How 'Return Of The Jedi' Influences 'Star Wars: Andor'
Source: StarWars.com
What Star Wars fan doesn’t love sitting back to rewatch the original trilogy? Taking the franchise back to its roots is always a fun experience, and it seems Genevieve O'Reilly would agree. She, however, may have slightly different reasons for doing so, as she revealed in her recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. O’Reilly, who will be reprising her role as the political figure Mon Mothma in the upcoming Andor series, told the interviewer that she revisits a specific scene in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
O’Reilly was originally cast to play Mothma in Revenge of the Sith, but her major scene was unfortunately cut from the film, leaving her only a small cameo in the background. However, thanks to fan favorites Rogue One and the animated show Rebels, viewers were treated to her brief yet wonderful performance as one of the top dogs in the Rebel Alliance. Ready to tackle the role again, O’Reilly did her studying for a much heftier part than before.
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"I was always interested in her…and each time I go to play her, I go back to that scene.”
The scene she finds herself constantly revisiting is the briefing before the Endor battle in Return of the Jedi where Mon Mothma takes center stage, addressing the current situation of the ongoing fight against the Empire. Initially played by Caroline Blakiston, O’Reilly has been re-watching that scene since she was initially cast in the role back in the early 2000’s to take what she can from Blakiston’s speech. While it may have been quick, O’Reilly was able to glean a lot from the actor’s performance.
She explains how, in the scene, Blakiston delivers a speech that is pain-ridden and, in its brevity, begs countless questions about the background of the character. O’Reilly elaborates that she is excited to delve into and expand upon this background, and Andor will allow her to do just that. In the interview, she explains the different ways the series will expand on the development of the Alliance legend, saying this:
"We see the public and the private. We see her literally and figuratively take off her cloak and reveal herself as a woman in a way we've never seen before."
Source: StarWars.com
This project will be an interesting new breath of fresh air for the character who started out with a 40-second speech in the original trilogy, and who has been merely sprinkled in various other projects since. O’Reilly aims to keep in character with Blakiston’s performance, but plans to take advantage of the opportunity to give Mothma a new look. Within the new canon under Disney, it will be interesting to see if this expansion of her character will add to her role in the original films. Mon Mothma’s story has been expanded upon before, in the beloved Timothy Zahn books, as a leader of the New Republic, but Andor will allow fans to get to know her on a much more personal level. A deeper dive into somewhat untraveled areas of Mon Mothma’s life could bring an understanding that fans have yet to see, one that might even create more connections with her character.
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Source(s): Entertainment Weekly, CBR, Wookiepedia