Summary
- Marrok’s mysterious identity in Ahsoka is reminiscent of the mystery surrounding Rey and Snoke in the Star Wars sequels.
- The theories about Marrok’s identity are centered around existing characters like Ezra Bridger or Starkiller, which may only serve as fan service rather than enhancing Ahsoka’s story.
- Revealing Marrok as no one fans already know could be good, but risks facing backlash like The Last Jedi did over Rey and Snoke.
The identity of Marrok is the big mystery through Ahsoka episodes 1-3, but unfortunately that risks repeating some mistakes from the Star Wars sequels. Although he has only had brief screen time so far, the theories about who Marrok is have already dominated discourse surrounding the show. Is he Ezra Bridger?, turned to the dark side? Is he Starkiller, returned to canon? Is he Max Rebo, having a major career change after Return of the Jedi?!
Whether Marrok’s identity will be revealed sooner rather than later, or if it could even wait until The Mandalorian movie or Ahsoka season 2 (should it happen) remains to be seen. But for however long the character remains hidden by a mask, then the question of just who he really is – and whether he’s anyone we know at all – is going to dominate the show. Unfortunately, that’s a problem.
Marrok’s Mystery Box Identity Repeats The Force Awakens’ Rey & Snoke Theories
By putting Marrok safely inside a mystery box, Ahsoka has effectively turned him into Schrödinger’s Inquisitor; until he takes off that helmet, he could be absolutely anyone… or no one. That said, Marrok is played by Paul Darnell in Ahsoka’s cast, which does suggest the options have been narrowed down to male characters at least, ruling out the likes of Mara Jade and Barriss Offee. Otherwise, though, it’s all still on the table, which is exactly what Star Wars: The Force Awakens did with both Rey and Supreme Leader Snoke.
Rey and Snoke were both introduced in The Force Awakens as mysteries, which inevitably led to a lot of theories about who they really were. Much like with Marrok, that centered around either their connections to pre-existing characters, or actually being them. Rey’s parentage theories ran the full gamut: Obi-Wan’s granddaughter, Han Solo’s secret love child, Anakin Skywalker reborn, somehow a descendant of Jyn Erso, and so on. There were fewer options with Snoke, but that didn’t stop a lot of people being utterly convinced he was the second coming of Darth Plagueis the Wise.
It’s the same deal with Marrok, and means there’s a lot of focus on who the character might be, rather than who they actually are and what they’re doing.
Marrok Being A Known Character Is Fan-Service (But Does It Service Ahsoka?)
This is not to say the theories surrounding Marrok’s identity are definitely wrong; far from it. In a world where, somehow, Palpatine returned (and had a granddaughter who became an all powerful Jedi), nothing is really ever off the table. Marrok being Starkiller is plausible. There’s even Starkiller’s helmet in Andor, suggesting the character exists in canon. It’s not too difficult to work it so Darth Vader’s former apprentice ended up continuing in imperial service, but is that a good thing?
Yes, it adds to Star Wars canon, but the twist would be about servicing long-time fans (and even then, only the subset who loved The Force Unleashed), not Ahsoka’s story. It would be a meaningless twist not only to large swathes of the audience who have no idea who Starkiller is, but also to the central characters, most of whom also have little to no connection to him.
The idea of Ezra Bridger being Marrok, then, arguably holds more weight. The search for Ezra is clearly set up as a big narrative point, and his loss a very emotional one for the characters, Sabine Wren especially (who so far is the heart of the show). That means even viewers who didn’t watch Star Wars Rebels still understand that Ezra is important, which would give the eventual reveal greater power, even if many might still not immediately grasp it since there’s only been a very brief glimpse of what he looks like in live-action.
The problem with Ezra being Ahsoka’s Inquisitor, though, is twofold. Firstly, given Thrawn is missing and Ezra was last seen with him, it would take some almighty plot wrangling to explain how he managed to jump free and stay in this galaxy when Thrawn did not, yet still somehow ended up in the clutches of the Empire and was turned to the dark side. Even if that is just about possible, then there’s also the problem with Ezra’s own arc.
In Rebels he was offered the chance to join the dark side multiple times, by Maul and even Palpatine. He rejected it. That’s not to say he absolutely, 100% could not be brainwashed, but more to say: what’s the point? The question has been done, very well, by Dave Filoni, Ahsoka’s showrunner. Why do it again? The real answer would be for a big twist, to make Marrok a character fans know and love in a dark way, but that’s cheap, especially when Ezra will be in the show regardless.
Ok, so if not Starkiller or Ezra, couldn’t Marrok be a clone? This is a theory that avoids the problems outlined with both Starkiller and Ezra above, and opens up a lot of potential characters. It could be a clone of Ezra himself, of his old master Kanan Jarrus, or even of Luke Skywalker. This broadly fits with the Empire’s plans – The Mandalorian has already featured cloning quite a bit – and a Jedi clone is also part of the Legends’ Heir to the Empire Thrawn story, which Star Wars does seem to be revisiting in some way.
There is a problem with this particularly theory too, though. It’s one thing to introduce random clones or just the concept, and another to have clones of characters people know. It’s an inherently silly twist, and, well, the biggest example of it in Star Wars – Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker – was an unmitigated disaster.
Marrok Being No One Is The Best Choice – But Will Face Backlash Like Rey & Snoke Did
Revealing that Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter was one of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s worst decisions; like having Marrok be Starkiller would be, it was a choice made purely out of appealing to a certain section of the audience, rather than for its narrative or thematic value. What makes it worse, though, is that Star Wars: The Last Jedi had already given the best reveal about Rey’s lineage: she was a nobody. This was the most crushing thing she could hear, but also the most powerful idea: that she wasn’t connected to some strong family, but still rose up to become a great hero, was an incredibly rich idea.
It’s also an idea that perseveres in Ahsoka, as Sabine explores her own Force-sensitivity and will potentially become a Jedi. Ahsoka explains that the Force exists within everyone; anyone can use it with the right training and discipline. There’s a strong through line there from the sequels to Ahsoka, but it’s spoiled by the Palpatine twist and having Marrok be an existing character only further serves to make the galaxy feel smaller. The problem, of course, is it would face a backlash from those heavily invested in the theories, and risk being a disappointment like how The Last Jedi was to many over Rey and Snoke.
Who is Marrok is absolutely a compelling question, but it’s being asked for the wrong reasons. How did this person become an Inquisitor? Why are they so committed to fighting alongside Ahsoka’s villains? Just how powerful are they, really? How far will they go for Thrawn’s cause? All of those can make for an interesting new character, without having some big reveal. Just let Marrok just be Marrok, and explore who they really are instead.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET on Disney+.
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