Today's episode of The Mandalorian wastes no time in bringing Moff Gideon back. As suspected, Elia Kane is serving her boss from within the New Republic, reporting back to him about the situation on Nevarro.
Giancarlo Esposito's villain then returns to a meeting with his fellow Imperials as part of the Shadow Council, with it quickly established that the Empire is not as defeated as we've been led to believe. They want to be viewed as separate groups of unorganised remnant warlords as it means the New Republic won't see them as a big enough threat to combat.
They also know there are those in the Galaxy who remain loyal to the Empire, while plenty of people have already grown tired of the New Republic's rule.
Doing much of the talking is Captain Gilad Pellaeon, one of Grand Admiral Thrawn's most loyal allies in the Expanded Universe era of storytelling. He was later brought back into canon in Star Wars Rebels where he was voiced by Jim Cummings during the Imperial blockade of the planet Lothal. Here, though, it's Xander Berkeley who brings him to life.
He clearly believes that Thrawn will return - a notion that Gideon scoffs at - but drops quite the bombshell when he introduces Commandant Brendol Hux and mentions "Project Necromancer."
Played by Brian Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson's brother, the villain is a member of this Shadow Council and the father of General Hux. Tie-in material has already confirmed that he's among the Imperials who flee to the Unknown Regions and form the First Order.
As well as serving Supreme Leader Snoke, the elder Hux took Captain Phasma under his wing but was ultimately betrayed and killed by her.
As for Project Necromancer, that must be a reference to the operation that will one day resurrect Emperor Palpatine. The meaning of necromancer, remember, is a person who uses witchcraft or sorcery, especially to reanimate dead people. Hux has a vested interest in cloning and accuses Gideon of using Pershing for his own experiments.
With that in mind, we're no longer sure how Supreme Leader Snoke's creation will factor into this story, though it may well be an unexpected accident that gives Palpatine a vessel he can eventually manipulate to his own ends.
Even though The Mandalorian is likely to continue exploring the Shadow Council's role in the Galaxy, we anticipate Ahsoka being the series that better explores what they're up to.