Taron Malicos

During the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Jedi Master known as Taron Malicos became one of the Jedi Order's most trusted generals in the Grand Army of the Republic. Malicos was renowned for his abilities as a tactician and as a motivator of his troops. In 19 BBY, when Order 66—a directive in the behavioral modification biochips of the Republic's clone troopers to attack the Jedi for treason against the Republic—was enacted, Malicos was betrayed and attacked by his clone troopers. He struck them down and escaped the troopers in his Delta-series fighter, surviving the Great Jedi Purge orchestrated by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious.

After Order 66, Malicos' starfighter crashed into the Swamp of Sacrifice on the red-misty planet Dathomir, which was witnessed by Brother Viscus and his clan of Nightbrothers—Dathomirian Zabraks who served as warriors for the Nightsisters clan of Dathomirian witches. A fearful and raging Malicos—who was breathing heavily and in pain—tried to flee but was captured and brought by the Nightbrothers to their village. At some point, unable to resist the planet's connection to the Force, Malicos turned to the dark side of the Force.

While imprisoned, Malicos manipulated his captors in a bid to divide them. When Malicos escaped imprisonment, the Nightbrother warriors hunted the fallen Jedi—who was grunting angrily and struggling along—through the Halls of the Nydak, a set of halls and natural rooms near the Nightbrother village. Malicos was recaptured and brought to the dungeon, where he killed several Nightbrother warriors, resulting in the others bringing him before Viscus. Malicos fought Viscus in the Collapsed Settlement and got the upper hand, killing the Nightbrother. With his dying words, Viscus told the fallen Jedi that the Nightbrothers would never kneel before him.

After killing Viscus, Malicos usurped control over the Nightbrothers. They laid down their weapons and submitted to Malicos in the Halls of the Nydak, with the fallen Jedi becoming the clan's new leader. He ruled them with fear, which resulted in the Nightbrothers worshiping Malicos due to his power in the Force and becoming his recruited enforcers. Malicos visited the Strangled Cliffs and the Brother's Bastion, drawn to the energy from the ruins of the Tomb of Kujet—a Zeffonian palace that served as Zeffo Sage Kujet's throne and burial site. After infiltrating the Tomb, he succumbed to the dark energy that filled it and gathered a firm amount of Nightbrothers, who then occupied it.

Malicos eventually met Merrin—a witch of the Nightsisters clan—in the Swamp of Sacrifice, and a tense negotiation took place. She warned Malicos that if he did not leave Dathomir, the Nightbrothers would kill him. Disagreeing, Malicos asked Merrin to join him and affirmed that the Nightbrothers were no match against her. In Kujet's Tomb, Malicos wanted Merrin—afraid of the power he was seeking—to lead him through the Tomb ruins, but she believed it was cursed. Malicos told her not to be scared and she promised to teach Malicos her magick. Malicos stated that the Jedi massacred the Nightsisters during the Clone Wars and in return for teaching him magick, he would help Merrin get revenge. This ensured a deal between Malicos and the Nightsister. Malicos and his Nightbrothers subjected Merrin to rantings.

In 14 BBY, during his time on Dathomir, Malicos—acting as a "Wanderer" to hide his old Jedi identity—met former Padawan and Imperial fugitive Cal Kestis outside of the Tomb of Kujet. Malicos saw that Kestis had met Merrin and was surprised he had survived an encounter with her, realizing that the lightsaber that Kestis carried saved his life. The "Wanderer" stated that he liked to travel and study extinct cultures and dead philosophies, telling Kestis that the Clone Wars had come to Merrin's world and that she had to watch her family die. When Kestis inquired, he explained that the ancient tomb ruins held power within that tempted the Nightsisters, warning him to stay away from them or he would be corrupted as well.

Kestis asked Malicos about his length of stay on the planet, and the former Jedi explained with a chuckle that he had been there enough and that Dathomir had provided him a sanctum when he was in need, shelter when he was weak, and enlightenment when he was lost in the dark. Skeptical, Kestis asked Malicos about his knowledge of the Nightsisters, and the fallen Jedi explained it as an observation of the many things he had seen on Dathomir. Kestis needed clarification, prompting Malicos to state that his observation did not need to have meaning, stating that great minds had lost themselves in pursuit of order. Chuckling, Malicos told Kestis that he should be careful about the world's many mysteries. Kestis left the planet to continue his journey.

Kestis eventually returned to Dathomir and learned of the outsider's rise to power through the Force power psychometry. However, he did not know that the outsider was, in fact, the "Wanderer"—Taron Malicos. Kestis discovered Viscus' corpse and learned that he had been the leader of the Nightbrothers and was killed by the outsider. Kestis ultimately ignored Malicos' advice, entering the ruins of the Tomb of Kujet.

After Kestis exited the Tomb, Malicos questioned him about going into the ruins, suspecting that things did not go as planned and reminding Kestis of his warning. Kestis did not want to talk, but Malicos persisted, thinking that he was lost and defenseless on the planet. When Kestis demanded to know who the "traveler" really was, Malicos revealed his true identity as a former Jedi. Malicos stated that they had much in common, although Kestis doubted it. The former Jedi explained that they were both Jedi Purge survivors who were forced to kill and escape the clone troopers and that the darkness on the planet almost succeeded in controlling him, but he had prevented it by conquering the power within.

Kestis realized that Malicos was the leader of the Nightbrothers, and the fallen Jedi laughed as he confirmed it to be true, explaining that he had become their leader because of his strength in the Force. Kestis disagreed with his actions, but Malicos asserted that these were dire times, which would devour them if they did not stand together. However, when Kestis claimed he did not want Malicos' help, the former Jedi replied that Kestis' broken lightsaber told a different story, suspecting that Kestis had seen something terrible in the ruins. The former Jedi continued stating that there were many terrible places on Dathomir, trying to convince Kestis to join his cause in controlling the planet's power, but he was unsuccessful. Merrin arrived and conveyed that she was familiar with Malicos' words about joining his cause, but the latter asserted that she had overstepped her bounds.

Merrin accused Malicos of attempting to include a Jedi in his cause despite having told her that the Jedi had killed her sisters. Malicos replied that she was previously told to "deal with it" and lacked power. Merrin stated that the planet had made Malicos mad and her misplaced loyalty had allowed Malicos to lead the Nightbrothers astray; she declared, the Nightsisters did not betray each other. Malicos responded that her sisters were gone and Merrin confirmed this with the surrounding graves. Kestis and his droid, BD-1, wanted to leave, but Merrin summoned Nightsister Zombies. Malicos chuckled, stating that Merrin was foolish with her uncontrollable powers. Wanting Malicos and Kestis to feel her wrath, Merrin had the zombies she controlled attack them. Malicos told Kestis to run, and both of them fled. Later, Kestis once again left the planet.

When Kestis returned to Dathomir again, Merrin approached him while the Padawan was inside Kujet's Tomb. Merrin was surprised that the Padawan had returned, describing it as fearless but unwise. Kestis told her that Malicos had lied about the Jedi conducting the massacre on Dathomir, as the Separatist Confederacy and its leader—the Sith Lord Count Dooku—had orchestrated the attack by ordering the Kaleesh cyborg General Grievous to annihilate the Nightsisters. In return, the Nightsister explained that Malicos had promised her revenge if she taught him magick.

With the extent of Malicos' intent revealed, Merrin and Kestis decided to stop the darksider together, with the latter approaching the fallen Jedi inside the Tomb of Kujet. Malicos again attempted to convert Kestis by telling him that he wanted to create something new and better, though Kestis did not concur. Having failed to recruit the Jedi, Malicos ignited his two lightsabers and attacked him. During the duel, Malicos lifted Kestis and slammed him to the floor. While the Padawan was on the ground, Malicos broke a chunk of rock from one of the tomb's walls with the Force and was about to kill Kestis with it before Merrin used magick and crushed the rock into small pieces. She then hurled energy balls at the fallen Jedi, though Malicos deflected them with his lightsabers.

Malicos then threw one of his lightsabers at the pillar Merrin was standing on and pulled it down with the Force, though the Nightsister jumped down to where Malicos was and told Kestis to get back up before disappearing. The duel continued, with Merrin appearing several times to assist Kestis, throwing magick energy at Malicos. Eventually, Merrin grabbed Malicos with her magick and buried him alive underneath the floor of the Tomb, leaving both the young Jedi and Nightsister victorious in the duel.

After the duel, Merrin revealed to Kestis that Malicos wanted her to attack the Jedi's fellow crew on the luxury yacht Stinger Mantis, Cere Junda and Greez Dritus, but saw that they were not threats. Merrin then joined the crew of the Stinger Mantis, and when they later revisited the Tomb of Kujet, Kestis asked her if Malicos had always been unhinged. Merrin confirmed that the fallen Jedi's behavior had seemingly changed upon Kestis' arrival, viewing the Padawan as either an opportunity or a threat. In response, Kestis noted that he was glad they had stopped Malicos despite not knowing his precise endgame.

Between 12 BBY and 11 BBY, during a mission to the Outer Rim planet Murkhana, Merrin fiercely bought up Malicos in a heated argument on "choices" and "trust" with Kestis and defected Imperial analyst and agent Chellwinark Frethylrin.

Taron Malicos was a tall, muscular human male who had gray hair, blue eyes, and light skin. After being betrayed by his troops and spending several years on Dathomir, Malicos succumbed to darkness and madness. He became power-hungry and manipulative, having influenced the Nightbrothers to follow him, who Malicos deemed as savages that solely craved strength. His wild hair and ragged beard became a symbol of his lunacy.

Malicos also exerted power over Merrin, whom he asked to teach him the art of magick, lying to her about the Jedi conducting the massacre of her fellow Nightsisters. He was also keen to be evasive, keeping his true identity secret and remaining shrouded in mystery. When Kestis tried to learn who he was, Malicos portrayed himself as a "wanderer" who studied ancient cultures and philosophies.

While on Dathomir, Malicos gained scars and carried horns from dead Nightbrothers, whom he had slain due to opposition from them. They were a reminder of those who dared to oppose him. Scarred both physically and mentally, he lost faith in the Jedi and believed that they had doomed themselves to extinction by allowing their traditions and past glories to blind them to reality. He wanted to create something new and better in the Jedi Order's place. Malicos believed that Merrin could not control her power, claiming that she had become possessed by it, as evidenced by her releasing several Nightsister Zombies to attack Kestis and himself.

Malicos was an accomplished lightsaber combatant, favoring the use of two single-bladed lightsabers in battle, proving himself to be a strong practitioner of Jar'Kai. Malicos' abilities were enough to help him kill Brother Viscus and prove himself a powerful fighter to the Nightbrothers. Likewise, when he fought Kestis, Malicos easily handled Kestis' assaults and was only defeated when Merrin helped Kestis.

Powerful with the Force and competent in the use of telekinesis, he was able to simultaneously control one lightsaber telekinetically while physically wielding his other lightsaber. Malicos could lift multiple boulders simultaneously and fling them at opponents, which he did to Kestis during their duel. He could throw his lightsabers with accuracy, and he was able to restrain Kestis telekinetically and fling him around with ease. Malicos could also use the Force to augment his physique and assist him in combat.

He was a formidable Jedi General, trained motivator, and cunning tactician. Noted for his competency and courage in leading clone troopers into battle, the Jedi Order counted Malicos as one of their most trusted battlefield commanders. Junda expressed in a conversation with Dritus on the Stinger Mantis that she remembered Malicos as skilled at strategy and that he would have quickly embraced fame and glory as a successful leader despite the Jedi overlooking accolades. Dritus wondered if Malicos was a war hero and saw this as how he had managed to control the Nightbrothers. Junda and Dritus agreed that Malicos would no longer have his fame and glory from the Clone Wars.

Taron Malicos possessed two red-bladed lightsabers, which he stored on his black utility belt. He wore black and red robes that exposed his scarred chest, a ragged black cloak, and brown boots. Malicos showcased horn trophies from slain Nightbrothers on his robes and utilized a Delta-series fighter to escape Order 66.

Taron Malicos was first introduced in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts on November 15, 2019. He was voiced by Liam McIntyre and had a range of concept art shown in the The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order reference book, released on November 19, 2019. In concept art created by Jordan Lamarre-Wan, Malicos' clothing design was the final approved design for the game. In one set of concept art created by Jose Daniel Cabrera Peña, Malicos was depicted with red and black robes in the color scheme of the Nightsisters and appeared younger in some of the art. In another set of concept art created by Peña, Malicos was depicted as a Devaronian, a Siniteen, and a dark-colored demon-like humanoid with fiery green eyes.

In the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order "Battle Grid" sandbox mode—added in an update in May 2020 and unlocked in the "Meditation Training" game menu after completing the game story—Malicos can either fight other in-game characters while Cal Kestis observes or be an opponent for the player, who plays as Kestis. To insert Malicos into a battle, he costs 20 points to add to the spawn grid out of the allowable amount of 100 points. Malicos also appears in the "Combat Challenges" game mode—vying Kestis against waves of enemies across multiple planetary backgrounds seen in the story—as the wave two enemy in the "Fortress Inquisitorius" challenge.

This article assumes that all optional dialogue involving or mentioning Malicos in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order takes place and that all optional collectables mentioning Malicos were acquired by Kestis. In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the optional dialogue and collectables do not affect the game's storyline, meaning that Malicos has no alternate stories.

In April 2023, McIntyre gave an interview on voicing Malicos with Dexerto at Supanova Expo. He stated that he did not know about his casting for a Star Wars game until the day he arrived on set. McIntyre recalled that the game developers told him he would be a Jedi, and he further described his character as "an old man with a cane and the cane happened to be a lightsaber." McIntyre—a long-time fan of Star Wars, including the X-Wing computer game series—was very relieved that he got a Jedi role and praised Cal Kestis' actor Cameron Monaghan as "a good leading man."

When asked if he had heard about further tie-in media or a spinoff for Fallen Order, McIntyre expressed that he was unaware. However, the actor revealed that while Malicos is seemingly vanquished near the end of the game, unused footage from the recording process may show a different fate for him. He also revealed that there was an "idea of Malicos surviving in certain ways" but he did not "know canonically where they've fallen on that, on the stuff that we filmed that didn't make it into the game." McIntyre indicated he was fine with the developers not including the idea in the final product.

On July 5, 2023, Malicos was featured in a "Kit Reveal" post for the Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes video game by EA Community Manager "CG_Tusken_Meathead," and was made obtainable in the "Conquest" game mode. A Galaxy of Heroes designer stated that when they first saw Malicos in Fallen Order, they wanted to include him in their game because of his Force proficiency and insane personality, which felt like a "compelling narrative" for a character.

The developer named "CG_Coffee" had difficulty defeating Malicos in Fallen Order and then insisted that he would be "really good" for the game. The designer made Malicos an "Unaligned Force User" due to his non-friendship status with Merrin and his quick turn against Kestis in Fallen Order. Malicos' physicality and abilities in Galaxy of Heroes were based on his Fallen Order depiction.

• The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• The Star Wars Book
• Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
• Star Wars: The Tiny Book of Sith
• Star Wars: The Mini Book of Lightsabers
• Star Wars The Dark Side Pocket Expert
• Star Wars: Timelines
• The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor