Summary

• Morgan Elsbeth, a mysterious Imperial Magistrate, is Ahsoka's rival in the race to find Grand iral Thrawn in the Ahsoka series set in the New Republic era of Star Wars.
• Elsbeth was first introduced in The Mandalorian season 2 where she ruled over the city of Calodan. She has a connection to Thrawn, which led to her conflict with Ahsoka.
• There are hints that Elsbeth may have Force abilities, and she is surrounded by Force-sensitive allies. There is a theory that she may be a Nightsister, which would give her a connection to Darth Maul and the Force. Diana Lee Inosanto portrays Morgan Elsbeth in Ahsoka.

Ahsoka's rival in the race to find Grand iral Thrawn in the Ahsoka series is Morgan Elsbeth, a mysterious new villain in Star Wars' New Republic era. While the central villain of Ahsoka is expected to be Lars Mikkelsen's Chiss Grand iral, there is a substantial group of secondary antagonists going against Ahsoka to find the missing Thrawn. Three of these are confirmed Force-s: the duo of Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, and the mystifying Imperial Inquisitor known only as Marrok.

However, the seeming leader of this band of villains is Morgan Elsbeth. Elsbeth has been seen in the trailers for Ahsoka and seems as though she is leading the chase for Grand iral Thrawn for the dark side. This puts her in direct competition with Ahsoka, a character Elsbeth has come face-to-face with before. With that said, here is everything about Morgan Elsbeth explained before the Ahsoka show's story undoubtedly reveals more about the mystery Imperial Magistrate.

Morgan Elsbeth Was Introduced In The Mandalorian Season 2

Firstly, it is worth exploring Morgan Elsbeth's history with Ahsoka. Elsbeth was first introduced in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5. Prior to the episode, Din Djarin was searching the galaxy for other Jedi as a means of returning his Jedi youngling Grogu to his kind. After encountering Bo-Katan Kryze, the Mandalorian told Din to seek out Ahsoka Tano on the forest planet of Corvus. There, Ahsoka was waging a solo war against the city of Calodan which was ruled by none other than Imperial Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth.

Therefore, much of The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5 centered on the t efforts of Din Djarin and Ahsoka Tano to take down Elsbeth's reign of terror that had subjugated the population of Calodan. This conflict resulted in a duel between Ahsoka and Morgan Elsbeth which saw the former best the latter. After subduing Elsbeth, Ahsoka asked the Magistrate where her master is, that being Grand iral Thrawn. This revealed that Ahsoka's war against the Magistrate was due to Morgan Elsbeth's connection to Thrawn as the former Jedi is seeking his location. This aptly set up the events of Ahsoka in which Elsbeth's character will be explored in more detail.

Morgan Elsbeth's Star Wars History & Connection To Grand iral Thrawn

When concerning exactly how Morgan Elsbeth connects to Grand iral Thrawn, much of the story is left unclear, though a few hints have been revealed that may highlight how Thrawn and the Magistrate are linked. In the episode of The Mandalorian season 2 that featured Elsbeth, Ahsoka explains some details about Morgan's history. According to Ahsoka, Elsbeth's people were massacred during the galaxy-wide conflict of the Clone Wars from the prequel trilogy. The anger resulting from this spurred Elsbeth to the Empire upon its formation, which led to her becoming instrumental in the crafting of the Imperial Navy.

Elsbeth's link to the Imperial Navy is likely where she encountered Thrawn for the first time. As is known from Grand iral Thrawn's Star Wars history, the Chiss Imperial quickly rose through the ranks of the Imperial Navy. As such, it is highly likely he and Elsbeth crossed paths during their respective Imperial careers. While not much else is known regarding Elsbeth's history or the exact nature of her link to Thrawn that results in her searching for him during Ahsoka, the actress responsible for bringing the character to life hinted at this being explored in the show on the Dagobah Dispatch podcast:

"Dave was always there to kind of assist me on what her backstory is... this is a character that is truly dedicated and loyal to Grand iral Thrawn, and there's nothing getting in her way. What I really love is that we are going to get into her backstory... And also to the relationship that she has with her bond of baddies."

Does Morgan Elsbeth Have The Force?

One of the interesting elements of Morgan Elsbeth's character is that she is surrounded by Force-sensitive allies. It is clear the duo of Skoll and Hati have the Force as the former was once a Jedi and is training the latter in the ways of the Force. Similarly, the Inquisitor Marrok from Ahsoka also possesses Force abilities and is confirmed to be a mercenary working for Morgan Elsbeth. This could make Elsbeth the odd one out concerning her band of villains, if not for one theory about the character that may indicate she does have the Force, only in a much different capacity.

One major theory about Morgan Elsbeth is that she is a Nightsister, meaning Ahsoka could have a major Darth Maul connection. The Nightsisters were the female inhabitants of Dathomir, Maul's home planet, during the time of the Galactic Republic. At the tail end of the Clone Wars, the Nightsisters were massacred by General Grievous and Count Dooku, causing any surviving Nightsisters to flee. The Nightsisters possessed the Force as well as the Jedi and the Sith, utilizing it through magick. If the theory of Elsbeth being a Nightsister is true, then she would also possess the Force alongside Baylan, Shin, and Marrok.

The theories of Elsbeth's potential Nightsister origins come from small visual queues found throughout Ahsoka's marketing. For one, Elsbeth is shown wearing predominantly red outfits in both The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. Every Nightsister appearance in Star Wars be it from Mother Talzin in Star Wars: The Clone Wars to Merrin from the Star Wars Jedi video games has worn shades of red. Furthermore, the scene involving a star map in Ahsoka's official trailer looks similar to Dathomir, with red foliage in the background.

The last visual hint comes from the star map scene in the trailer also. As Morgan lifts the star map in the Ahsoka trailer, a small green flame can be seen below her hand. Aside from Elsbeth's hand emulating the usage of a Force move, the green flame hints at Nightsister magick. The Nightsister's power has always been shown using shades of green, with this and the other hints combining to the idea that Elsbeth is indeed a Nightsister. Undoubtedly the biggest hint comes from The Mandalorian, in which Ahsoka states Morgan's people were massacred during the Clone Wars, just as the Nightsisters were by Dooku and Grievous.

Who Plays Morgan Elsbeth In Ahsoka?

Finally, Morgan Elsbeth's Star Wars history and future in Ahsoka would be nothing without the woman responsible for bringing her to life. The actress who plays Morgan Elsbeth in Ahsoka is Diana Lee Inosanto. Interestingly, Inosanto's father is Dan Inosanto, a martial arts instructor who was responsible for the training of Bruce Lee among others. The close relationship between Lee and Inosanto's father meant that the former became her godfather. This also means that Inosanta is incredibly skilled in most forms of martial arts, which gave her an illustrious Hollywood career as a stunt performer.

Inosanto's early work saw her perform stunts in productions like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Face/Off, Blade, and The Patriot to name only a small handful. After her work in Hollywood continued for over two decades, Inosanto was cast in The Mandalorian as Morgan Elsbeth. Upon returning to her role for Ahsoka, Inosanto told Entertainment Weekly that she based Elsbeth's stature on powerful historical leaders like Julius Caesar and Catherine the Great. Based on Inosanto’s fantastic career, her ion for the character, and her character's mysterious origins, it is clear that Morgan Elsbeth will be one of the more intriguing elements of the Ahsoka show.

Episodes 1 and 2 of Ahsoka release Wednesday, August 23 on Disney+.