Suvudu Universe

Introduced back in New York Comic Con 2013, the Inquisitor was our first character reveal for the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels. Since then, we have learned the identities of the rebel crew and one Imperial officer. The voice cast announcements came full circle recently when Entertainment Weekly confirmed actor Jason Isaacs as the voice of the Inquisitor, the hunter tasked by Darth Vader to track down and eliminate remaining Jedi.

Isaacs has provided his voice for a variety of video games and television shows dating back to the the 1990s. His most notable role to fans is that of Zhao in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Interesting enough, Zhao was originally inspired by Jason Isaacs’ performance as the antagonist, Colonel Tavington, in The Patriot, according to writer and creator Michael Dante DiMartino in an IGN interview. When asked about voice acting in a past interview, Isaacs said, “I don’t do it for money generally…I just like voice work. I find it very freeing.”

Credit: Disney Television Animation, Lucasfilm Animation.

Portraying the villain is somewhat of a specialty for Isaacs, having also played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series and Captain Hook in Peter Pan (2003). “If you’re playing something that maybe even the writer, but certainly the audiences have to hate, then you’ve got to find what’s human because you don’t hate things that are inhuman,” said Isaacs in an interview with CraveOnline when it came to embodying that kind of persona, “So I can find [dimensions] to play in characters even if you can’t, which is fine by me because it’s my job to at least bring it to the set.”

I’m interested to find out what dimensions he and the rest of the crew have built (and will continue to build) into the character. So far, we know that the Inquisitor is skilled with the dark side of the Force, but he is not a Sith, according to the Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide by Adam Bray. In the visual guide, we also discover more about the Inquisitor’s tactics, including his ability and skill to identify and analyze Jedi. Being that he’s cold and calculating, I wonder if he enjoys “the hunt.” Would he rather play cat and mouse or go straight for the kill? Given that he is also described as someone who demonstrates no mercy to his victims, I imagine he aligns himself more with the latter.

I am more than pleased that Jason Isaacs will take up the villain mantle once more in the form of the Inquisitor. He has a remarkable ability to instill fear with his voice alone, which suits the role of the Jedi hunter perfectly.

(via Entertainment Weekly]