The Star Wars series Andor has not shied away from showing the Empire’s cruelty, and Season 2 is going to play out one of its most infamous atrocities—the Ghorman Massacre by Grand Moff Tarkin. But why do the Ghorman people harbor such deep hatred for Grand Moff Tarkin, and how will this event shape the growing Rebellion?
What was Grand Moff Tarkin’s massacre against Ghormans before Andor Season 2?
Before Andor Season 2, the Ghorman Massacre was first introduced in Star Wars Rebels. This is where it served as an important catalyst in Mon Mothma’s decision to oppose the Empire openly. Originally, the massacre took place in 18 BBY, just a year after the Empire’s rise.
It wasn’t a spontaneous outburst of violence, but a calculated display of Imperial terror. When peaceful protesters gathered to demonstrate against oppression, Grand Moff Tarkin made an example of them in the most horrifying way possible. Tarkin landed his Star Destroyer on a crowd of peaceful protesters, crushing hundreds to death. This act shocked the galaxy and pushed senators like Mon Mothma and Bail Organa toward rebellion.
However, Disney’s Andor Season 2’s revised timeline shifted the Grand Moff Tarkin-induced massacre to 2 BBY. In Rebels, Mon Mothma’s public denouncement of Palpatine after the massacre forced her into hiding—an arc that Andor will likely expand upon.
Andor has established Ghorman as a strategically vital planet, famous for its exclusive spider-silk textiles. But the Empire isn’t interested in fashion—it wants calcite, a mineral seemingly required for the Death Star’s construction. Extracting it would render Ghorman uninhabitable, leaving its people with nothing.
To justify their actions, Imperial officers like Dedra Meero are crafting a propaganda campaign to turn the galaxy against Ghorman. By linking its people to the planet’s giant spiders, they’re painting them as monstrous and dangerous. Worse, the Empire plans to manufacture a fake rebel uprising, giving them an excuse to violently suppress the population. Now, fans will have to wait and see how Andor Season 2 plays out Grand Moff Tarkin’s massacre against the Ghormans.