Moroff

Moroff was a Gigoran male mercenary who was active during the Imperial Era. As a towering gunner, he sought out combat zones across the galaxy with the goal of selling his services to anyone who required it. Moroff eventually joined the Partisans, a militia group led by the resistance fighter Saw Gerrera, and fought against the Galactic Empire in the hope of making a profit. During his time with the group, Moroff participated in a mission on the astronomical object Dooma 4, ending in the destruction of the Imperial Metal Factory. At some point by 1 BBY, Moroff had a bounty placed on his head by the Empire, and he was present at Gesh's Tapcafe in Jedha City on the moon of Jedha but fled when an Imperial spy reported his presence to a stormtrooper patrol.

In 1 BBY, Moroff was on Jedha during the Partisans' skirmishes against Imperial forces in the area. He was among the group of Partisans who captured and brought the defecting Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook before Gerrera in their hideout located in the Catacombs of Cadera. They later took part in a battle against a local Imperial patrol in Jedha City, resulting in the group stealing a shipment of kyber crystals that the Imperials possessed. Shortly after, Moroff was present in the Catacombs when Jedha City was destroyed by the Empire's Death Star superweapon, resulting in the death of Gerrera and many Partisans.

Biography[]

Joining the Partisans[]

Moroff was a mercenary who operated during the Imperial Era. Realizing the potential money to be made as a gunner, he traveled around the galaxy in order to seek out combat zones, aiming to sell his brawn and firepower to anyone who would require them.^[1] He later became an outlaw when he joined the Partisans,^[3] an extremist militia group led by the resistance fighter Saw Gerrera,^[1] and fought against the Galactic Empire in order to generate profit,^[4] which he managed to acquire at a substantial rate.^[5]

Moroff was later listed as a known associate of Gerrera on wanted posters created by the Empire, alongside fellow Partisans Beezer Fortuna, Weeteef Cyu-Bee,^[6]^[7] and the Tognath eggmates^[1] Edrio and Benthic.^[6]^[7] One of the posters was included in a compilation of documents known as The Rebel Files in a section titled "Alliance Chron 1"^[6] that spanned approximately between 5 BBY and 2 BBY.^[8] Another was included in a file dated to 7971 C.R.C. in Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious, a collection of case files compiled by the head of the planet Hosnian Prime's law enforcement, Commissioner Exantor Divo,^[7] in 34 ABY.^[9]

Action with the Partisans[]

"Stand your ground! We're going to be here for a while!"

―Saw Gerrera gives an order to Moroff and the Partisans on Dooma 4^[10]

In 5 BBY,^[11] Moroff and the Partisans were stationed at a base on^[12] the planet^[13] Segra Milo. The Gigoran stood at an open area of the base while the rebel Luthen Rael spoke with Gerrera inside, offering the Partisans a mission to assist rebel Anto Kreegyr. He refused to risk the lives of his forces for the attack, dismissing Kreegyr as a Separatist.^[12] Later on, however, Gerrera was willing to take on the mission. When Rael visited again, Moroff was patrolling the base. The rebel advised Gerrera not to assist Kreegyr in order to safeguard their rebellion against the Empire, as the Imperial Security Bureau had laid a trap for Kreegyr and his men. After a heated confrontation, Gerrera agreed to avoid meeting him.^[14]

Partisans-Dooma4-RebelsMagazine4 — Moroff and the Partisans assault the Imperial Metal Factory on Dooma 4.

Around 1 BBY,^[15] Moroff and the Partisans, led by Gerrera and Lieutenant Megyn Soone, attacked the Imperial Metal Factory on the astronomical object Dooma 4. After rushing to the entrance, the group took cover behind various crates. Despite being heavily outgunned, they held their ground on Gerrera's orders when Soone left their position to plant explosives within the factory. She was captured, however, and Gerrera entered the factory to rescue her and detonate the explosives himself. Moroff and the others retreated to their U-wing soon after on the orders of Edrio, who was piloting the ship. They reunited with Gerrera and Soone aboard the ship after the explosives were detonated and departed the factory.^[10]

Jedha[]

"What part of 'urgent message' do you guys not understand? We are all on the same side. If you see past the uniform for a minute."

―Bodhi Rook attempts to communicate with his captors, including Moroff —

Listen (file info)^[16]

Rook-Gunpoint — Moroff (second from left) and the Partisans hold Bodhi Rook at gunpoint.

At some point, the Partisans relocated their base of operations to the Catacombs of Cadera located on the desert moon of Jedha, where they clashed with the local Imperials on several occasions.^[1] At one point by 1 BBY,^[17] Moroff was deemed a dangerous enough criminal by the Empire to have a bounty placed on him. A photograph of him was displayed alongside photographs of other criminals and offenders on a holoscreen near the entrance of Gesh's Tapcafe in Jedha City. He was present at the tapcafe when an Imperial spy entered the establishment, upon which the Gigoran glared when the spy passed by him. They then reported Moroff's presence to a stormtrooper patrol, causing him to flee as soon as he saw them. The patrol fired upon him while he made his escape. As a result of Moroff's departure, the patrons of the tapcafe became more relaxed.^[18] In 1 BBY,^[19] Moroff was patrolling the desert^[20] and was among a group of Partisans when Bodhi Rook, a pilot who defected from the Empire, appeared before them. They quickly trained their weapons at him as they believed he was an Imperial. After Rook informed them of his defection and that he had a message for Gerrera, the group captured the pilot.^[21]

Moroff and the group brought the pilot before Benthic and another group of Partisans. Benthic interrogated him briefly before ordering the others to place a bag over the pilot's head and take him to Gerrera for further questioning.^[16] As the term "defector" had no translation in the Tognath language, Moroff defined the concept to Benthic, who would have killed the pilot had he not been informed about Rook's defection. The explanation allowed the pilot to survive his encounter with the Partisans.^[1]

Jedha insurgency — Moroff (left) and the Partisans escape right after Imperial forces arrive.

Moroff later participated in a raid against the Imperial Hammers Elite Armor Unit, which included a TX-225 combat assault tank carrying a shipment of kyber crystals, in Tythoni Square within Jedha City.^[16] The Gigoran was in charge of taking out containers of crystals from the battlefield.^[20] After the Imperial unit was eliminated, the Gigoran and the Partisans quickly looted the tank and acquired the kyber, placing the crystals within containers of their own. As an AT-ST walker and more Imperials arrived, Moroff and the others quickly fled into an alleyway with the containers in hand.^[16] After the battle, he was present at the Catacombs when the Empire's Death Star superweapon obliterated Jedha City, causing a massive shockwave.^[22] The Partisans quickly evacuated their base, although Gerrera stayed behind and perished when the structure collapsed in the shockwave.^[16] Numerous Partisans also lost their lives in the event,^[23] although it was unknown whether or not Moroff survived.^[24]

Legacy[]

"Perhaps the most famed of this usually peaceful species is Moroff, a Gigoran mercenary who sells his skills to the highest bidder, regardless of political allegiance."

―A description of Moroff in a restored journal entry on Gigorans^[3]

Moroff and his species were detailed in an artist's journal, which described the mercenary as the most famous member of the Gigorans, who were normally peaceful individuals. The document was later restored, expanded, and kept in the Graf Archive^[3] at some point after 34 ABY.^[25]

Personality and traits[]

Moroff-DB — Moroff enjoyed being a gunner.

Moroff was a Gigoran male^[2] with white fur and black eyes. Tall and brawny, he believed there was money to be made as a heavy gunner and was disinterested in the ongoing conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire.^[1] Motivated by nothing more than greed,^[24] he sold his skills to the highest bidder, disregarding their political allegiance,^[3] and found like-minded individuals when he joined the Partisans.^[1] Despite claims of being apolitical, the mercenary displayed strong loyalty to Saw Gerrera, even when pickings were slim.^[26]

Moroff was usually grumpy and performed tasks begrudgingly when asked to do so. However, his rude replies in his native language were always translated by his voice-translator box into pleasant and cheerful responses in Galactic Basic Standard,^[27] a language he was normally unable to speak. He enjoyed his role as a towering gunner, carrying his blaster cannon as if it weighed nothing at all.^[28] When an Imperial spy passed by him at Gesh's Tapcafe, Moroff glared at the spy and was unimpressed with them. To the spy, Moroff appeared seedy-looking and rough around the edges.^[18]

Equipment[]

In order to establish vital communication with his fellow Partisans during combat,^[28] Moroff wore a vocoder mask on his mouth,^[1] translating his speech into Basic for his comrades to understand.^[28] He also carried a large backpack and wore multiple equipment pouches around his waist.^[1] During the mission on Dooma 4, he engaged Imperial forces with a ranged weapon.^[10] While operating on Jedha, Moroff was armed with a Vulk TAU-6-23 "Blastmill" rotary blaster cannon,^[1] his favorite model of heavy blaster cannon.^[24]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearance and portrayal[]

"Moroff is a bit disgruntled about his life but would never cross the line. So Ian Whyte, who plays him, used that as an understanding of how Moroff might move."

―Neal Scanlan^[29]

Moroff-R1-Set — Ian Whyte as Moroff on *Rogue One*'s Scarif set

Moroff first appeared in the Gareth Edwards-directed anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,^[16] released on December 16, 2016.^[30] The character was portrayed by Ian Whyte, who previously played Roodown and Bollie Prindel in the 2015 sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.^[31] Prior to the film's release, the character was first pictured in a behind-the-scenes video released on July 15, 2016.^[32] He was then named in a toy released as part of the Star Wars: Rogue One toy line by Hasbro Inc.^[33] on September 29, 2016.^[34]

During Rogue One's production, Moroff was codenamed "G030," and Whyte was photographed wearing the costume from every possible angle in order to preserve material for future special effects and products.^[1] While some pre-release footage from the film shows Moroff participating in the Battle of Scarif,^[35] he is not seen in any Scarif scenes in the final cut of the movie.^[16] The Jedha desert scenes were filmed at Wadi Rum, Jordan in 2015^[36] while the Jedha City scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios in Slough, England.^[37]

Moroff appears in the mobile video game LEGO Star Wars Battles as an unlockable "light side" unit. He is stated to be the cousin of Lessof.^[38]

Conception and design[]

"There haven't been many versions of big, furry characters other than Chewbacca, and so we thought what can we introduce that would live alongside a Wookiee?"

―Neal Scanlan^[29]

Senna Rogue One — An early piece of concept art for Senna, the character that ultimately became the Gigoran Moroff

Special effects artist Neal Scanlan stated that Moroff's character was born from the idea that Rogue One could feature a tall, furry individual reminiscent of the Wookiee Chewbacca. Edwards found the idea of a new species whose size and strength were taken advantage of appealing, and the Gigoran species was chosen for the film.^[29] To decide on Moroff's species, Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo took inspiration from^[39] a Gigoran named Rollos in the Star Wars Legends continuity who was featured in the roleplaying game article "It's a Gambler's Life," written by Anthony P. Russo and published in the fourth issue of the Star Wars Adventure Journal magazine in February 1994.^[40]

According to Scanlan, Moroff refrained from "crossing the line" and was "disgruntled about his life," further adding that the character was lethargic and wished to stop fighting, but the Gigoran was there to support as he was a "good guy." Whyte used the character's personality as the basis for understanding Moroff's physical movement.^[29] The effects team and Edwards would joke that a Wookiee and a wampa encountered each other and "had a romantic interlude," resulting in the Gigoran's creation.^[41]

The character that became Moroff was originally a rebel named Senna,^[1] who was one of several characters conceived to be a part of the Rogue One team seen in the film, alongside characters Lunak, Dray Nevis, Ria Talla, and Jerris Kestal. He was intended to be a duo with the character of Lunak. Concept art for the character was created by artists Christian Alzmann, Tyler Scarlet, Karla Ortiz, Luke Fisher, Ivan Manzella, and Karl Lindberg. Alzmann imagined Senna to be a tall figure akin to Chewbacca,^[42] a thought shared by Scanlan and the film's production team.^[29]

Moroff-IvanManzella — Moroff artwork by Ivan Manzella

Senna's character underwent several designs, including a large reptilian-like character, an elf-like character with a blaster rifle, a character with a wolf-like appearance, and finally the Gigoran^[42] that was ultimately renamed Moroff and given a much smaller role in the film.^[1] The character, however, was consistently drawn as an alien male.^[42] The name "Senna" would later be used for another Gigoran character featured in the 2018 anthology film, Solo: A Star Wars Story.^[43]

Costume[]

"It fits him like his skin, so as Ian moves, the muscles move, and the fur suit does the same."

―Neal Scanlan^[44]

Whyte-Costume — Ian Whyte in Moroff's costume

The character's costume was created from fabric and foam and was covered in knotted hair to emulate the white fur. Ian Whyte wore a skull cap, upon which Moroff's animatronic head was placed. In order to connect the head with the rest of the body, a zip was created around the neckline and the back of the costume. To get into the costume, Whyte first entered the body wearing the skull cap, followed by the production team placing the head over the cap.^[44]

To finish the process, the costume was zipped up to join the head and the body together. The costume also included large "wampa-like" feet made of rubber in order to make Whyte look taller, as well as a pair of gloves. Moroff's facial expressions were controlled by an operator off-camera using radio control. In total, the costume stood at a height of seven feet and seven inches.^[44] The costume's chest piece contained an iPhone that displayed the soundwaves of the operator's voice.^[41]