Who is Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian? Meet actor Giancarlo Esposito

Here’s everything you need to know about the Imperial officer played by Giancarlo Esposito.

By Thomas Ling

Published: Wednesday, 12 April 2023 at 12:00 am

At first, it seemed like The Client was the big bad of The Mandalorian. However, by the close of the Star Wars show’s debut season, it became clear that Werner Herzog’s Imperial agent wasn’t the real threat at all. A much bigger enemy lurked: Moff Gideon.

Played by actor Giancarlo Esposito, Gideon blasted into the penultimate episode of season one, commanding a legion of Imperial stormtroopers and demanding the possession of Grogu. Why? Well, in the second season, we learned that Gideon wants Grogu’s blood for his nefarious experiments.

In the show’s third season, Gideon was presumed to be facing the justice of the New Republic, but the latest episodes have revealed that he escaped their custody and is now plotting away on Mandalore and in communication with other leading officers among the remnants of the Galactic Empire.

So, just who is Moff Gideon and who is actor Giancarlo Esposito?

Who is Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian?

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Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian.
Disney+/Lucasfilm

As long-time Star Wars fans will know, ‘Moff’ is not an actual name, but a rank in the Imperial hierarchy. And quite a high rank too: technically, Moffs are ‘Sector Governors’ and can only be outranked by ‘Grand Moffs’ (such as Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin).

In other words: Moff Gideon used to be a pretty big deal. As viewers learned in the season one finale, the character played a role in the ‘Great Purge’, an Imperial effort to wipe the Mandalorians from the galaxy. As a result, Gideon appears to have access to their records and thereby knows The Mandalorian’s real name – Din Djarin.

During the Purge, Gideon was responsible for decimating Mandalore and causing its people to flee. Gideon also claimed the Darksaber after defeating the Mandalorians’ leader Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff).

We also later learned that Gideon was part of the Imperial Security Bureau – the covert intelligence arm and secret police for the Empire that we had a better look at in the Disney+ series Andor.

Since the fall of the Empire, Gideon has been a member of the Shadow Council – a group of high-ranking imperial officers who survived the fall of Emperor Palpatine and the establishment of the New Republic. Gideon’s mission appears to have been to harness the power of Grogu’s blood to transfer to a new host. Could this be Emperor Palpatine?

Gideon is clearly aching to become the leader of the Empire’s remnants over the likes of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Mads Mikkelsen) and is seen in debate with Brendol Hux (Brian Gleeson) and Captain Gilad Pellaeon (Xander Berkeley).

Why did Moff Gideon want Grogu?

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Grogu in The Mandalorian season 3.
Disney

We now know that Moff Gideon wanted Grogu in order to obtain his blood for his experiments.

This is revealed to be due to Grogu’s high “M-count” aka his midichlorian count which means his physiology is strong with the Force. Gideon wished to transfuse Grogu’s blood into a test subject. The experiments, mostly conducted with the help of emotionally torn scientist Dr Penn Pershing were deemed a failure.

Gideon was later apprehended for his crimes and lost the Darksaber in combat with Din Djarin.

Interestingly, in a recent interview, Esposito described Gideon as “the warden of the galaxy”, perhaps indicating he’s searching for a way to gain immense power to carry out this role. Or at least he might be looking to give this power to somebody else: Emperor Palpatine, for instance, who is still alive but weak at this time in Star Wars lore.

What exactly is the Darksaber he carried?

Just to make Gideon even more mysterious, at the end of The Mandalorian’s first season, he’s seen wielding one of the strangest weapons seen in the Star Wars Universe. After The Mandalorian forces him to crash-land a TIE fighter, Gideon is seen cutting himself out of the wreckage with a mysterious glowing black blade.

What exactly is this sword? Answer: a Darksaber, an ancient artefact first created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian to become a Jedi. How did Gideon get hold of it? What are its powers? Better read our complete guide to the Darksaber.

After losing the Darksaber in combat with Din Djarin, the weapon later ended up once again owned by Bo-Katan Kryze.

Gideon previously claimed the weapon from Kryze as he was a chief participant in the Purge of Mandalore.

Who is actor Giancarlo Esposito?

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Getty

Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, we’ll make it clear here: Moff Gideon is played by Giancarlo Esposito.

If you don’t recognise him as drug lord/Los Pollos Hermanos owner Gus Fring from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, you may also know Esposito from The Boys as Vought boss Stan Edgar.

Esposito’s very long list of screen credits also includes Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Dear White People, The Usual Suspects, 2016’s The Jungle Book, Stargirl, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Money Monster.

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