered filmmaking. It’s not only shaping up to be a great Star Wars show, but one that could make its mark on the overall TV landscape, while it just so happens to be set in this universe.”
Want to read more about Andor? Check out Andor’s impressive Season 1 budget and find out what to expect in Andor Season 2.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.