‘Andor’s Mon Mothma Storyline Is Straight Out Of An ‘80s ‘Star Wars’ Book

This week’s episode of Andor featured the return of a familiar Star Wars character – no, not Watto, or Max Rebo, or Tatooinian bar patron the literal Devil. We’re talking about Mon Mothma, the Rebel leader who first showed up in Return of the Jedi, memorably briefing the troops with an air of dignity you rarely see from someone accompanied by three disgusting squid-men.

Despite the fact that her character is only on screen for thirty seconds in Return of the Jedi, and all of her lines from Revenge of the Sith were ultimately cut from the film –

– Mon Mothma has become a central part of the Star Wars universe, who has appeared in various animated series, Rogue One, and now, of course, Andor, in which Mothma is still a sitting Senator on Coruscant (despite the fact that the entire political system has been hijacked by an evil wizard with a giant butt-crack on his forehead).  Actress Genevieve O'Reilly has claimed in interviews that she took inspiration for her Andor performance from, among others, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – which we’re sure will solve the world’s glaring shortage of Star Wars-themed YouTube rants from angry man-babies. 

Mothma’s importance to this era of Star Wars is nothing new. However, this basic storyline was briefly outlined way back in 1983 – not in Return of the Jedi itself, but in its novelization. The book introduces Mon Mothma with far more context than the film, outlining that she had been “a senator of the Republic” even after it had “begun to crumble.”

Not only that, but it also states that, while she was still a Senator, she coordinated “organized cells” to “revolt against the Empire.” Which is pretty much what we get in Andor; Mothma covertly meets up with Luthen Rael to plan their attacks, and is even, apparently, funding much of the Rebellion herself. In retrospect, it’s amazing that this part of the Return of the Jedi novel was replicated so accurately, considering that it’s the same book in which Obi-Wan reveals that Luke’s Uncle Owen was really his brother …

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Thumbnail: Lucasfilm