Mon Mothma
Mon Mothma is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, primarily portrayed by Genevieve O'Reilly. Introduced as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi, in which she is played by Caroline Blakiston, Mon has become a prominent character in subsequent prequel media, including the film Rogue One, the animated series The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and particularly the live-action television series Andor, where she plays a central role. The character also appeared in the 2023 live-action television series Ahsoka, again portrayed by O'Reilly, her first time playing the character in media set after Return of the Jedi.
Character
Portrayals
One of only four female characters with dialogue in the original three Star Wars films, Mon Mothma was portrayed by Caroline Blakiston in Return of the Jedi. In 1997, Blakiston said of the supporting role, "Certainly people are always very envious of me. When I join a new theater company, the other actors look down the program, see my Return of the Jedi credit and say, 'Oh, you were part of Star Wars.' I smile and say, 'Yes, but only for twenty-six and a half seconds.'"Star Wars creator George Lucas cast Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon in the 2005 prequel film Revenge of the Sith, but most of her scenes were ultimately cut from the theatrical release of the film. In advance of the role, O'Reilly studied Blakiston's 1983 performance. She said, "I remember studying the scene, really trying to work on capturing her voice, her syntax, so that fans could see a connectedness between me playing her and Caroline playing her." O'Reilly reprised the role in the 2016 prequel film Rogue One, and voiced the character in five episodes of the animated series Star Wars Rebels – "Secret Cargo", "Zero Hour: Part 1", "In the Name of the Rebellion: Part 1", "The Occupation", and "Crawler Commandeers" – in 2017. She portrayed Mon again, this time as a lead character, in the live-action 2022 television series Andor. O'Reilly noted in 2022 that Blakiston's performance continually influences her own. She said, "I was always interested in her, and each time I go to play her, I go back to that scene. You can see when Caroline does that in that scene, for me, there was always a pain at the heart of it. You could see that she was carrying a pain, and I was really curious about what that was. What has happened in this woman's life? What has it cost to be her? What are the sacrifices that she has had to make along the way to be that leader of a rebellion?" In expanding the character for Andor, O'Reilly drew from various real-life female politicians, including Liz Cheney, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jacinda Ardern and Angela Merkel.
Kath Soucie voiced Mon Mothma in three episodes of the animated series The Clone Wars – "Senate Murders", "Heroes on Both Sides", and "Pursuit of Peace" – in 2010.
Description
Initially, Mon Mothma is the senator from the planet Chandrila during the last years before the fall of the Galactic Republic. A leader and outspoken voice of the Galactic Senate's Loyalist faction, she pushes back against the increasing overreach of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's policies and the subtle subjugation of the galaxy's citizens. Finding herself fighting a losing battle, Mon ultimately leaves the Senate and founds the Rebel Alliance against Palpatine's rising Galactic Empire, ultimately uniting the emerging Rebel factions into a singular unit. Under her leadership as the Chancellor and Commander-in-Chief of the Rebel Alliance, the Rebels destroy both iterations of the Empire's planet-destroying weapon known as the Death Star, and eventually bring down the Empire itself. Mon subsequently serves as Chancellor of the New Republic, moving the seat of government from Coruscant to Chandrila. She later advocates that it be periodically rotated among different worlds. Mon's policies spark the rise of two opposing factions within the Senate: the Populists, who support the autonomy of individual planets and systems, and the Centrists, who believe a stronger central government is necessary. She later steps down as Chancellor due to illness.Amy Ratcliffe of Nerdist News described the character as "continually a beacon of serenity. Calm and measured, Mon Mothma is a steady hand that the entire Rebel Alliance, and later the New Republic, can grasp for support. She has a hard edge to her; she has to, in order to carry the weight she does. But she only shows it when necessary." O'Reilly said that Mon is a "genuine humanitarian", has a "strong moral compass", and is a "critical thinker" and a "considered decision maker". O'Reilly added, "Early on when we met her, when she was much younger, we didn't really see her taking action. We see her listening a lot, we see her gathering a lot of information... these were foundation moments for that character and it informed her behavior with the rebels group." Ratcliffe wrote that Mon's appearances prior to Star Wars Rebels have "painted a quiet portrait of the character. She's careful. She listens. She has strength, to be sure, but we don't see it outwardly illustrated like ". In that series, Mon realizes that she cannot effectively fight the Emperor from the Senate, and boldly calls him a "lying executioner" in public. The comic Star Wars #28, set after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, shows Mon's unflinching reaction to the news that the Empire is building a second Death Star. Her confidence that the Rebels can destroy this one as they did the first makes Mon a character that Adrian Quidilla of Screen Rant called "the beacon of hope that guides the Rebel Alliance." O'Reilly said, "The iterations that we found her in, both in Rebels and in Rogue One, were similar: a leader of a rebellion with a tough decision. It requires a dignity and a strength, which is at the heart, I think, of Mon Mothma."
Andor creator Tony Gilroy noted that in previous appearances, Mon is "presented as very proper and sober and perfectly put together all the time". He called Mon "sort of a Nancy Pelosi character... She's kind of trying to do good... and she's losing". He noted, "She a powerful presence in the Senate but she's facing defeat after defeat after defeat as the Empire is taking over". O'Reilly said, "I think she has been a woman who really believes in diplomacy, really believes in the power of a democratic chamber, for everyone to have a voice. I believe, with the encroachment of Empire and Palpatine, she has believed that she could still effect change from within. That she could make a difference, that chambers of parliament, for want of a better word, can breed allies, and can create effective opposition, diplomatically. I think when we meet her in Andor, she's at the end of that line. O'Reilly explained, "She's been fighting this fight for a long time. And I feel like she's been getting nowhere... It is a wall of power and oppression in front of her that she is tired of fighting." Zosha Millan of Polygon compared Mon to series hero Cassian Andor in that they are both fighting against the Empire to give regular people better lives, but in different ways. While he pushes back against any authority figure, she has been trying to effect change from within the very power structures he resists, with little success. O'Reilly explained, "Now she has to go outside structure. She has to risk, she has to enter a dangerous environment. And she really has to put her own beliefs on the line... You see a woman put her life on the line in a very different way than Cassian is putting his life on the line."
In Andor, Mon's efforts to finance and build the Rebel Alliance are paramount, even at the expense of her family. After some resistance, she agrees to commence the Chandrilan courtship process between her daughter and the son of shady banker Davo Sculdun in exchange for his assistance with her financial machinations. Mon also sets up her husband to take the fall should the Empire notice the discrepancies in her accounts.
Appearances
Film
''Return of the Jedi'' (1983)
Mon Mothma is introduced in Return of the Jedi as the leader of the Rebel Alliance against the Empire, portrayed by Caroline Blakiston. As the Rebels prepare to assault the Empire's second Death Star, Mon notes that "many Bothans died" to bring information about the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance. In 2022, Genevieve O'Reilly said, " George Lucas wrote this female leader back in the 1980s. That is to be respected and to be celebrated." She added, "I think that was as ambitious then—perhaps even more ambitious—than it is now."''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005)
A younger Mon is featured in scenes shot with O'Reilly for the 2005 prequel film Revenge of the Sith, but most were ultimately cut from the theatrical release of the film. Corey Larson of Screen Rant argued that this was done because "the movie's political aspects needed to be shaved down considerably in order to make the film more palatable in the theater." O'Reilly said:In a deleted scene from the film, Mon secretly meets with senators Bail Organa of Alderaan and Padmé Amidala of Naboo during the last days of the Galactic Republic. Mon explains, "We are not Separatists trying to leave the Republic. We are loyalists trying to preserve democracy in the Republic." The group discusses Palpatine's growing authoritarianism, and how to counter it, in what would be the seed of the rebellion against the Empire.