Grand Moff Tarkin

Concept and creation

Tarkin's character was originally conceived as a holy man from the planet Aquila, but was changed later in the creative process into an antagonist. As the Emperor would not appear until later in the original trilogy, Lucas used Tarkin's final version as the "main villain" of the first film, a personification of the Empire.

Portrayals

During the production of Star Wars, Peter Cushing found Tarkin's boots, furnished by the wardrobe department, to be very uncomfortable. Director George Lucas agreed to limit shots where Cushing's feet would be visible, allowing him to wear slippers. Cushing admitted many years later to not knowing what a "Grand Moff" actually was, joking that it sounded like "something which infests a clothes closet" and decided to play him as a "deeply cross and unpleasant gentleman".

In the 2005 prequel film Revenge of the Sith, Wayne Pygram was able to achieve the likeness of a young version of Tarkin through the use of prosthetic makeup. For his performance as Tarkin in the animated series The Clone Wars, voice actor Stephen Stanton researched Cushing's performances and then tried to imitate what Cushing might have sounded like in his mid-thirties and soften his voice to portray a level of humanity.

In the 2016 anthology film Rogue One, archive footage and a digital scan of Peter Cushing's life mask made for the 1984 film Top Secret! were used to create a 3D CGI mask which was augmented and mapped to actor Guy Henry's face. Henry studied Cushing's mannerisms many years previously for the lead role in British TV show Young Sherlock, but insisted on a screen test as he wasn't comfortable that his vocal imitation was accurate, stating he sounded more "Peter O'Toole than Peter Cushing". The ILM team searched through hours of footage to find suitable material of Cushing to build from, footage from A New Hope was lit very differently to the lighting used in Rogue One and had to be digitally changed. The more they manipulated the lighting to match the other actors in the scenes the less like Cushing the character model looked, which meant creating a balancing act between "a digital figure" and "one who looked precisely like Cushing". The owners of Cushing's estate were heavily involved with the creation and had input right down to "small, subtle adjustments". The result, which has been called "one of the most complex and costly CGI re-creations ever", received a mixed response, with questions being raised about the morality of using a dead actor's likeness.

Star Wars

Introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars, the first film in the original Star Wars trilogy, Grand Moff Tarkin is the Governor of the Imperial Outland Regions, and commander of the Death Star. After the Emperor dissolves the Galactic Senate, Tarkin and Darth Vader are charged with pursuing and destroying the Rebel Alliance. He threatens Princess Leia Organa with the destruction of her home planet, Alderaan, if Leia does not reveal the location of the Rebel main base of operations. When Leia names the planet Dantooine as the base's location, he destroys Alderaan anyway, hoping to make an example out of the planet's support of the Rebellion. Upon learning that Leia's coerced information was false, Tarkin orders Leia's execution.

He allows the Rebels to escape the Death Star with the Princess after placing a tracking beacon on the Millennium Falcon in order to find the Rebel base. He orders the Death Star to destroy the rebel base on Yavin IV. In the film's climax, Tarkin refuses to believe that the Death Star is in danger from the Rebel starfighter attack. As such, he refuses to evacuate and is finally killed when the Death Star is destroyed by Luke Skywalker.

Revenge of the Sith

At the end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the final film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, a younger version of Tarkin makes a cameo appearance overseeing the original Death Star's construction, standing beside Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.

Rogue One

In the first anthology film Rogue One, Orson Krennic, Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military, meets with Tarkin, who expresses his skepticism about Krennic's management of the Death Star project.

Tarkin oversees the Death Star's first attack on the Rebellion when it is used to destroy a holy city on the planet Jedha. Impressed, he congratulates Krennic before announcing that he is going to take command of the Death Star from that point on, pointing out security breaches under Krennic's nose, much to Krennic's chagrin.

Later in the film, Tarkin is informed of a Rebel attack on Scarif, the planet where the plans to the Death Star are kept, he orders the jump to hyperspace to the planet, where an ongoing battle between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance rages on. Tarkin has the Death Star target and destroy the Scarif base, killing Krennic, Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, and any other survivors of the ground battle, while Darth Vader handles the Rebel fleet.

The Clone Wars

In the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the young version of Tarkin appears in the Republic Navy as a Captain and later an Admiral during the Clone Wars.

In the third season, Captain Tarkin and Jedi Master Even Piell are ambushed and attacked by the Separatist forces. Prisoners to the Citadel, Tarkin and Piell are freed from captivity by a rescue team. Initially pessimistic about being in enemy territory, Tarkin puts himself at odds with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, but their respective opinions of each other improve when each realizes that they are mutual acquaintances of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. During a skirmish, Tarkin fights and attempts to execute Osi Sobeck, but fails when the Citadel's caretaker swiftly retaliates and nearly kills him. However, Tarkin is rescued just in time by Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

In the fifth season, Admiral Tarkin suspects Ahsoka of murdering Letta Turmond during a terrorist attack, and attempts to have the Padawan arrested. After Ahsoka is recaptured and tried before a jury of senators, Tarkin heads the prosecution while Padmé Amidala heads the defense. Despite Padmé's impressive defense, Tarkin casts doubt by mentioning that Ahsoka had been seen with Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress. After Tarkin and Padmé's arguments conclude and the jury reaches a verdict that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is about to read, Skywalker arrives with Barriss Offee, the real mastermind of the attack.

Rebels

In the television series Star Wars Rebels, Governor Tarkin now has the Grand Moff title. He visits the planet Lothal to deal with its growing insurgent activity, and reprimands Minister Maketh Tua, Agent Kallus, and the Inquisitor for their repeated failures to stop the planet's Rebel cell. Tarkin has the Inquisitor execute Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint for the two's inability to deal with the cell's leader, Jedi Kanan Jarrus. Later, Tarkin sets a trap for the Rebels and manages to capture Kanan during their mission to send a message through one of the planet's communication towers. The Rebels' message gets sent out, but Tarkin then orders the tower to be destroyed. Kanan is tortured by the Inquisitor and transported to the Mustafar system aboard Tarkin's Star Destroyer. During Kanan's rescue by Rebel forces, Tarkin's Star Destroyer is destroyed, and the Inquisitor is killed. On Lothal, Tarkin introduces Agent Kallus to Darth Vader.

Taking the loss of his personal Star Destroyer personally, Tarkin orders that Maketh Tua be brought before him for her failure to find the Lothal rebels. Knowing the true meaning behind the summoning after the deaths of Aresko and Grint, Tua attempts to defect, but she is killed before she can leave Lothal. Tarkin later appears in the season three premiere where he meets with Governor Pryce regarding the Lothal Rebels. He subsequently grants her request for use of the Seventh Fleet, commanded by Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Novels

Star Wars: Tarkin explores the title character's origins, and chronicles how he meets and aligns himself with Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader prior to the events of A New Hope. The novel was one of the first four canon novels to be released in 2014 and 2015.

Tarkin also appears in Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, the prequel novel to Rogue One, where Tarkin forms a rivalry with Advanced Weapons Director Orson Krennic.

Legends

With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.

In the Star Wars expanded universe, Tarkin appears in Death Star, Darth Maul: Saboteur, Rogue Planet and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.

West End Games' roleplaying material describes the "Tarkin Doctrine", which emphasizes ruling "through the fear of force, rather than force itself", and has been mentioned various other times in the Star Wars canon. He is also mentioned during the Legacy of the Force novel series as having been present on Zonama Sekot with Anakin Skywalker. In the comics series Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command, Tarkin is seen telling Vader of a missing convoy of Imperial craft and adds that his own son was in command of the convoy and is also missing.