In a new interview with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy discussed The Ghorman Massacre, one of the Imperial atrocities that spurred on the Rebellion, that will be a pivotal event in the second season of Andor, premiering next month on Disney+.
While discussing the importance of the Ghorman Massacre, which has been discussed throughout various mediums, but never shown, Gilroy previewed how he’s bringing clarity to the incident. “Ghorman, interestingly, is canonical but completely undescribed. It’s a total blank slate.” He went on to explain:
“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.”
What Is the Ghorman Massacre?
The Ghorman Massacre, a key moment in the formation of the Rebel Alliance, was first mentioned back in 1990 in the RPG book The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, which was written by Paul Murphy. It occurred on the planet Ghorman, which was being affected by the Empire’s new punishing tax rates. A large crowd of peaceful protesters had gathered to block the arrival of an Imperial ship, which was captained by Wilhuff Tarkin (later the commander of the Death Star in Star Wars, where he was played by Peter Cushing). Tarkin simply landed his ship on the protesters, killing thousands. The atrocity made Tarkin a rising star in the Empire, but also galvanized opposition to the Emperor’s tyranny. It was frequently referenced in many subsequent Star Wars novels and comics as a turning point in galactic history.
Andor Season 2 streams exclusively on Disney+ on April 22nd in North America and April 23rd in the UK & Europe.
