Star Warsis known for being mostly family-friendly, but it was recently revealed thatAndorwould’ve gone in a slightly different direction - at least until Disney stepped in.Andorshowrunner and executive producerTony Gilroyhas disclosed that the show’s Season 1 finale, “Rix Road,” was going to feature the first ‘F-bomb’ of the franchise before the Mouse House shut this idea down.
Gilroy, along with “Rix Road"directorBenjamin Caron,explained their thought process on the F-bomb during an interview withVariety. The final episode of Season 1 features the funeral of Maarva Andor (Fiona Shaw), the adoptive mother of series protagonist Cassian Andor(Diego Luna). The funeral, which takes place on Cassian’s home planet of Ferrix, features his trusty droid B2EMO playing a holographic message from Maarva to try and unite the public against the Galactic Empire. At the end of the message, Maarva yells, “Fight the Empire!” However, Caron and Gilroy had planned on her yelling, “F**k the Empire!” instead. But Disney, which owns Lucasfilm and theStar WarsIP, was not happy with this, as Caron explained:
“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?'”
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Gilroy was also reportedly adamant that Maarva curse during the scene, so much so that he told Variety he even explored legal pathways to do it. “[I] wrote a legal brief for it,” Gilroy said. “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.'” Disney, though, stood firm against dropping the F-bomb, so Maarva’s dialogue was changed. While this would have beenStar Wars’first F-bomb, it would not be the franchise’s first curse word; that also came courtesy ofAndor,when the word “s**t” is uttered during a battle scene in a prior episode.
Star WarsHas Mostly Stuck to Family-Friendly Content
WhileAndoris likely the grittiestStar Warsoffering in terms of tone - similar to the film that introduced Cassian,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story- the franchise has mostly shied away from adult content. While the first five saga films were rated PG,Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sithwas rated PG-13, as were all threefilms of the sequel trilogy, but none of them included adult language. However, recent offerings fromStar Warshave seemed more willing to veer toward a more adult narrative.
There is also a possibility that Season 2 ofAndor— the production of which is currently being affected by the ongoing WGA strike — could feature additional cursing, given Gilroy’s apparent affinity for it. Gilroy, who hasofficially stepped backfrom producing duties on the show due to the strike,told Colliderthat for Season 2, “We built a system that we’re very proud of, and a working group that we’re very proud of.”
Season 2 ofAndoris slated to be released in 2024. Collider’s interview with Gilroy can be seen below:
