Summary
- Concept art for Darth Vader's Inquisitors in Star Wars Rebels reveals a different look for the Grand Inquisitor, who was originally designed as a white-clad Chagrian instead of a Pau'an.
- The white armor of the Inquisitors would have set them apart from previous Force-wielding villains in Star Wars and added visual distinction to their role as dark side Force-users.
- While the Inquisitors have embraced the dark side, they are not considered Sith because there can only be two Sith at a time. The Inquisitors are agents of the Sith, but not actual Sith themselves.
Recently unveiled Star Wars Rebels concept art shows that Darth Vader’s Inquisitors – and the Grand Inquisitor, in particular – almost looked very different. Darth Vader’s Inquisitors were tasked with hunting down surviving Jedi and future Force-sensitives after the events of Order 66 and the establishment of the Empire. The Grand Inquisitor, a Pau’an who used to be a Jedi Temple Guard, worked closely with Darth Vader, leading the charge against the remnants of the Jedi Order and Star Wars Rebels’ Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, especially.
Pat Presley, a senior concept artist who has worked on numerous Star Wars projects, recently shared unused Grand Inquisitor concept art from when the character was first designed for Star Wars Rebels season 1.
The most obvious change is that the Grand Inquisitor in Presley’s concept isn’t a Pau’an but a Chagrian, the amphibious humanoid species native to the planet Champala – the same species as Mas Amedda, who served as Grand Vizier after the Empire was formed. Secondly, the Inquisitor is clad in white armor – a striking deviation from what most of Star Wars’ Force-wielding villains have worn before, but one that would have certainly separated the Inquisitors from other dark side Force-users.
