We learned a little more about the villainous Moff Gideon from “Star Wars: The Mandalorian” this week, as actor Giancarlo Esposito spilled the details on what makes his character tick.
What happened?
Moff Gideon, who appeared in Season 1 of “The Mandalorian” in spots but will return in Season 2 in a major way, is an unknown character in the “Star Wars” universe. We know he wields the darksaber, and he’s a member of the Empire. But what else do we know?
Giancarlo Esposito — who plays Moff Gideon — told “Good Morning America” about his character, and what to expect from him moving forward.
- “My character, Moff Gideon, is the warden of the galaxy,” Esposito told the “GMA” program. “He is a remnant of the Imperial Empire, and he is still searching for his quarry, which we’ll hope he’ll find.”
Esposito praised “The Mandalorian” for embracing a true hero, instead of showing a complicated anti-hero like so many other shows do in the modern era of television.
- “I’m so happy to be part of a show that really depicts a story about humanity and heroism,” Esposito said. “Y’know, to be a hero is something that we all aspire to. I play some villains, but I really love the hero, and we need to be empowered by heroes today.”
What to expect from Moff Gideon:
In March, Esposito said Moff Gideon would use his darksaber for actual fights in the upcoming season, which I wrote about for Deseret News. He also joked that Moff Gideon broke the sword on multiple occasions.
- Esposito said: “I’m decent. I’m getting better. But you have to respect the power of it, the energy of it. It’s long, dude. I’ve bopped myself three times already. Pop in the head, I’m like ... what do I do? I start laughing. People look at me, they want me to be the expert right off the bat. But you know what? It takes practice. So we have long ones, we have short ones. Because sometimes they have to put it in. And guess what? I can say this? I can say it, I can say it. I’m going through it in my head, spoilers, blah blah blah. I can say it. I’ve broken three of those bad boys.”
What is the darksaber?
Gideon was seen wielding the darksaber at the end of Season 1. The weapon is an elegant dark lightsaber that first appeared in the animated shows “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels.” The device was mostly owned by the Mandalorian community and later the villainous Darth Maul. It’s unclear how Gideon came into contact with the darksaber.