New Mandalorian And Grogu Teaser Just Revealed A Forgotten Character
A Marrok by any other name.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars movie in seven years, and Lucasfilm is pulling out all the stops. In the trailers alone, we’ve seen a buff Hutt, tons of adorable little Anzellans, and an unmasked Din Djarin.
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. If you look for deep cuts, you’ll know that several characters are appearing in live-action for the first time, including Embo, a bounty hunter last seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And in the latest Mandalorian and Grogu TV teaser, fans learned that he’s not coming alone. Check out the new ad below:
The most exciting shot is also the spookiest, as we get a quick glimpse of an intimidating, wolf-like creature baring its fangs while lightning strikes. This is the first time we’ve seen this creature in live-action, but it’s not the first time it’s been in modern Star Wars canon.
This is an anooba, a canine-like alien that debuted in The Clone Wars. They’ve only appeared rarely since then, although a taxidermied anooba bust can be seen in Galaxy’s Edge in the Disney Parks. Scary as they may look, they’re actually domesticated and kept as pets. This one is Marrok, the anooba kept by Embo to assist with his bounty hunting jobs.
Marrok as (kind of) seen in the latest TV spot for The Mandalorian and Grogu.
If the name Marrok sounds familiar, that’s because it’s popped up recently elsewhere in Star Wars. The First Brother, the masked Inquisitor introduced in Ahsoka, is also named Marrok. But while that makes it seem like a common name within the Star Wars galaxy, the truth is actually quite terrestrial.
Marrok comes from Arthurian legend, where he was a knight who became a werewolf, and Dave Filoni, who created The Clone Wars and co-created Ahsoka and The Mandalorian, is known for his wolf obsession. When he had a Mandalorian cameo, his character’s name was Trapper Wolf, which was a nod to his favorite Clone Wars trooper, Wolffe. It’s wolves all the way down.
In case this wasn’t confusing enough, these two Marroks are unrelated to General Antoc Merrick, who Ben Daniels played in Rogue One. But the galaxy is huge, so it makes sense that characters would have similar names, be that Marrok and Marrok or Ben Quadinaros, Ben Kenobi, and Ben Solo. Maybe we’ll see a lothcat named Grogu in Ahsoka Season 2 for good measure.
