Andor season two is the perfect opportunity to Star Wars to make up for a political story that was unfortunately cut from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Although there has been much discourse on the topic and arguments to the contrary, Star Wars has been political since the beginning. A New Hope was the story of a group of unlikely heroes who banded together to fight an imperial regime that threatened their lives and oppressed the galaxy for nearly two decades.
This political advantage for Star Wars continued throughout Star Wars movies and TV shows (after all, George Lucas faced very specific criticism for making previous films too political). Andor followed this tradition beautifully, making it one of the most political installments of the Star Wars timeline. Because of this political nature, Andor the second season is perfect Star Wars show to finally pay homage to a major political conspiracy that was cut from Revenge of the Sith.
George Lucas Cut Birth of the Rebellion from Revenge of the Sith
The 2,000-strong delegation was removed from the film – but remains important
In a decision that was frankly shocking, George Lucas decided to cut the entire arch of the 2,000-person Delegation Revenge of the Sith. This arc saw Padmé, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and a handful of other senators meeting to discuss Palpatine’s growing power in the Senate and many changes to the Constitution. Together, they decided that they must oppose Palpatine’s clear moves to gain complete control of the Republic before it was too late, forming the Delegation of 2000 alongside other dissident senators and confronting Palpatine directly.
There were numerous things that made these deleted scenes crucial. On the one hand, this made it clear that Padmé was no fool and, despite her marriage to Anakin, she was ready to defend democracy against Palpatine. These scenes also revealed that many people – thousands, in fact – anticipated Palpatine’s next moves and tried to stop him. In the final cut of Revenge of the SithIt seems more like the senators only reacted with dismay after it was too late. These proactive scenes would have confirmed that there was a struggle within the Republic before Palpatine dissolved it and formed the Empire.
Padmé was no fool, and despite her marriage to Anakin, she was ready to defend democracy against Palpatine.
Although these scenes were sadly removed Revenge of the Sith, the delegation of 2,000 people was mentioned in Star Wars canon multiple times, which suggests that the events within these scenes are also more or less canon. This would make sense given Mon Mothma and Bail Organa’s ongoing fight to protect what little was left of the Republic after Revenge of the Sith and contributions to the Rebellion against the Empire. It seems Andor season two is also on track to form another connection with these deleted scenes.
Senator Fang Zar was one of the senators arrested after Revenge of the Sith
It wasn’t just the Jedi who were targeted when Palpatine took power
Although Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Padmé had the most recognizable faces in the room, another senator, Senator Fang Zar, was also part of the 2000 Delegation and was there when the senators confronted Palpatine. This opposition undoubtedly resulted in Fang Zar being one of the senators arrested after Revenge of the Sith. The attack and near extinction of the Jedi was certainly the focus of Revenge of the Sith and continued to be the focus for some time in Star Wars shows, but dissident senators were also targeted by Palpatine after the fall of the Republic.
Dissident senators were also targeted by Palpatine after the fall of the Republic.
In fact, in canon, more than 60 senators of the Republic – all of them belonging to the Delegation of 2000 – were arrested for conspiracy and treason the day after the formation of the Empire. Even Mon Mothma and Bail Organa were among those numbers, which makes sense given how outspoken they were. However, they were eventually released after declaring their loyalty to the Empire (something Mon Mothma was ashamed of).
Fang Zar’s canon history after his arrest has not been clarified, but his story in Legends is significantly more detailed. In Legends, Fang Zar was killed by Darth Vader himself after escaping Coruscant and fleeing to Alderaan, and the entire sector he represented, the Sern sector, also suffered a terrible fate, falling under Imperial occupation. The Sern sector comprised the planets Ghorman and Sern Prime, and Ghorman, in particular, has a devastating story which could make its on-screen debut in Andor 2nd season.
Andor Season 2’s Ghorman Massacre Continues Story George Lucas Cut
The Ghorman Massacre is expected to play a major role in Andor Season 2
In both canon and legend, a massacre was carried out by Wilhuff Tarkin on the planet Ghormanwhich led to the deaths of countless peaceful protesters. So far on screen, the Ghorman Massacre has only been mentioned, mainly in Star Wars Rebels in a speech given by Mon Mothma. Recent never-before-seen images of Andor season 2 has many believing that the Ghorman Massacre will be shown in the show’s next season.
Assuming that the video of civilians asking for help in Andor the second season is the Ghorman Massacre, This would create a narrative thread from the 2000 Delegation to Andor 2nd season. This event is one of the most horrific of Star Warsand given the intensely political nature of Andorit would make sense that this would be the show that finally portrayed the massacre. This is speculative for now, but the Ghorman Massacre matches the tone of Andor 2nd season and it would work in this arc excluded from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.