Andor season 2 is setting up a significant moment in Star Wars history: the Ghorman Massacre

Spoilers for Andor season 2, episodes 1-3 follow. Turn back now if you're not up to date on the Star Wars show!

The shadow of the Ghorman Massacre looms large over Andor season 2, episodes 1-3 – but if you've never heard of the disaster, you might be wondering just what the big deal is about Ghorman and why it's such a focus so far.

At the moment, all we know about Ghorman is that the planet is very important to Emperor Palpatine's energy plans… and that the mining operation to extract the minerals needed from the surface could cause the entire planet to collapse.

But, the Ghorman Massacre actually has a disturbing history in Star Wars, which makes the planet's importance in these early episodes very sinister indeed.

What is the Ghorman Massacre?

In Star Wars canon, all we really know about the Ghorman Massacre is that it involves civilians slaughtered by stormtroopers, and it's what prompts Mon Mothma to openly go against the Emperor in a speech before she ends up joining the Rebellion openly. This is depicted in Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 18.

In the old Star Wars Legends continuity, the Massacre saw peaceful protestors block Moff Tarkin's landing pad on Ghorman. Tarkin then landed his ship on those protesting, killing or injuring almost everyone there. But, in the current canon, the event is a bit of a mystery.

"Ghorman, interestingly, is canonical but completely undescribed. It's a total blank slate. 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," showrunner Tony Gilroy has previously told Collider. "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."

We'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the Ghorman storyline plays out across Andor, but it's looking very likely that something awful is going to happen to the planet soon.

You can keep up to date with Andor season 2 with our Andor season 2 release schedule, or see our Andor season 2 review for our spoiler-free verdict on the entire season.

For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store.