The Grand Inquisitor, a major Star Wars villain who first appeared in the Star Wars Rebels series, is getting an entirely new makeover.
In the June 2022 solicitations for Marvel Comics, the publisher revealed the cover and a preview for the upcoming Star Wars #25, a milestone issue that will bring Star Wars characters from the past, present and future together. Standing off to the right of Darth Vader on the Star Wars #25 cover is the Grand Inquisitor -- only, he might look a little different than Rebels fans remember.
The Grand Inquisitor doesn't appear in Revenge of the Sith, but Obi-Wan Kenobi does encounter the Grand Inquisitor's species -- Pau'an -- when hunting General Grievous on Utapau. At that time, Pau'ans come off as tall, long-limbed creatures with gray/white and lined skin, jagged teeth, long nails and red markings that fall around their eyes.
The character makes his first official appearance in the first season of Star Wars Rebels. While nowhere near as powerful as a Sith, the Grand Inquisitor was a Jedi hunter working for the Empire tasked with finding, capturing and potentially killing Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger. At the end of the first season, the Grand Inquisitor loses a lightsaber duel to Kanan. Rather than face the wrath of Darth Vader following his defeat, the character chooses to create his own fate and falls to his death.
The Grand Inquisitor's appearance in Star Wars Rebels was kept somewhat similar compared to how the Pau'ans looked in Revenge of the Sith; although, his eyes got a spookily yellow glow and the red markings on his face had a slightly different look to them. Fans were eager to see the Grand Inquisitor return upon the announcement that he'd appear in the upcoming Obi-Wan series, only to find that Disney and Lucasfilm had completely redesigned the character. Rather than an alien species, the Grand Inquisitor has a normal-shaped head, regular eyes and no jagged teeth to speak of.
While it's only a brief glimpse of cover art, Star Wars seems to be running with the new look for the Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars #25. His teeth may be unseen, but the character looks far more human-looking than he did in Rebels. Star Wars #25 is written by Charles Soule with art by Ramon Rosanas, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Will Sliney and Phil Noto. Main cover art was done by Carlo Pagulayan, with variant covers contributed to by various artists. The plot synopsis reads, "A Celebration across the Galaxy for STAR WARS’ 25th issue! With stories set from the Prequel to the Sequel eras, experience new tales of Obi-Wan & Anakin, Darth Vader, Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren. Join Charles Soule, along with his previous artistic collaborators, for this era-spanning celebration!"
The issue goes on sale June 1 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel Comics