Who Is Marrok? Here Are The Current Theories

Star Wars

Aug 26

The premiere of the new Star Wars series Ahsoka left fans asking themselves lots of questions. Not only did the public get to see some of their favorite Star Wars Rebels once again, but this time it was in live-action. To make things even better, they showed the very moment when the animated series left off. A few things remain a mystery, though. Where is Ezra? When do we get to see Grand Admiral Thrawn? But one character stands out at the moment. Probably one of the last — if not the last — Inquisitors out there after the fall of the Empire, Marrok’s identity remains unknown.

The Name Is A Perfect Fit For The Filoniverse

It is possible to speculate a bit about who Marrok is, even if this face has not been shown yet. First of all, his name is a clear inspiration from Arthurian novels from Medieval England. Marrok was one of King Arthur’s knights, but according to the book Sir Marrok: A Tale of the Days of King Arthur, he was betrayed by his wife and then turned into a werewolf, thus fitting perfectly with Filoni’s well-established obsession with wolves. Marrok’s helmet in Ahsoka is also similar to those worn in medieval times. Not only Marrok but also the other saber-wielding antagonists from the show are named after wolves. Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati’s names — portrayed respectively by the late Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno — draw inspiration from the Nordic mythical wolves Sköll and Hati, essential to the story of Ragnarök.

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Filoni and Rosario — Image Source: Lucasfilm

Surprisingly, there is already another Marrok in Star Wars. Marrok is the name of the wolf-like, faithful companion of Embo, one of the best bounty hunters the galaxy has ever had. There is no apparent connection between Marrok (the Inquisitor) and Marrok (the creature).

Ezra Bridger

It would be interesting if Marrok turns out to be a dark-side Ezra Bridger. Although the possibility excites fans, it seems very unlikely. How could Marrok be Ezra, considering Ezra was last seen in the company of Thrawn in the finale of Rebels? In addition to this, they were being led to the unknown by the Purgil. The chances of Marrok/Ezra finding his way back into the Star Wars galaxy and not Thrawn are slim.

Bariss Offee, The Jedi Traitor

Another theory that has been put out there is that the former padawan of Luminara Unduli and former Jedi Knight, Bariss Offee, is the person behind the mask. This one makes more sense than it being Ezra. She was last seen during The Clone Wars where she was accused of bombing the Jedi temple. She tried to frame the then-padawan Ahsoka Tano as the real perpetrator of the crime. On top of this, she later attacked Tano while disguising herself as Assajj Ventress to prevent the authorities, and Jedi, from knowing that it was her. Offee would make sense to be Marrok because she would cross Ahsoka’s path once again.

Offee’s actions are not justifiable, but the reasons behind them are. She had the same realization that many Jedi had during the war; it did not make sense for them to be involved in such conflict and they were betraying their true purpose while serving as generals. Her death was not explained officially but was supposed to be shown in animatic (essentially an animated episode from The Clone Wars but not fully finished and polished) in the Blu-ray release of Revenge of the Sith. At some point later in the timeline Offee was released from prison and went to serve the Republic again during the Clone Wars. She was on Felucia during Order 66 and died just as several other Jedi were, being shot to death by their own soldiers.

Starkiller, The Forgotten One

Galen Starkiller — Image Source: Comic Vine

This one comes from Star Wars: Force Unleashed, so it should be interesting. Starkiller, the codename of the force-sensitive human male Garen Malek, is a good theory for who Marrok is. Malek was the son of two Jedi, Kento and Mallie Malek. He was raised under the teachings and virtues of the Dark Side, but his existence was not disclosed to the Emperor since Darth Vader wanted someone powerful to join him in his opposition to Sidious. Consequently, he became a secret apprentice to Vader since Darth Bane’s Rule of Two prevented him from having one himself. Malek ended up becoming Vader’s personal assassin/problem solver but ultimately ended up joining the Rebellion’s cause. He crossed paths with the Emperor but was not capable of matching his powers. Malek’s story does not end there. Vader sought to clone Malek to continue his plans but had trouble perfecting the cloning process, which he was able to do finally.

Malek (or one of the clones) could very well make a surprise appearance as Marrok, but Disney has been avoiding using this character as much as they can. Some may consider Malek/Starkiller as being overpowered in the current Star Wars timeline. Introducing him could destabilize the ongoing stories that both Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have been building for the universe. Nonetheless, a nerfed version of him being revealed halfway through the series would be truly epic.

It is also worth mentioning that fans spotted a very familiar name under “additional voices” of the show’s ending credits. Sam Witwer is listed as one of these voices, but there is no role attributed to him. Witwer has had a long history within Star Wars, being the face and voice of Malek and the voice of Darth Maul in the Clone Wars animated series. So, something to keep an eye on.

We Already Have The Answer

All of these theories are incredible. Marrok being either Ezra, Bariss, or Starkiller could be a game-changer. But that is not the reality, unfortunately. The official Star Wars Databank has already created an entry for Marrok, saying the following:

“Once an Inquisitor hunting Jedi for the Empire, the mysterious Marrok now works as a mercenary hired by Morgan Elsbeth to carry out dark deeds. Fully encased in battered battle armor, the warrior still carries a red double-bladed saber with a circular hilt.”

Marrok has been an Inquisitor since the Imperial days but has now fallen into mercenary duty just like Skoll and Hati also did. Skills like his are hard to come by in the days post-Jedi Order and the deaths of both Darth Sidious and Darth Vader. Marrok has become a gun-for-hire for Elsbeth, a powerful individual - both in the Force (since she is from Dathomir) and monetarily. What is left now is for the series to show what Marrok looks like behind the helmet.

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