Star Wars' first f-bomb almost happened in Andor

Fiona Shaw in Andor
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

The Andor finale almost featured Star Wars' first f-bomb, but the line didn't make it to the finished product. 

The final episode of Andor focuses on the funeral of Cassian's mother, Maarva. A hologram of the character, played by Fiona Shaw, appears at the ceremony and gives a posthumous speech. In it, she shouts "fight the Empire!" – but originally, that line was very different. 

"Yeah, that was all Tony [Gilroy, showrunner]," director Benjamin Caron revealed on the Reel Blend podcast. "Right from the very beginning, he was like, 'We're gonna do this. We're gonna get away with this. I mean, Disney have said no. But there is no way, I am not letting them get away with this.' And I was like, 'All right, okay, we're going to do it.'" 

Maarva dropping the f-bomb was even filmed, too. "That was like the first thing that came out of her mouth when we were shooting that," Caron added. "And then the producer was like, 'Okay, you need to get a safety.' And I'm like, 'Oh, come on.' They were like, 'You need a safety.' In my head, when I see that, I hear 'fuck the Empire,' not 'fight the Empire.'"

Andor is coming back for season 2, though there's no release date just yet. "Cassian Andor, at the end of 12 episodes, has finally had some sort of an education," Gilroy told Total Film of season 2. "It takes a long time for him to make a commitment to the Rebellion, but he's kind of there. And so in the second part, we can explore a bunch of different things and time becomes our friend, then." 

While you wait for Andor season 2 on Disney Plus, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away. 

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Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.