Obi-Wan Kenobi is midway into its debut season on Disney+, but there are still questions that have yet to be answered by the Ewan McGregor-led series. One of them is the true fate of Rupert Friend's Grand Inquisitor, a character who was stabbed to death by his fellow Inquisitor. The villain's demise is a complicated subject, considering that the Grand Inquisitor is the main villain of Star Wars Rebels.
After growing concerns from fans regarding the potential recon over Grand Inquisitor's demise, Obi-Wan Kenobi head writer Joby Harold reassured fans that "[they] would never break canon." As a result, this led to numerous fan theories on how the Grand Inquisitor would eventually make his return to the series.
Now, Friend has seemingly teased that his Star Wars villain will make a grand comeback in a new interview.
Rupert Friend Addresses Grand Inquisitor's 'Death'
Rupert Friend, who plays the Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi, sat down as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live to talk about the apparent death of his Star Wars character while also teasing his return to the Disney+ series.
The Grand Inquisitor is an unnamed Pau'an Jedi who fell to the dark side and joined the Empire. During Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 2, Friend's Grand Inquisitor was stabbed in the stomach by Moses Ingram's Reva, leading fans to wonder if the character is truly dead.
However, in Star Wars canon, Pau'ans have two stomachs, thus giving more reason to believe that the villain is poised to return as the main antagonist of Star Wars Rebels, which takes place five years after the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
When Kimmel pointed out that the Grand Inquisitor was stabbed through the stomach, Friend acknowledged that it was only "one of them," potentially teasing that his Star Wars villain is still alive after all:
Kimmel: "And then your character got stabbed through the stomach…"
Friend: "One of them."
Kimmel: "One of the stomachs. Because your character has two stomachs, like a hippo or something. So that’s what many of the Star Wars analysts-slash-nerds are saying is the reason you’re able to survive this, is because you have another stomach."
Friend: "You know that I survived this?"
Kimmel: "Yes."
Friend: "How?"
Kimmel: "I don’t know, I’m just throwing it out there to see how you react."
Friend: "Good try, though."
Kimmel: "No, but I assume you do, otherwise why would you be here right now?"
Meanwhile, when asked if being part of Star Wars is a dream come true, Friend admitted that he "completely freaked out" when he received the call to join "this huge universe:"
“Yeah, I mean, when the call came I completely freaked out, because it’s this huge universe… And then I read this amazing script and there was this description of this very enigmatic guy who loved the sound of his own voice and delivered this long rambling monologue before you got to the fun stuff… It was wild."
Friend continued by sharing a fun behind-the-scenes story where Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow would play the iconic cantina music on the set of the Disney+ series:
"And then finding yourself on the planet Tatooine, striding down the main street to the cantina… And you’re seeing this cantina where, you know, I’d seen Han Solo and they’d played the music and… Deb Chow, our director, would play the music so you’d start to get into that, which is not very character appropriate for this particular guy… But yeah, it was a dream.”
How Will The Grand Inquisitor Return?
Rupert Friend's latest comments indicate that he is quite aware of the Star Wars history of his character, considering that he quickly pointed out that the Grand Inquisitor has two stomachs. It's clear that the actor knows the true fate of his character, and his answer could likely boost anticipation of the villain's comeback sometime in Obi-Wan Kenobi's final two episodes.
In the interview, Friend didn't seem to deny that the Grand Inquisitor is dead, thus adding another piece of evidence that the character will resurface at some point in the show's final installments.
The Grand Inquisitor is a popular Star Wars character, meaning that it's understandable that his apparent demise led to backlash. However, his likely reemergence could eliminate fans' frustrations while also maintaining Star Wars canon continuity.
Some fans have theorized that the Grand Inquisitor could be revived using the same technology that brought Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand, with the character's stomach being replaced with cybernetics. However, the fact that Pau'ans have two stomachs would likely eliminate that theory.
At this point, the Grand Inquisitor's return is not just a matter of if, but when. Once the villain returns, then it spells bad news not just for Obi-Wan, but also for Reva.
The first four episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are now streaming on Disney+.
