Darth Vader isn't the only villain in town. Obi-Wan Kenobi is bringing a group of dark siders to live-action for the very first time: the Inquisitors. Led by the helmet-clad Sith Lord himself, the Inquisitors are relentlessly hunting down the remaining Jedi in the galaxy – and that includes Obi-Wan.
While Rupert Friend's Grand Inquisitor and Sung Kang's Fifth Brother have been seen before in animation, Moses Ingram's Reva, AKA the Third Sister, is all new. We sat down with the actor to break down her character, and spoke about what it was like to work with director Deborah Chow and the returning Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, as well as Reva's place in the pantheon of Star Wars villains, what motivates the Inquisitor, and what it was like exploring new galactic locations. Here's our full conversation, edited for length and clarity.
Total Film: Star Wars has some very famous, iconic villains. How do you think your character fits into the line-up?
Moses Ingram: I think she's her own person for sure. And I think I'll leave it to fans to decide where she fits with other villains. But she was fun to play, and it was fun to be bad. So I hope that shows.
We've never seen the Inquisitors in live-action before, and your character is completely new. Did you have a lot of freedom to put your own spin on her?
Deborah, our director, was really great about inviting me in on the process of building Reva and who she was and certain choices, just in moving through the story. She was really great about caring about what I thought and felt about Reva as a woman, and so I do feel like I was able to really step into it in a way that felt good because of Deborah.
In this show, you're also working with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. Did they have any advice about joining the franchise?
They lead by example. They've been doing this a really long time and are super gracious and have had feelings, and feelings change over the years, and I think that's the main thing is that it's a journey and the way I feel about it today I may not feel about it tomorrow. Or I will, and back and forth, and otherwise. I don't know. But they're really great humans.
What can you tell us about Reva's motivations in this series? Is this a typical dark versus light battle, or is there something more personal going on? You've described her as "all heart" before.
Yeah, she is. She's all heart, and she wants to do a good job at her job, which is hunting Jedi. And so, yeah, when you're passionate, it comes across as passionate.
We talked a little bit about other villains before, but Reva is not the only villain even in this show. There's also the other Inquisitors, and obviously there's Darth Vader. How does this team work together? As you said, they're hunting the Jedi.
Just by nature of them being on one team, they're all the subordinates of Vader, and so they each have a place in that way.
A lot has been said about a big battle between Obi-Wan and Vader coming. But does Reva have some really big action sequences or moments too?
I don't know. I don't know. I only know that I'm in it. [Laughs] That's as much as I know. And so I think I know what happens, but you never know with any of this. I'm excited to see it with everybody else.
From the trailers that we've seen, it's clear that Reva has this ferocious energy. How did you find that as an actor? Was that really intense?
It certainly was fun to play. There are so many dynamics at play at once, and it's really layered. And I think that's fun for me as an actor.
The show is taking us to new Star Wars locations that we've never seen before. How did you find exploring these new corners of the galaxy?
It's been fun, because the Volume, for one, is really amazing. There's very little pretending that we have to do, so you step into a space, it is that. And our set people and props people are incredibly talented, and so the things that they build for us to step into, even the floors that we're on are different every day. It's a testament to the people who work on it, for sure.
Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts exclusively on Disney Plus from May 27. For much more on the series, check out our interviews with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen on their favorite memories filming the show and how their characters' relationship has changed, as well as Christensen on why he didn't speak to George Lucas before returning as Darth Vader.
For everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away, see our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
