Star Wars leak may reveal the return of a fan-favorite Clone Trooper

Temuera Morrison’s Star Wars future may extend far beyond Boba Fett. The actor, who brought Jango Fett to life (as well as all the clone troopers in George Lucas’ prequel trilogy) made his triumphant return to the Star Wars universe last year when he appeared as Boba Fett in The Mandalorian season 2.

The Māori actor will return this December in The Book of Boba Fett, but recent a social media post from the actor could reveal Disney’s plans to put Morrison in even more Star Wars shows in the future — and not as Robert Fett either.

Warning! Possible spoilers ahead for Kenobi and other upcoming Star Wars shows.

THE THEORY — Redditor u/nonoman12 believes that Morrison may be preparing to play a notable clone from the Star Wars universe soon. In his latest Instagram post, the Boba Fett actor is seen sporting the beginnings of a white beard. Since the actor typically goes clean-shaven, the redditor suggests Morrison may be growing a beard out in preparation for the long-awaited Obi-Wan TV series, which just started filming according to recent reports.

Who will Morrison play? Not Boba, who would be far too young in a show set in the time between the prequels and the original trilogy. However, this leak fits nicely with other rumors that Commander Cody, one of the most important Clone characters in the entire Star Wars saga, will play a role in the Kenobi show too.

WHY COMMANDER CODY? Commander Cody was one of the key clone troopers during The Clone Wars, leading the 7th Sky Corps and serving directly under Obi-Wan. As a result of their shared battle prowess and dependability, Cody and Obi-Wan developed a strong bond over the course of their time fighting together. However, their relationship was severed during the execution of Order 66, when Cody and his fellow clone troopers turned on the Jedi and attempted to kill Obi-Wan. Cody then went on to serve as a stormtrooper under the Galactic Empire, and helped in the Empire’s efforts to enslave the Wookies on Kashyyyk. Due to the character’s close relationship with Obi-Wan, many Star Wars fans have speculated that Morrison could return as Cody.

Maybe the Emperor tasks Cody with hunting down Obi-Wan. Maybe Kenobi will seek out his old friend. Either way, it makes sense that a grizzled older Commander Cody would have a beard like the one Morrison is rocking.

However, Cody isn’t the only role that Morrison could be growing out a white beard for though. Several other redditors have also noted that the white beard could mean Morrison will be playing a live-action version of Commander Rex in either Obi-Wan or Dave Filoni’s live-action Ahsoka series. Similar to Cody, Rex was one of the central characters in the Clone Wars animated series and had close bonds to Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka. He was also one of the only clones who — with the help of Ahsoka — managed to maintain his autonomy after Order 66, with he and Ahsoka both narrowly escaping with their lives. The characters remained close in the years during the Empire’s rule, and Rex was even present during the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi.

When he appeared on Star Wars Rebels, Rex sported a very similar beard as the one Morrison currently has, which only further feeds into the speculation that he’ll be taking on the role soon. Considering not only Ahsoka’s connection to Rex in both Clone Wars and Rebels but also Dave Filoni’s own attachment to the character too, many fans are justifiably convinced that Rex will show up in at least some capacity in the Ahsoka series. But a white beard isn’t exclusive to Rex (the other two prequel-era clones featured in Rebels also had white beards), which means Morrison could very well be growing it out to play an older version of Cody in Obi-Wan as well.

THE INVERSE ANALYSIS — It’s entirely possible that Morrison will be reprising his role as Cody in the Obi-Wan Disney+ series, especially since it has already been confirmed that other Star Wars prequel actors (like Hayden Christensen) will be appearing in the series alongside Ewan McGregor. However, it’s also possible that the beard is part of his preparation for a whole number of other Star Wars projects, whether it be The Book of Boba Fett or to play Commander Rex in the Ahsoka series. Morrison is one of those few Star Wars actors who could logically appear in a number of the franchise’s incoming projects, which makes predicting his future in live-action Star Wars properties particularly difficult. He could also be growing out a beard just because, you know, he feels like it.

The Mandalorian is streaming now on Disney+.