‘Andor’: Emmy-Winning Writer Dan Gilroy Talks Real-Life Inspiration & Obsession To Get Mon Mothma’s Anti-Fascism Speech Right

Dan Gilory was an instrumential creative force, alongside his brother Tony Gilroy, with the second season of “Andor” (the “Star Wars” prequel series exploring the events leading up to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story“) his episode “Welcome To The Rebellion” earned him the Emmy award for Best Writing For A Drama Series, which included the iconic and heartwrenching anti-fascist speech made by Mon Mothma (played by Genevieve O’Reilly) as her ultimate public rebuke of both the Empire and Emperor Palpatine, in the wake of the devestating Ghorman genocide (Dan worked on the Ghorman Massacre arc on the show).

Speaking with Empire Magazine, Gilroy explained that real-life political events in America angered him to inspire that speech, and why he was obsessed with getting it right.

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“As I was literally starting to write it, I was watching senators and congressmen and congresswomen abandoning their democratic principles and bending their knee to power. So when I’m writing that speech, I’m angry, I’m very angry. Because I can very much relate to what’s going on in Mon’s world…I revelled in it. I got lost in it. I imagined it. I respected it. I wanted to make every comma and period proper and right. This was hallowed ground to me. There’s nothing more important to me than someone who’s willing to sacrifice themselves for a political ideal or a fight against the evil tendencies of our human nature. I bow to that,” Gilroy said of his epic speech that became an iconic “Star Wars” moment, attempting to echo our own landscape outside of a fantasy universe.

It is hard to ignore the obvious influence of the dangerous growth of MAGA/Trumpism (their ties to paramilitary and domestic terrorist groups leading to the illegal January 6th insurrection attempt), rise in misinformation in U.S. media spaces, Russia’s invasion and war on Ukraine, alongside the brutal genocide/starvation of civilians in Gaza at the hands of the corrupt and murderous Bibi Netanyahu regime and IDF (using American-made bullets and bombs to kill thousands of civilians, many of those murders seemingly part of ghoulish military policy, counter to international law, hence war crimes indictments by the Interntional Criminal Court) certainly felt like it inspired the Ghorman arc. The events of European colonialism, WWII, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War have been previously used in George Lucas‘ movies, so this isn’t exactly new for the franchise.

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Of course, “Andor” is done, and Tony Gilroy has moved on with his film “Bemeonth!” What the future holds for “Star Wars” on the small screen, with audiences likely now craving more mature and well-crafted stories, remains to be seen.