‘Andor’ Writer Beau Willimon Breaks Down Saw Gerrera’s ‘Absolutely Wackadoodle’ Rhydo Speech

During nan 2 weeks “Andor” writers gathered astatine nan SoHo Grand Hotel successful New York to break nan 2nd season, Beau Willimon was successful nan room. He moreover brought nan whiteboards they utilized for brainstorming and his ain adjunct to return notes. But successful nan consequent weeks, erstwhile nan mini unit dispersed to outline their individual episodes and constitute nan first drafts, Willimon held meetings pinch showrunner Tony Gilroy complete Zoom.

At nan aforesaid clip he was penning “Andor,” he traveled overseas to activity connected different project: a documentary connected Russia’s battle connected Ukraine, which meant moving successful a federation nether siege. “You know, I didn’t show Tony I was complete there,” Willimon said successful an question and reply pinch IndieWire. “But astatine a definite point, he figured it out.”

War was already apical of mind for nan “Andor” team. Willimon said nan writers talked astir Ukraine “a lot” while breaking Season 2. It was February 2022, nan run-up to Russia’s invasion. But being there, it goes without saying, was different.

“It really did, I deliberation successful immoderate way, spirit astatine slightest immoderate of nan activity I did connected my episodes,” he said. “War and precocious stakes and proceeding aerial ambush sirens and being successful a highly militarized situation — nary of that was absurd for me. It was each very real. Rockets were exploding conscionable a fewer miles from wherever I was staying. So really tin that not, to a degree, infuse itself into a communicative wherever there’s immoderate of those aforesaid elements? Not that location were immoderate nonstop parallels, per se, but nan situation surely informed immoderate of nan activity I was doing.”

As nan lead-in to “Rogue One,” “Andor” Season 2 chronicles a perilous 4 years successful nan “Star Wars” timeline. The Empire’s authoritarian scope widens and tightens. To conflict back, nan Rebellion grows and matures. Ghorman becomes a captious battleground erstwhile nan Empire occupies its a serene superior metropolis and escalates a conflict for its ain nefarious gains. Citizens look nightly curfews, and equipped militia march connected nationalist streets. Bombs spell off. Arrests are made. War breaks out.

The parallels betwixt what’s happening successful a postulation far, acold distant and what’s happening correct present connected Earth couldn’t beryllium much clear. Since its premiere, “Andor” has been adopted by real-world guidance groups, whether they’re fighting state-driven genocide, nan rise of fascism, aliases an unlawful occupation. Willimon stressed that “Andor” wasn’t written pinch “direct parallels” successful mind, but surviving successful a state being torn isolated by warfare “certainly informed immoderate of nan activity I was doing.”

Historical precedent, truthful often repeated, was besides a “huge portion of nan process” for shaping Season 2.

“We were perpetually cherry-picking different moments successful history that we could usage arsenic inspiration, aliases to put a gloss connected a definite communicative facet of ‘Andor,'” Willimon said. “The quality of nan show, but besides nan franchise successful general, is that it has nan room, nan breadth, and extent to beryllium capable to sorb a batch of different humanities events. [‘Star Wars’] tin transpose them successful ways that supply a definite benignant of melodramatic distance. [It can] let america to understand those events amended because they’re put done this filter.”

Willimon said he and nan Gilroy brothers are each history buffs. They urge history podcasts to each different “all nan time” and savor episodes of Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History.”

“A batch of nan themes successful nan show are things that humans person been dealing pinch for millennia, obviously,” Willimon said. “Kyle [Soller] had a awesome quote, which I’ll bargain correct now and whitethorn butcher a bit: This is nan benignant of show that would’ve been arsenic applicable a 100 years agone arsenic it is today, and nan dream is that it’ll beryllium relevant– Well, successful immoderate ways you dream it’s not applicable a 100 years from now because immoderate of nan issues it’s rubbing upon spell to immoderate halfway flaws successful humanity, right? But these themes and humanities paradigms and governmental moments are evergreen. So it was earthy to tie from history.”

Reflecting recognizable moments successful clip not only helps adhd melodramatic heft to “Andor’s” various abstraction battles, it tin besides thief animate viewers connected a visceral level — arsenic is very overmuch nan lawsuit successful a celebrated segment from nan extremity of Episode 5, “I Have Friends Everywhere,” written by Willimon.

Set connected a rainy distant satellite successful nan mediate of a risky heist, nan Rebellion’s extremist leader Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) delivers a rousing reside comparing nan highly volatile substance rhydonium to nan guidance itself. Ostensibly, Saw’s words are meant for his newest recruit, Wilmon Paak (Muhannad Bhaier), who’s helping him pilfer nan perchance lethal power source. But arsenic Saw continues speaking, his enthusiasm proves contagious, some for Wilmon and nan assemblage astatine home.

“Have you ever seen a man dice from rhydonium?,” Saw says. “Maybe you’re for illustration me. Maybe you emotion … [sniffs] nan smell of it. And possibly you respire conscionable a small excessively deeply. Burned from nan inside. You watch your tegument blister arsenic it melts away. Or, you dice loud. Cut a line? Drop a wrench? Let it spill? Don’t moreover request a spark, do you, boy?”

When asked to stock nan scene’s origins — particularly fixed his proximity to an existent warfare while penning nan section — Willimon’s mentation was truthful thorough and generous, it’s worthy sharing successful afloat (with a fewer ray edits for clarity):

“First and foremost, what other is happening successful nan episode?”

“You don’t commencement retired saying, ‘OK, we’re going to person a large reside for Saw Gerrera, wherever he benignant of outlines his thesis and his motivation, and that we effort to do thing impactful that will rustle a batch of people’s minds and person a subreddit thread’ aliases something,” Willimon said. “You really conscionable commencement from a very pedestrian spot of crafting story. And location were a fewer things going connected successful that section that contributed to that speech.”

Those different communicative arcs (cited by Willimon) include:

• Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) “standing up to Emperor Palpatine” by lobbying for votes successful nan Senate.
• “A nascent, inexperienced, rebel underground” successful Ghorman preparing to return their first awesome action against nan Empire.
• Bix (Adria Arjona) “dealing pinch nan PTSD” from her imprisonment, torture, and consequent attacks, each astatine nan hands of nan Empire.
• Meanwhile, Saw Gerrera is operating connected nan “outer fringes, conscionable trying to get immoderate pitchy substance to support raising hellhole crossed nan galaxy.”

“We wanted to show really nan statement of nan Rebellion is nan amalgamation of each these highly disparate parts; that it’s a spectrum, [stretching from] a legislator connected Coruscant to nan insanity of Saw Gerrera and his motley unit retired location successful nan mediate of nowhere,” Willimon said. “We really wanted to show really these things coexist, [despite being] truthful acold isolated and truthful different. Whatever nobility and pomp and condition location is successful nan Senate, connected nan different extremity of nan spectrum is nan madness that is Saw Gerrera.”

“So you commencement asking yourself: What benignant of things is Saw up to?”

From there, Willimon said shaping Saw’s communicative came from “thinking astir juxtaposition” — furthering nan contrasts betwixt “Andor’s” rebel characters while strengthening their relationship to nan cause. One cardinal juxtaposition came successful really nan assemblage understood Saw earlier and aft this moment.

So far, Saw “has been reluctant to play pinch others,” arsenic Willimon put it, but he’s still a cardinal personnel of nan Rebel team, truthful why not build that in?

“As crazy arsenic he mightiness look successful this arc, he’s still, to a degree, playing ball. He is moving pinch 1 of Luthen’s guys,” Willimon said. “Now, we mightiness think, ‘Maybe not. Maybe he’s going to termination this guy. Maybe he’s conscionable utilizing them.’ That’s surely what we’d expect of Saw.”

“I deliberation nan large astonishment astatine nan extremity of [the scene] is moreover Saw Gerrera is welcome. You are portion of our people and we are portion of yours. It’s nan slightest apt spot you expect to perceive it: that we each stock this insanity of wanting to alteration nan postulation and conflict nan powers that be. It connects us, [even] a feline who astir of nan clip is like, ‘I don’t want to person thing to do pinch anyone else.'”

“Wilmon Paak, which Tony slipped [in] — I didn’t sanction that character.”

Despite nan phonetic similarities, Willimon did not travel up pinch nan sanction Wilmon, but nan young farmhand is nan adjacent captious measurement toward Saw’s large scene. By Episode 5, Wilmon has been shipped disconnected to thief Saw build a instrumentality that tin safely extract rhydonium.

“We’re search this kid who is progressively becoming a subordinate [in nan Rebellion]. We’re seeing his coming of age,” Willimon said. “So complete nan people of this episode, you’re besides conscionable trying to way what occurs for Wilmon to advancement him from a feline that’s conscionable trying to activity connected this portion of engineering to really emotion nan rebellion successful his bones.”

“The cherry connected apical present is that we person Forest Whitaker [playing] Saw Gerrera, a beloved characteristic who’s perfectly wackadoodle,” Willimon said. “So you person nan opportunity to do thing ace weird and cool. With each of those things successful mind, what do we want to do successful this scene? Of course, there’s an facet of let’s springiness Forest Whitaker thing juicy to do.”

“But successful a very existent way, what is [Saw] saying to this kid?”

“Why is he moreover talking to him?,” Willimon said. “He’s conscionable opinionated location while this kid is doing this thing? It felt for illustration we needed to activate that scene.”

Indeed, considering he’s successful nan mediate of a life-or-death mission, immoderate hostility exists successful nan scnee should beryllium coming from Wilmon’s tricky procurement of nan rhydonium. But arsenic Saw keeps talking, nan attraction shifts. It’s not astir whether Wilmon will bargain nan rhydo without dying from nan exposure; it’s astir if Wilmon will judge nan threat he’s facing successful this ngo is nan aforesaid threat he’ll ever look arsenic a rebel. How overmuch of himself is he consenting to springiness to nan cause? His sweat? His blood? His life?

“Revolution is not for nan sane,” Saw says. “Look astatine us. Unloved. Hunted. Cannon fodder. We’ll each beryllium dormant earlier nan Republic is backmost and yet… present we are. Where are you boy? You’re here! You’re correct here! And you’re fresh to fight. Breathe it in! Let it run! Let it tally wild!”

With that stupendous flourish (made each nan much memorable by Whitaker’s triumphant oration), Wilmon inhales nan very point he was terrified to touch a fewer minutes prior. And, astatine nan aforesaid time, astute fans travel to observe a cardinal portion of Saw Gerrera’s backstory: why he wears a disguise successful “Rogue One.”

“We weren’t judge successful nan first walk precisely what it was, but past nan thought came to us: ‘Wait a second. The reply is Forest each along. It’s been successful “Rogue One” [but successful “Andor”], we haven’t seen him pinch nan mask. Here’s an opportunity to possibly explicate really you get to that successful ‘Rogue One.'”

“It feels for illustration each of this is ace intentional, for illustration we’ve reverse-engineered it backmost to this moment, wherever you get to termination respective birds pinch 1 stone, which is not only do we get to person our Forest Whitaker aria, and not only do we get to beforehand nan communicative and show nan juxtaposition of each these prongs of nan rebellion, but connected apical of each of that we tin besides opportunity this is why he’s breathing into this disguise successful ‘Rogue One.'”

“Then it conscionable took connected a life of its own.”

As did “Andor” — a “Star Wars” communicative that’s built to last.

“Andor” is disposable connected Disney+.