George Lucas famously claimed that Star Wars is like poetry, in that it rhymes; but that quote has taken on a new, darker meaning courtesy of Tony Gilroy. For Lucas, the “poetry” of Star Wars primarily lay in the visual and narrative beats, which were designed to relate to one another.

Sometimes the rhymes are obvious; it’s no coincidence that both Anakin and Luke are raised on Tatooine. Sometimes they’re more subtle, visible only when you notice a stance or sH๏τ composition. But the concept of a Star Wars rhyme has just become a whole lot darker, courtesy of Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy.

Star Wars Is Beginning To “Rhyme” With Real Life

Star Wars has always been political. George Lucas was inspired by the Vietnam War, and the Rebel Alliance were based on the Viet Cong – which, yes, means the US was the Empire. Lucas’ politics became even more evident in the prequels, which open with a discussion of international trade.

Andor built upon this, telling a timeless story of the battle against fascism. The problem, though, is that Andor seems to be becoming a little too true to life. Tony Gilroy reflected on this in a recent interview with THR, where he recalled one specific example:

“When I started on the show, the parallels between what was happening in the world and what was happening in the galaxy and the Empire — those were already obvious. But over the six years we’ve been doing the show, that little monster got on its feet and learned how to run. When Senator Padilla was pulled out of the ICE meeting, like in the episode about the Ghorman senator being pulled out, there was a big text chain in our group like, “Oh my God. It looked like the show.” It’s very sad for us how much it rhymes.”

Many viewers were chilled by some of these obvious comparisons. It’s becoming increasingly clear the Andor team noticed them as well, and found them deeply concerning.

There’s A Timeless Message To Star Wars That Is Becoming Very Timely

Gilroy was initially wary of admitting to the parallels, perhaps concerned about the possibility Andor would get drawn into the culture wars. He seems to have lost that restraint now, though, openly acknowledging them as a student of history. Speaking to Variety back in May, he insisted the Star Wars TV show was not intended as a commentary on modern events.

“The show was supposed to come out a long time ago,” Gilroy pointed out, “but for the strikes. And the digestive process of bringing something from your desk to an audience is a pretty long process. Usually, you’re carbon-14 dating what happened rather than being prescient.”

Even then, though, Gilroy was quietly admitting that the show felt prescient.

“The repeating patterns of revolution and authoritarianism, and all of the attendant things that go with that, they just replicate,” Gilroy explained. In his view, he was attempting to continue the timeless story of the Star Wars saga, the unending battle between authoritarianism and freedom. It’s just that this story has become rather timely.

George Lucas always intended Star Wars to rhyme. It’s just quite tragic that the rhymescheme now involves the real world.