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Oh No, That Really Is The Grand Inquisitor's Live-Action Design
The Grand Inquisitor’s fate in Obi-Wan Kenobi confirms his disliked live-action design, disproving theories and continuing a Disney Star Wars trend.

Oh No, That Really Is The Grand Inquisitor's Live-Action Design

Warning! SPOILERS for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5.

Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 confirmed that the Grand Inquisitor is alive and keeping the same live-action design. Set 10 years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the series Obi-Wan Kenobi focuses on Obi-Wan struggling to elude both Darth Vader and his team of Jedi-hunting Inquisitors while trying to return Princess Leia to her home on Alderaan. Since the Inquisitors originated in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, Obi-Wan Kenobi marked their live-action debut. This included the Grand Inquisitor, who led the group of dark side warriors to kill survivors of the Jedi Purge. Unfortunately, his design turned out to be a disappointment, as it’s noticeably different from his Star Wars Rebels appearance.

During Star Wars Rebels season 1, the Grand Inquisitor was the central antagonist. His main goal was to hunt down Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66, and his new apprentice, Ezra Bridger. The Grand Inquisitor ultimately failed, dying after losing a lightsaber duel with Kanan in the Star Wars Rebels season 1 finale. Due to the character’s popularity, the Grand Inquisitor has continued to appear in other Star Wars media. For example, several comics expanded upon other periods of the Grand Inquisitor’s life. Star Wars Rebels season 2, episode 18, “Shroud of Darkness,” even revealed that the Grand Inquisitor had once been a Jedi Temple Guard, but he fell to the dark side after the Empire’s rise to power.

Based on this sequence of events, Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2 proved confusing when the powerful Inquisitor Reva stabbed the Grand Inquisitor with her lightsaber, seemingly killing him. Since the Grand Inquisitor was not supposed to die until Star Wars Rebels five years later, this sparked theories about how the Grand Inquisitor’s death could still maintain continuity while also possibly explaining his design divergence. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 revealed that the Grand Inquisitor survived and worked with Darth Vader to plot his revenge against Reva. Moreover, the Grand Inquisitor looked the same as he did before Reva’s attack, confirming that was his final live-action design. The Grand Inquisitor’s return not only debunked a major theory about his death and design but continued Disney’s trend of poorly adapting Star Wars‘ animated characters.

One theory to explain the Grand Inquisitor’s supposed death was that the first Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi was not the same character from Star Wars Rebels. The Grand Inquisitor was a Pau’an, an alien species from the planet Utapau. Since Pau’ans’ average lifespan lasted for centuries, there could have easily been multiple Force-sensitive members in the population at once. One Pau’an male could have been the first Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi while another Pau’an would have taken over his role by the events of Star Wars Rebels. While this theory seemed far-fetched, it would have explained the design changes between the animated and live-action Grand Inquisitor. However, the Grand Inquisitor’s survival disproved this theory and confirmed that the two versions of the Grand Inquisitor were the same character.

The Grand Inquisitor’s design continues Disney’s struggle with adapting animated Star Wars characters to live-action. Some transitions have worked well. For example, Black Krrsantan, the Wookiee bounty hunter, looked nearly the same in The Book of Boba Fett as he did in his original comics. Similarly, former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano moved from Star Wars: The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian with only minimal changes. For practical purposes, Ahsoka’s lekku were shortened in live-action. Other characters’ designs have not transferred so well. Cad Bane’s design in The Book of Boba Fett was too different from his Clone Wars design, and the Grand Inquisitor has fallen into this same category as well. Although the Grand Inquisitor’s survival in Obi-Wan Kenobi resolved any continuity issues, it also finalized his unfavorable live-action design.