Star Wars surprised fans with a brand new Disney+ series on Star Wars Day (May 4), but also killed off a key Inquisitor in one of the episodes. The series, titled Tales of the Underworld, continued the anthology-style Tales animated series with two three-episode arcs about Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane. In the show's marketing material, it was confirmed that Star Wars' 16th Inquisitor would show up at some point in the series as he appeared in the trailer and was featured on the poster.
The first three episodes of Tales of the Underworld were centered around Asajj Ventress. It finally settled an important question some Star Wars fans had been asking about Ventress and her death in a canon novel (many were confused how she was in Tales of the Underworld and The Bad Batch despite dying earlier in the timeline in a canon book. In the very first episode of Ventress' arc and Tales of the Underworld as a whole, titled "A Way Forward," fans were introduced to the terrifying new Inquisitor the trailer and poster promised.
After meeting a young boy whom the show goes on to introduce as Lyco Strata, Ventress tried to help him hide from the Empire and escape a desert planet. However, just as she was about to get him on a ship leaving the planet, the Inquisitor walked into the docking bay and ignited his lightsaber. In response, Ventress pulled her own yellow lightsaber and began to duel with the Inquisitor.
Tales of the Underworld's marketing made it seem as though the Inquisitor would be an important part of the show. However, his screentime was limited to just a few minutes before he was killed on-screen. Surprisingly, though, Ventress wasn't the one to kill him. When the Inquisitor had Ventress dead to rights with his double-bladed lightsaber ready to deal a killing blow, Strata used Ventress' lightsaber as well as his own to stab the Inquisitor through the back twice, thus killing him.
Therefore, despite being heavily marketed, Tales of the Underworld (find out which seven Star Wars actors reprised their roles in Tales of the Underworld here) killed off its Inquisitor just moments after introducing him. However, that is not the first time that exact situation has happened.
Tales of the Underworld's Inquisitor Was Nearly Identical to Tales of the Jedi's
Tales of the Underworld viewers may have felt a bit of deja vu while watching the first episode if they have also seen Tales of the Jedi. That is because Tales of the Jedi, which was released in 2022, also introduced a brand new Inquisitor in one of its episodes before killing him off just moments later.
In that show, Ahsoka faced off against the Inquisitor (whose official name is the Eleventh Brother) before killing him just a few minutes later in a lightsaber duel. The Eleventh Brother's arc in Tales of the Jedi was nearly identical to the Inquisitor's arc in Tales of the Underworld. Both were heavily featured in their respective shows' marketing, but both were killed right after their introduction.
However, fans at least learned the Eleventh Brother's name. In Tales of the Underworld, the Inquisitor's name is never spoken, and, in the credits, he is just referred to as "Inquisitor."
Will Tales of the Jedi's Inquisitor Show Up Again?
Some Inquisitors in the Star Wars universe have had extremely important roles, while others have been featured more in the background. For example, the Third Sister (Reva) was an integral part of Obi-Wan Kenobi's story, but the Eleventh Brother in Tales of the Jedi turned out not to be as important.
It is worth mentioning, though, that the Inquisitor from Tales of the Underworld could return in another series. As mentioned, his role in the show was very similar to the Eleventh Brother's role in Tales of the Jedi, and the Eleventh Brother was still featured in another project.
Some fans will remember that the Eleventh Brother played a small but unimportant role in one of Barriss Offee's Tales of the Empire episodes. Yes, he died early on in Tales of the Jedi, but that show still introduced the character, and Tales of the Empire proved that he could be brought back.
It is possible that the Inquisitor from Tales of the Underworld could be handled the same way. Now that he has been introduced, he could be used in other projects, even ones outside of Disney+.
For instance, Star Wars releases a lot of canon novels that include characters who have been seen in TV shows or movies. The Inquisitor from Tales of the Empire may even be included in an upcoming book where fans could learn more about his backstory.
It is also important to mention that Ventress was once thought to be dead too, before she was resurrected. So, even though the Inquisitor died in Tales of the Underworld, that doesn't mean he is gone forever.
