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So, just who is the mysterious Inquisitor Marrok? This shadowy villain was first introduced in Ahsoka, and he promptly sent Star Wars fans into a frenzy of speculation and theorizing. Just when we thought we'd seen the last of him, though, he showed up again: first in Tales of the Empire and most recently in Maul – Shadow Lord.
Below, we've rounded up everything there is to know about Inquisitor Marrok, AKA the First Brother. That includes the lowdown on all the theories about his identity, what he got up to in Ahsoka, and what he's doing in Shadow Lord (which is set before Ahsoka on the Star Wars timeline).
Article continues belowWho is Inquisitor Marrok?
Inquisitor Marrok first appeared in Star Wars in Ahsoka and pops up again in Tales of the Empire (very briefly) and Maul – Shadow Lord.
We still know very little about Marrok. When he was introduced in Ahsoka, his character description on StarWars.com read: "Once an Inquisitor hunting Jedi for the Empire, the mysterious Marrok now works as a mercenary hired by Morgan Elsbeth to carry out dark deeds," reads the description. "Fully encased in battered battle armor, the warrior still carries a red double-bladed saber with a circular hilt."
After Shadow Lord, the description was updated to include: "Also known as First Brother, Marrok works as one of Darth Vader's Jedi-hunting Inquisitors during the reign of the Empire where he tracks both Jedi and Maul."
Marrok carries an Inquisitor's signature weapon – a Darth Maul-style double bladed red lightsaber, but with that distinctive circle hilt. We've seen Inquisitors in live-action before in Obi-Wan Kenobi, including the Grand Inquisitor, who was a major antagonist in Star Wars Rebels season 1. They've also popped up in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Ahsoka Tano duels one in the animated show Tales of the Jedi. Then, we see more of them in Tales of the Empire.
Inquisitors are dark siders who hunt down surviving Jedi on the orders of the Empire. They were thought to be pretty much gone by the time of A New Hope (after all, Tarkin thinks Darth Vader is the last surviving Force user), rendered pointless thanks to the Empire's belief that all the Jedi were dead. This detail made Marrok's appearance in Ahsoka all the more fascinating.
We also know that Marrok eventually dies, killed by Ahsoka Tano. When he dies, green Nightsister magic is expelled from his armor. That only adds to the Inquisitor's mystique... and we still don't have answers.
Inquisitor Marrok identity theories
Intriguingly, we still have no idea who is beneath Marrok's helmet. Shadow Lord hasn't given anything away, so it's all still up for speculation.
As you'd expect, theories were flying while Ahsoka was airing. One popular theory was that Marrok was none other than Ezra Bridger. It made a lot of sense, since Marrok is the name of one of King Arthur's knights who was turned into a werewolf by a witch in league with Morgan le Fay. Ezra has a strong connection to Loth-wolves, as seen in Star Wars Rebels (and there's wolf symbolism to be found in Shin Hati and Baylan Skoll's names, too), and Morgan Elsbeth is a descendant of the Nighsisters of Dathomir, so she's a witch named Morgan. Convincing, right? But, this theory turned out to be false when Ezra was discovered on Peridea.
Then there was a theory that Marrok is Galen Marek, AKA Starkiller, who was Darth Vader's secret apprentice in the now non-canon The Force Unleashed video games. Starkiller was voiced by Sam Witwer, who has an additional voices credit in Ahsoka. Now, a caveat that Witwer is a prolific Star Wars voice actor who often contributes like this to various projects... but it's still a pretty weird coincidence, right? Then there's the similarity between the names Marrok and Marek. Plus, having the apprentice of Vader fight with Ahsoka, the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, would've been a powerful parallel. And, now that Marrok has shown up in Maul – Shadow Lord, the connection is even juicier: Witwer voices Maul himself.
In Ahsoka episode 3, we finally heard Marrok's voice too, and it left some viewers even more convinced about the Witwer connection. But, Marrok is not voiced by Witwer in Shadow Lord: he's voiced by A.J. LoCascio.
Another theory, though, is that Marrok is actually... just Marrok. Who knows, maybe he is an all new character? Only time will tell.
Who plays Inquisitor Marrok in Ahsoka and Maul – Shadow Lord?
Paul Darnell is credited as the man inside Inquisitor Marrok's suit in Ahsoka – he's a stunt performer who has worked on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett before.
In Maul – Shadow Lord, Marrok is voiced by A.J. LoCascio. "I mean, he's awesome. He's so cool, and performed by our buddy, A.J. LoCascio, and A.J. is so good," supervising director Brad Rau told us of Marrok. "And, to be a foil for Maul.
"We talked a lot about [how] we wanted these Inquisitors to be as creepy as possible, creepier than we've ever seen them: horrifying, in fact. And, A.J. certainly gives us a lot of that in his performance. And the way that we blocked Marrok in particular, if you notice, he moves really slowly, like a horror monster, and then he moves really fast, also like some kind of apparition. And so we just played with all of that fun stuff. It's just too much fun."
What is Inquisitor Marrok doing in Ahsoka and Maul – Shadow Lord?
In Ahsoka, Marrok was allied with Morgan Elsbeth, Baylan Skoll, and Shin Hati in the quest for Grand Admiral Thrawn. He crossed blades with Ahsoka, but was ultimately killed by Snips. When he died, he expelled green Nightsister magic. Spooky...
In Maul – Shadow Lord, Marrok is sent to Janix to investigate sightings of Maul and two Jedi (Devon Izara and her Master, Eeko-Dio Daki). Mysteriously, he calls someone for help at the end of episode 6, which could end up being Vader himself. We saw Marrok and Vader together very, very briefly in Tales of the Empire, when Marrok kneeled before the Sith Lord.
Basically, then, this Inquisitor is always on the dark side, and he's always working against our heroes...
Ahsoka and Maul – Shadow Lord are streaming on Disney Plus now. For more, check out our Maul – Shadow Lord release schedule or how to watch The Clone Wars in order.
