If you've seen Star Wars Rebels, you'll know that The Grand Inquisitor will survive the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi to take aim at Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger. Ultimately, he failed to take them down as well, and the villain chose to take his own life in order to avoid facing Darth Vader's wrath.
While it appeared he found redemption, comic books would later reveal that Vader had found ways to punish his former minion in the afterlife. Needless to say, there's a lot actor Rupert Friend can do with this character, especially in future stories set before Star Wars Rebels or even Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Entertainment Weekly asked the actor about potentially reprising the role after this Disney+ limited series, and it sounds like he's keen to continue exploring the twisted leader of the Sith Inquisitors.
"Well, it's a really good point because one of the things I'm loving about seeing the Star Wars universe unfold and expand is that crossover thing. It's seeing characters who are in a limited world, are crossing over into a movie or back into a game, even. And I think that the characters are so thoroughly created and so exciting to watch that the world lends itself to that sort of crossover."
"So I would be completely open to it. I loved playing the part and would love to see what happened if he were to interact. Or, if you read his kind of timeline, there are some really fascinating things where he is turned into a hologram, and he decides to jump to his own death because he says that there's some things that are worse than death, referencing Vader's punishment. And obviously our period doesn't cover that. So if they decide to explore that, I would think that would be thrilling."
Andor might be a good place for The Grand Inquisitor to appear, especially if it drives home the terrifying force of the Empire to its lead character. It's a shame that he was killed off so soon in Star Wars Rebels, but providing Friend knocks it out of the park, his interpretation will no doubt be embraced by fans (there has been disappointment this version appears so different to Jason Isaacs').
You can hear more from Friend on why he didn't watch Rebels for inspiration by clicking here.
Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives on Disney+ with its first two episodes on May 27.