Rupert Friend, who will play the Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi, has opened up about his character’s costume. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the highly anticipated next TV entry in the Star Wars franchise. The series will follow the titular Jedi Master, who will be reprised by Ewan McGregor from the prequel films, in a post-Order 66 galaxy when the few remaining Jedi are being hunted down by the Empire. Tasked with protecting a young Luke Skywalker on the planet Tatooine, Kenobi will have his hands full when Darth Vader’s Imperial Inquisitors come to the desert planet.
Hayden Christensen is confirmed to be returning as Darth Vader for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Vader is not coming alone as he will be joined by his force-wielding henchmen, the Inquisitors. First introduced in Star Wars Rebels, the Inquisitors are a collection of double-bladed, red lightsaber-wielding warriors who specialize in hunting Jedi. The Grand Inquisitor (voiced by Jason Isaacs), the leader of the Jedi hunters, debuts in season 1 of Rebels. However, the Grand Inquisitor is not a long-time villain for Rebels as he meets his demise following a lightsaber duel with Kanan Jarrus (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.). In the wake of the Grand Inquisitor’s defeat, other Inquisitors are introduced to hunt Kanan’s rebel cell, confirming that the ranks of the Inquisitor program extend far beyond just the Grand Inquisitor.
Since Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place many years in the timeline before the events of Rebels, the Grand Inquisitor will be a part of the group of dark-siders who go to Tatooine. For the jump to live-action, the Grand Inquisitor will be portrayed by Rupert Friend, who spoke Digital Spy about his costume and why it was uncomfortable. See Friend’s statement below:
“It was a sweaty, sweaty suit and I did sweat buckets inside the prosthetics which would pour across my face at the end of a day and make me look like a very, very miserable clown… But so worth it!”
It will be interesting to learn more about the Grand Inquisitor, since he lasts for such a short time during Rebels, but the animation to live-action shift is a hot topic among the Star Wars franchise fanbase. While human characters like Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) transition seamlessly from animation to live-action, alien characters seem to transition less effectively. Friend’s live-action Grand Inquisitor has been of particular interest, seeing as the character looks very dissimilar to his animated counterpart. Specific attention has been called to the inaccurate, round shape of the character’s live-action head, along with eyes that are not yellow like the Grand Inquisitor’s in Rebels. Hopefully, the Grand Inquisitor’s live-action design will be more widely accepted once the show begins.
It's reassuring to know that Friend says being the Grand Inquisitor was worthwhile. It is not clear how large the Grand Inquisitor’s role in Obi-Wan Kenobi is just yet, but the show’s trailer confirms he will be present for at least some of the action. Many also speculate that Obi-Wan Kenobi will feature flashbacks to the Clone Wars so that McGregor can reunite with Christensen as Anakin Skywalker one last time. This is important, because Rebels season 2 reveals that the Grand Inquisitor was a Jedi Temple Guard during the Clone Wars. Maybe Obi-Wan Kenobi could feature more of the Grand Inquisitor’s backstory than is expected with some flashbacks to flesh out the character during his days as a Jedi. Answers about the Grand Inquisitor’s role will soon become clear when Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ next month.
Source: Digital Spy