Star Wars is a franchise known for having villains as rich as the heroes. The films have featured iconic villains such as the Sith Lords Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. However, The Mandalorian introduced viewers to a different kind of negative force in the form of the ever-conniving Moff Gideon, played by Giancarlo Esposito.
Gideon served as the primary antagonist for the first three seasons of The Mandalorian. However, despite his ruthless pursuit of Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, little has been revealed about the motivations and true objectives of Gideon. As a result, there has been speculation among fans about Gideon’s eventual goal, which just might be to follow in Vader’s footsteps and become a Sith Lord.
Why Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon Wanted to Become a Sith Lord in The Mandalorian
Giancarlo Esposito debuted as Moff Gideon in the first season of The Mandalorian. In the series, Gideon is a former bureaucrat who served within the Empire, until the rebellion defeated it. Gideon’s primary obsession in the series is a former Jedi youngling, Grogu, who belongs to the same species as Master Yoda.
In The Mandalorian, Gideon is not known to be a force user, which might make some fans scoff at the idea of his desire to become a Sith Lord. However, in the third season, it is revealed that Gideon conducted experiments on Grogu to create force-sensitive clones of himself, which strongly hints at his plan to become a Sith Lord.
Gideon’s all-black outfit seems inspired by Darth Vader and he also wields the Darksaber earlier on, serving as clues to Gideon’s goals. As a result, Gideon most likely wants to follow in Vader’s footsteps and become a Sith Lord to take advantage of the power vacuum in the galaxy created after the Fall of the Empire. While Gideon hasn’t shown an interest in the philosophy of the Sith, he could seek to be as powerful as a Sith Lord to rule over the galaxy.
How Moff Gideon’s The Mandalorian Season 3 Fate Sets Up His Return as a Sith Lord
Gideon’s attempts to create force-sensitive clones of himself could be a way for him to artificially engineer force powers for himself. However, the third season finale of The Mandalorian sees Gideon and his clones being destroyed by Din Djarin and his allies. However, the finale sets up the stage for Gideon to actualize his goal of becoming a Sith Lord.
The destruction of his clones could unlock Gideon’s latent force-sensitive powers or the clones could have found a way to save him. Furthermore, the blast that seemingly engulfs Gideon might not have killed him but could have left him in a dire state similar to Darth Vader, who was revived using technology.
Given Gideon’s penchant for research and technology, he is likely to survive and catalyze his ascension to becoming a Sith Lord. Yoda’s species was known for having the most powerful users. On the other hand, Darth Vader rose to power by giving in to the dark side following his humble beginnings. Thus, Gideon’s obsession with Grogu juxtaposes the light vs dark side conflict, a franchise staple.
Vader’s transformation into a Sith Lord could have served as an inspiration for Gideon, a non-force user from a humble background who covets power. Therefore, given the existing parallels between Gideon and Vader, it is likely that his ultimate goal was always to become a Sith Lord, and the third season finale has only sent him further down that path.
The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney+.
