New Report States Rupert Friend Will Play [SPOILER] In The 'Kenobi' Show
Ever since Kathleen Kennedy announced the "rematch of the century" between Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, it has become obvious that Darth Vader would be the major antagonist of the Jedi Master in exile. But at the same time, it was clear that the stand-off between the Jedi Master and his fallen Padawan could only be the climax of the mini-series and that there had to be other opponents disturbing Kenobi's peaceful life on Tatooine.
A new report now sheds some light on another villain of the series, as well as on the actor who will play him: Rupert Friend, a British actor who made his film debut in 2004 alongside Jonny Depp in The Libertine and who is probably best known for his titular role in Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), is said to appear as the Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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Friend was reportedly spotted wearing either white make-up or a white mask on set, which would be fitting as Pau’ans, the alien race whom the Grand Inquisitor is a member of, sport hairless white faces, with small dark lines running from the top of the skull to the chin, as well as red markings.
The Grand Inquisitor was a Jedi Temple Guard during the last years of the Republic, and later became the leader of the Inquisitorius, a group of Force-users, who reported directly to Darth Vader and were tasked to hunt down the last remaining Jedi, as well as finding Force-sensitive children, so that they could be exploited by the Emperor. Like all Dark-Siders, the Grand Inquisitor wielded a red lightsaber, equipped with two blades which could quickly spin around an ring that was part of the hilt.
The Grand Inquisitor, who like all the other members of the Inquisitorius was never given a proper name onscreen, was the main antagonist of Hera Syndula’s rebel cell in Season 1 of Star Wars Rebels, which took place several years after the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. In the final episode of Season 1, he was beaten by Kanan Jarrus in a lightsaber duel and fell to a fiery death. Vader kept the spirit of the Grand Inquisitor trapped inside an old Jedi Outpost on Tempes, where he fought and lost against Luke Skywalker in 3 ABY.
It seems that Friend’s character won’t be the only Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Lucasfilm revealed several pieces of concept art for the upcoming series, one of them showed a dark clothed figure disembarking from an Imperial vessel. This person clearly isn’t Vader, fueling speculation that these Force-sensitive henchmen of the Empire will finally make their live-action debut.
Rebels, as well as Marvel’s Darth Vader comic series, the Ahsoka novel by E. K. Johnston and the Jedi: Fallen Order video game have established a number of Inquisitors. Like their leader, they have no names, but are just assigned numbers, followed by either “Brother” or “Sister”. Sung Kang, best known for his role in the Fast & Furious franchise, is said to be playing another Inquisitor, probably the Fifth Brother, a ruthless grey-skinned humanoid with a massive helmet, who was introduced in the second season of Rebels. Kang seemingly had to spend a lot of time in make-up and was spotted with a headpiece that is similar to that of the Fifth Brother.
Back in early 2021, shortly after the announcement of the cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit) posted a short video on Instagram, showing herself practicing with a toy lightsaber, leading to immediate speculation that she would either play another Jedi survivor of Order 66, or one of the bad guys. Rumors later settled on her also playing one of the Imperial Inquisitors.
It is not clear if Ingram will play one of the established female Inquisitors, but according to the new report she didn’t have to spend too much time in makeup, but rather sported her natural look, so it is possible that she is a new character. The report also states that Ingram’s Inquisitor is the most important antagonist and could be pivotal for the events of the series.
With Disney’s recent announcement that Obi-Wan Kenobi will debut on May 25, it is roughly two more month until the audience will find out if these rumors are actually true. And of course, we could also do with a trailer in the meantime.
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Sources: CBR, Bespin Bulletin