Star Wars: Ahsoka Is Bringing Back an Unexpected Star Wars Villain

Ahsoka appears to be bringing back an unexpected Star Wars villain. An image revealed via Empire shows that the live-action Ahsoka series on Disney+ will include an appearance by at least one Inquisitor or someone doing a good imitation of one. The image shows a character in all-black armor and mask wielding the signature spinning, double-blade red lightsaber of the Inquisitorious. The appearance is surprising since sources previously suggested that the Empire disbanded the Inquisitorious before the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. It’s easy to assume that the remaining Inquisitors were killed by Vader or other Imperial agents, with how the Sith typically deal with Force-wielders outside of the Rule of Two. However, this new Ahsoka image suggests that at least one may have survived into the New Republic era.

It makes a certain thematic sense that Inquisitors might appear in Ahsoka. The show is turning out to be a direct sequel to the Star Wars Rebels animated series, with former Spectre cell members Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, and Hera Syndulla all making live-action debuts. Star Wars Rebels is where the Inquisitors made their first appearance.

Who are the Inquisitors in Star Wars?

During the Reign of the Empire, Inquisitors hunted any Jedi who survived Order 66, wielding the dark side of the Force. They were mostly Jedi survivors who fell to the Dark Side after being captured and tortured. The Inquisitors don’t appear during the Age of Rebellion when the original Star Wars trilogy occurs. In-universe sources say the Empire believed the Jedi to be entirely extinct by then (hence Grand Moff Tarkin mocking Darth Vader’s devotion to that “ancient religion”), and the Inquistiorious vanished, the fate of its Inquisitors left unknown. 

The Inquisitors have become a fixture of Disney’s Star Wars canon since their debut, partly because it’s nice to have a group of Force-sensitive antagonists around swinging red lightsabers without breaking the Sith Rule of Two or overexposing Darth Vader. Since first appearing in Star Wars Rebels, the Inquisitors have appeared in several of Marvel’s Star Wars comics, the Star Wars Jedi video games, and the live-action Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+. Star Wars Rebels Season 1 used the Grand Inquisitor, the group’s leader, as its primary antagonist. Following the Grand Inquisitor’s death, Darth Vader began training the group personally. Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister appeared in later Star Wars Rebels. Second Sister and Ninth Sister appeared in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to challenge the game’s hero, Cal Kestis. Obi-Wan Kenobi brought the Grand Inquisitor to live action and introduced Fifth Brother and Reva, the Third Sister, who briefly took over as Grand Inquisitor. The upcoming Star Wars novel , who stands apart from their peers for being a willing convert to the dark side of the Force.

When is the Ahsoka release date?

Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, premiering in August on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu. Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm’s creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.