THE MANDALORIAN Star Giancarlo Esposito Teases Moff Gideon's Future, Dark Troopers, and His Plans
Giancarlo Esposito made his debut as Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian Season 2 at the end of Chapter 12, “The Siege”. He was looking pretty damn sinister as he was looking over an army of Dark Troopers being prepared. Gideon really wants to get his hands on The Child and he will stop at nothing to accomplish his mission.
During a recent interview with EW, Esposito discussed his character’s future, saying:
“I have a feeling you'll see more of me next season. More than likely you're going to see a lot of Moff Gideon. I can't be sure of that, but it seems as though this iconic journey that they want you to feel it. I think you're going to start to see other storylines start to creep in. When we start to realize there's such a deep connection [between the show's storylines and] the rest of the galaxy and what's really happening. Maybe you'll get an inkling of what he wants.”
When asked if Moff Gideon wants The Child's midi-chlorians to make his own line of Force-sensitive super-soldiers, the actor responds:
“Well, in the galactic ballpark, I think we're all trying to figure out what does he really wants. Somewhere in my brain, I hold out something and he has some kind of ethical consideration here. When people flow out of control and there are all these different Moffs who've been assigned different areas to be wardens of, isn't there one person or someone that may have guidance over all of them? They're questions that are answered. It could be super soldiers. It could be that he wants to save the galaxy. Also, why does Moff Gideon know everything about what's going on everywhere? He has some kind of incredible intelligence source. So I always hold out that there may be an altruistic reason that he is taking control or trying to. Certainly, the child represents the possibility of a new humanity of a new consciousness.”
Esposito goes on to talk about his character and the reasoning behind his motivation for getting his hands on The Child, saying:
“You know, we all have our dark and our light side. And then we justify our reasons for doing what we do. We don't know what his reasons are yet. But for me, to make him a well-rounded human being, there has to be some kind of consciousness within me that allows me to go, ‘Maybe there's something there that he really wants to do that will help people.’ It could be doubtful, but it could be true as well. He's playing a long game and I think that's why you see me interspersed in this season the way I am.”
When it comes to Gideon’s costume, a lot of fans saw similarities to Darth Vader, especially with the breastplate. When asked about that in the interview, Esposito said:
“I love making that connection! It's any adult manchild's dream come true to be equated in a certain way with Darth Vader. But I don't wear a helmet. I don't know what the storyline might bring up in regard to Moff Gideon's relationship to Darth Vader. But I certainly correlated one in my own brain.”
Then finally, he addressed the Dark Troopers and teased the battles that lie ahead, saying:
“So there's going to be a lot of battles and stormtroopers and all the dark troopers – everyone will get involved. We're all in a fresh new place to bring it home. I'm so excited to be a part of the show that is the best there is.”
We have only gotten a little taste of the character Moff Gideon, and like many of you, I’m excited to see how his story arc plays out in this epic Star Wars series!