Star Wars: Obi-Wan’s Inquisitors, explained

As a wise Jedi master once said, “there’s always a bigger fish.” And when it comes to the Empire’s faction of Jedi-hunters, the galaxy’s bigger fish are Imperial Inquisitors.

The Inquisitors are out in full force in the trailer for Disney Plus’ new Star Wars series Obi-Wan. We meet Reva first, played by Moses Ingram The Queen Gambit, who’s hunting down Obi-Wan on Tatooine and interrogating Uncle Owen. Also, we see Grand Inquisitor who is a true badass and reports to Darth Vader.

You haven’t seen these characters in any of the sequels, prequels, or first trilogy movies, no movie-watcher. But they’re a huge part of Star Wars. (Sorry to Ewan McGregor for being overshadowed — he’s cool, too.)

Star Wars fans who know every bit of Star Wars history are already familiar with Inquisitors. But those who haven’t caught up on the novels, comics, and most importantly the Star Wars: RebelsThese lightsaber-wielding enemy characters first appeared in Star Wars: The Animation. Who Are What are the Inquisitors?

To help you understand Obi-Wan’s most dangerous foes, we’ve traced a line through Star Wars history to chart the past and present of these expanded universe characters.

What are the Imperial Inquisitors’ names?

Between Revenge of the SithAnd A New HopeDarth Vader’s Inquisitors is a unit that consists of Imperial soldiers. All of them are Force sensitive and use a lightsaber. They’re tragic figures; each one is a former Jedi who defected from the resistance and chose to join the Empire.

Vader avoided being required to direct mentor his Force-using death team by choosing former Jedi. Vader likely does this in part so that he doesn’t violate the Sith rule of two, which stipulates that there must always be two Sith a master and an apprentice. Therefore, if you want an army of Force users that run around with lightsabers, they’ve got to be Inquisitors instead of actual Sith.

What are the Inquisitors doing?

Think of the Inquisitors as small task forces for missions. The Inquisitors may be sent on missions to suppress rebellions or settle local disputes. They’re more like the violent cousin to the Jedi who served the Republic as peacekeepers. Sometimes they’re glorified tax collectors. Their primary purpose is to hunt Jedi.

Inquisitors use their knowledge as Jedi to track down Jedi who have slipped past Order 66’s radar. Darth Vader notes this in Episode 1 of Star Wars: Rebels, the Inquisitors focus their efforts on “Children of the Force,” the next generation of Force users that could pose a threat to the Empire.

Lucasfilm

Were there any Inquisitors we have seen?

We only see the Inquisitors from official sources in the Darth Vader, Dark Lord of SithComic series where they often accompany Sith Lord on various missions across the galaxy. But the version of Inquisitors that’s most like Reva comes from Star Wars: Rebels. In Rebels, the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister (names based on the Inquisitor ranking system) pursue the show’s band of heroes across the galaxy. In the second season episode, “Always Two There Are,” we get to see these two Inquisitors and their impressive skills in action as they chase down Ezra and his friends.

In Jedi: Fallen Order appear the Inquisitors.

Inquisitors played a major role in Respawn’s recent Star Wars game, where they made a perfect boss-fight adversary. The game saw them spend most of their time hunting. Set after the fall of the Republic, the protagonist, Cal Kestis, is a Jedi living in the time after the Empire’s rise, which means that Inquisitors are a daily threat. They eventually catch up with him as they hunt down Jedi who survived.

Obi Wan’s Inquisitors: What is the deal?

Post-Revenge of the SithThe timeline was when Inquisitors truly shined. It is only natural. Clone Wars creator — and shadow master of this new live-action TV era of Star Wars storytelling — Dave Filoni would bring the animated timeline into the action of an Obi-Wan story. Inquisitor encounters have been a part of Obi-Wan’s cartoon history. Now he’ll do so again, for reasons that will remain mysterious until the show premieres on Disney Plus on May 25.

Disney Plus bundle

Price at publishing time.

You can get a Disney Plus subscription as a stand-alone or bundle with Hulu and ESPN Plus starting at $13.99/month, or Hulu and ESPN Plus beginning at $19.99/month.