New Details About An Enigmatic ‘Mandalorian’ Villain Revealed
While the newest chapters in the Star Wars universe have given us new stories with old characters, such as Ahsoka and Luke's appearances, they have also introduced a plethora of new characters. Din Djarin, Greef Karga, and Fennec Shand all made their debuts in The Mandalorian and have all expanded into fan-favorite characters. One of the lesser known characters that made their debut on Disney+ is the Imperial loyalist, Morgan Elsbeth. While she was given a functional background for the plot of her debut episode in The Mandalorian, Chapter 13: The Jedi, her backstory and inspirations behind her character have further been revealed in the book The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 2).
Within the book, Dave Filoni, executive producer at Lucasfilm, speaks about his thoughts on Elsbeth. As the director of The Jedi, he can be credited as the character's creator and spoke about his vision for the Imperial industrialist in the Art of Star Wars book, first reported on by the Direct. Filoni spoke about Morgan Elsbeth's past, her motivations, how she became powerful, and why Ahsoka Tano was on her tail. The full quote can be seen below;
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"The Magistrate is a former Imperial, but she's an industrialist. My idea was that she had an idea of metallurgy and obviously knew what beskar was, and she was pillaging this planet and stealing all its resources -- people who were willing to take everything from a world and give it to the Empire were valuable to the Empire. Even after the fall of the Empire, the people who built the war machine were still out there and really dangerous. They need to be tracked down because otherwise, they're going to keep doing what they're doing and find new ways to exploit people."
Seeing the might of the Imperial Navy in the original trilogy, it is easy to forget that all those Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters have to be built in a shipyard and the shipyard needs to be provided with raw material. Elsbeth was the one who provided those supplies. It is unclear if she was a member of Thrawn's 7th Fleet during the reign of Palpatine, but it is clear that she made powerful allies, strongarming worlds into giving their natural resources to the Empire.
By the time of The Mandalorian, Elsbeth is clearly an important member of Thrawn's Imperial Remnant. Ahsoka sought her out for information on the Grand Admiral, and the HK droids serving as her bodyguards bare the insignia of Thrawn's fleet. Filoni's description of her as someone who "need(s) to be tracked down because otherwise, they're going to keep doing what they're doing and find new ways to exploit people" further shows why her defeat by Ahsoka and Din Djarin was such an important moment. Not only in their own personal quests but also by striking a blow against what remains of the Empire.
Morgan Elsbeth is a very interesting character with many questions still circling around her. How did she survive the massacre of her people during the Clone Wars? What resources was she after on Corvus? And where in the galaxy did she get a beskar spear? Whether we will see her in The Mandalorian again or not is another question to be raised. She joins Moff Gideon in New Republic custody thanks to the actions of Din Djarin and his friends. Will we see prisoner trading like we did in Clone Wars? Will we see another breakout from a New Republic prison ship? We will have to wait for Mando Season 3 (or most likely beyond) for answers to our questions.
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Source: CBR.com, the Direct, Wookieepedia.com
