Ahsoka Episode 4 finally revealed Marrok's identity, and Star Wars director Peter Ramsey spilled new details about the unexpected reveal.
The secret behind Marrok's true self has been the topic of many conversations and theories among Star Wars fans.
Some fans theorized that the new Star Wars villain is actually Ezra Bridger in disguise while some believed that he is Starkiller.
Who Is Marrok in Ahsoka? Star Wars Villain’s Identity Explained
Ahsoka Episode 4 confirmed that Marrok is a Nightbrother when green smoke left his body after Ahsoka decapitated him with her lightsaber.
The reveal left fans scratching their heads, especially after numerous theories that centered around the villain's identity.
In an interview with IGN, Ahsoka director Peter Ramsey reflected on that big reveal, noting that he didn't initially think that "there was a puff of anything originally:"
“It’s funny. because I don’t think there was a puff of anything originally.”
When asked if Marrok is "some sort of thrall for Morgan Elsbeth" or a revived version of the Inquisitor that he once was, Ramsey recalled that Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni said that the new villain is "kind of mechanical" and "not entirely human:"
"There was none of that detail. They are pretty tight-lipped about a lot of those details. They don't like a lot of info going out. [Dave Filoni] may have known that all along and could've said, 'We'll make it something else' [in post]. But what I remember is him saying something like, 'Yeah, it's kind of mechanical. He's not entirely human.' "
Marrok's death scene was inspired by the Kurosawa film, Sanjuro. Ramsey noted that there's a scene where Toshiro Mifune's character defeated his challenger with one swift stroke, leading to a dramatic burst of blood:
“I mean, yeah, basically I completely ripped it off.”
The Star Wars director then explained what led to the pivotal decision involving the green smoke that came out of Marrok during his death:
“So I was like, 'What is Marrok? Is he human? Is he kind of more machine than man, like how Darth Vader used to be described sometimes?' And that was kind of what we were going on. I was like, 'It would be great if something could burst out of him.' Like, what would be his version of antifreeze or whatever it is? Because it couldn't be blood.”
Ramsey admitted that Marrok wasn't fully human, noting that "part of him is mechanical or whatever:"
“So in the final analysis. I don't know what it's supposed to be, but I think the assumption we were going on was, 'Well, he's in this partially mechanical suit.' Or part of him is mechanical or whatever, so there's some sort of non-human stuff that's bursting out of there at the end. I don't know what it might have been."
Will Marrok Return in Star Wars Canon?
While Ahsoka Episode 4 already uncovered the truth behind Marrok's identity, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered about the villain, such as whether the Nightbrother is truly dead.
Based on how Ahsoka defeated Marrok, it's safe to assume that the Nightbrother villain is truly dead and won't return.
Despite that, future episodes of the Disney+ series could explain why and how Morgan Elsbeth decided to infuse Marrok with Nightsister magic.
In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it was revealed that Nightsisters' magic can still resurrect the dead to serve under her guidance. However, given that Morgan and the rest of her allies have already left Seatos, it is unlikely that Marrok will be revived.
Although Marrok's identity twist has been completed, Ahsoka still has many unresolved plotlines to address, such as Ezra and Thrawn's whereabouts and the World Between Worlds twist involving Anakin Skywalker.
Ahsoka is streaming on Disney+.
