Grand Moff Tarkin performer Peter Cushing
Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, introduced as the main antagonist of the  original 1977 Star Wars film (played by Peter Cushing). In the film, Tarkin is depicted as a high-ranking officer of the Galactic Empire, placed in charge of the operations on the Death Star, the Empire's dwarf planet-sized battle station. He orders the destruction of the planet Alderaan by the station's superlaser, and is killed at the end of the film by Luke Skywalker, who destroys the Death Star with Tarkin still on board.
Outside of the original film, Tarkin has made appearances in various canon and non-canon Star Wars media, including the animated series The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch, and the films Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One. He is also the protagonist of the 2014 novel Tarkin, which details the character's backstory and rise to power within the Empire's ranks. In the novel, Tarkin advocates for the Tarkin Doctrine, a military system based on "the threat of force, rather than force itself". His philosophy becomes central to Imperial policy and earns him the position of the first Grand Moff in the Empire.
Tarkin's character has been well received, and he has been called "one of the most formidable villains in Star Wars history."
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