A Key Character In The Mandalorian Season 3 Ties The Sequel Trilogy Straight To The Mandoverse

This post contains spoilers for "The Mandalorian" Chapter 23 – "The Spies."

There were some suspiciously familiar characters in today's episode of "The Mandalorian," and for fans of the entirety of the "Star Wars" saga and all of its various media, it was a revelation that provides significant context about where this universe is heading. One character in particular ties into the legacy of the sequel trilogy and lays the groundwork for the Stormtrooper program that will produce Finn — known then as FN-2187. That character is Commandant Hux, who appears in Moff Gideon's Shadow Council of the Imperial Remnant, played by Brian Gleeson.

You may recognize Brian Gleeson as the brother of General Hux actor Domnhall Gleeson, and this is no accident; his character is actually Hux's father, Brendol. Even the name Brendol is a nod to the real-life father of Domnhall and Brian Gleeson: "The Banshees of Inisherin" star Brendan Gleeson.

Brendol Hux served as a general in the Empire, but was eventually put in charge of training Stormtrooper cadets at the prestigious Arkanis Academy. That's where he got the rank of Commandant. After the rise of the New Republic, he was whisked away with the help of the bounty hunter Mercurial Swift and made his way to the outer-edges of space to begin what would become the First Order. 

Much of this was documented in Chuck Wendig's "Aftermath" books as well as Jason Fry's too-often overlooked series, "Star Wars: Servants of the Empire," which took Zare Leonis — a character from "Star Wars Rebels" — through the paces of Hux's academy. At some point during his exile from the galaxy, he sired an illegitimate son named Armitage, which makes Poe Dameron's message to General Hux about his mother even funnier. Brendol had a tenuous relationship with his son that could likely be described as strained at best.

Although it hasn't been confirmed explicitly, it seems likely that he had a hand in the abduction of the heroes of the Rebellion's children. Those children, like Lando Calrissian's daughter, were then put into the Stormtrooper training program, which would make him a truly despicable human being. Brendol Hux lived into his 60s, training the First Order's Stormtroopers at the fringes of the galaxy until he was betrayed and suffered an agonizing death.

As described in Delilah Dawson's novel, "Phasma," after getting shipwrecked on the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Parnassos, Hux saw something in a young Phasma, took her with him, and then trained her up to be the formidable Stormtrooper. He used her as a trainer as well, having her compete with Cardinal, another star pupil of the First Order.

Hux underestimated Phasma and she betrayed him to further secure her power and position in the First Order. Not realizing that he didn't have her unwavering loyalty, Brendol Hux didn't realize that Phasma had poisoned him with a rare bug from her home planet. The medical robots were unable to identify the toxin and when they put him in a bacta tank to cure his ailments, he dissolved, leaving little more than organs and a tuft of his hair.

When the truth of Commandant Hux's death reached his son, General Hux, the younger Hux seemed to know all about it and was very uninterested in further details. All that mattered was that it further consolidated his power in the First Order.

How much we'll see of Brendol Hux in "The Mandalorian" or other Mandoverse storytelling remains to be seen, but it's an exciting touchstone to other parts of the "Star Wars" canon that lead directly to the events of the sequel trilogy.

"The Mandalorian" is streaming only on Disney+. The season finale airs next week.