Grand Moff Tarkin

Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a made-up character in the Star Wars movies, shows, and books. He first appeared in the 1977 movie Star Wars (later called Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope). He is one of the main bad guys in the story.

Tarkin works for the Galactic Empire. He is the leader of the Death Star, a very large round space station. The Death Star has a huge laser that can destroy whole planets. Tarkin is played by actor Peter Cushing in the first movie.

Tarkin is also in other movies, TV shows, and books, including Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. His past is explained in the 2014 book Tarkin. In 2006, the website IGN said Tarkin is one of the most powerful and scary villains in Star Wars.

 Creation and portrayal 
At first, the character Tarkin was planned to be a holy man from a planet called Aquila. This idea was later changed, and he became a villain instead.

Because the Emperor does not appear in the first movie, director George Lucas used Tarkin as the main bad guy to show how the Empire works. A book made to explain the movie says Tarkin wants to become Emperor himself.

Peter Cushing later joked that he did not know what a "Grand Moff" was. He said it sounded like something that lives in a clothes closet. He described Tarkin as a very angry and unpleasant man.

In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, a younger Tarkin is played by Wayne Pygram. Heavy makeup was used to make him look like a young Peter Cushing.

In animated shows, Tarkin is voiced by Stephen Stanton. Stanton studied Peter Cushing’s acting so the voice would sound similar but younger and more human.

In Rogue One, computers were used to make Tarkin look like Peter Cushing again, even though Cushing had died. A digital face was placed over actor Guy Henry’s performance.

This was very hard to make and very expensive. Some people liked it, and others felt unsure if it was right to use a dead actor’s face.

 Appearances 

 Movies 

 Star Wars (1977) 
In the first movie, Tarkin is a Grand Moff and controls the Death Star. He works with Darth Vader to stop the Rebel Alliance.

Tarkin captures Princess Leia. He threatens to destroy her home planet, Alderaan, if she does not tell him where the Rebels are. Even after she lies, he destroys Alderaan to scare everyone.

Tarkin lets the Rebels escape so he can follow them. When they attack the Death Star, he refuses to leave. Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star, and Tarkin dies inside it.

 Revenge of the Sith (2005) 
A younger Tarkin appears at the end of the movie. He stands with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine while the Death Star is being built.

 Rogue One (2016) 
In Rogue One, Tarkin takes control of the Death Star from Orson Krennic. He orders attacks using the Death Star and destroys the Rebel base on Scarif, killing Krennic and many Rebels.

 Television series 

 The Clone Wars 
Tarkin appears as a younger officer in the Republic Navy. He does not trust the Jedi. He helps put Ahsoka Tano on trial, even though she did nothing wrong.

 Star Wars Rebels 
Tarkin rules many outer planets and hunts Rebels. He works with Darth Vader and punishes his own officers if they fail.

 The Bad Batch 
Tarkin helps change the Empire’s army. He wants normal soldiers instead of clones. He tests Clone Force 99 and orders the destruction of Kamino.

 Novels 

 Tarkin (2014) 
This book talks about Tarkin’s past. It shows how he meets the Emperor and Darth Vader and becomes powerful. It explains the Tarkin Doctrine, which means ruling by fear instead of kindness.

 Legends 
Older Star Wars stories are now called Legends and are not part of the main story anymore.

In these stories, Tarkin appears in many books and comics. His ideas about ruling by fear are still important.
Audio commentary on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Cushing is also given a special credit acknowledgement for this movie, as Peter Cushing OBE, for the use of his character likeness.

 Notes 

 References 

Category:Star Wars characters