Credit: LucasfilmCould Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) have survived?
Season 1 of The Mandalorian brought fans one of the best Star Wars villains since Darth Vader (James Earl Jones/David Prowse) himself: Moff Gideon (Esposito). He was one of those villains that fans just loved to hate: always one step ahead, smug, but with the prowess to back up that smugness, it seemed like he was unstoppable…and maybe he was?
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Though it took two seasons, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), along with allies Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado), and Cara Dune (Gina Carano), finally defeated the Imperial Remnant commander, and, from the look on his face, it looked like they actually defeated him once and for all. But this is Star Wars, after all, and unless a character shows up as a ghost, there’s no guarantee they’re actually dead…
Such was the case with Moff Gideon (Esposito). Revealed late in Season 3, fans found out that not only was he alive but that he escaped New Republic custody and regained much of, if not more than, his former power. Audiences saw how Gideon (Esposito) had appropriated the culture of Mandalore, taking their technology and planet for his own, to become a new warlord and bring the Empire back to the Galaxy. That wasn’t the strangest part, however.
A huge plot point from Season 1 was paid off in the season finale. Baby Yoda/Grogu (himself) and Din Djarin (Pascal) discovered that the Moff had made clones of himself, which were later revealed by the man himself to be Force Sensitive! Had Mando (Pascal) not killed them, Moff Gideon (Esposito) would have had an entire army of Force-wielding, Beskar-wearing doppelgangers! Unless, of course…
One theory gaining steam among Star Wars fans purports that it was, in fact, a clone that perished in the finale and that the real Moff Gideon (Esposito) is still out there somewhere. The evidence? His mustache. Many different Twitter users have now pointed out that in Season 3, Moff Gideon (Esposito) was not sporting the mustache he had during the first two seasons, suspiciously like his clones. Could that mean that the real mustachioed villain is still out there?
While it’s an entertaining notion, odds are that fans really have seen the last of the original Moff Gideon (Esposito), though, as mentioned before, until he shows up as a ghost or a vision of some sort, nothing is off the table! Just look at Darth Maul (Ray Park)! The man was bisected and still survived, and of course, there’s Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who somehow survived. Still, a mustache may be a flimsy thing to base evidence off of…
Related: ‘The Mandalorian’ Makes Din Djarin a Ranger of the New Republic
The Mandalorian Season 3 is currently streaming on Disney+ and stars Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, The Mandalorian, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, and Emily Swallow as The Armorer. Leading to new series like Ahsoka, and a fourth season, the latest installment of The Mandalorian delivers action, heartfelt emotion, and some classic Star Wars moments
What do you think of this theory? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!