Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant maintained its loyalty to the fallen Galactic Empire during the New Republic era in the Outer Rim Territories following the Galactic Civil War, despite the Empire's collapse after the Battle of Jakku. This well-equipped remnant, led by the warlord Moff Gideon from Mandalore, sought to impose his vision of order upon the galaxy and complete the purging of the Mandalorians.
Around 9 ABY, Gideon's forces encountered Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter hired by "the Client" on Nevarro to retrieve Grogu. Although Djarin initially delivered Grogu, he experienced a change of heart and rescued him. The remnant then occupied Nevarro City, but Djarin returned, defeated Gideon, and reclaimed his fleet. Gideon persisted, utilizing an army of third-generation Dark Troopers. He successfully captured Grogu on Tython, only for Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to rescue him and defeat the Dark Troopers.
The New Republic apprehended Moff Gideon, and his scientist Pershing joined their amnesty program. However, Gideon escaped and operated covertly on Mandalore. With commandos and reinforcements from the Shadow Council, Gideon's faction engaged in a final battle against the Mandalorians reclaiming their homeworld, resulting in the remnant's ultimate defeat.
Having achieved the rank of moff, Gideon spearheaded a substantial Imperial force, uniting remnants as a warlord. A ruthless and imposing leader, Moff Gideon was a Galactic Empire patriot known to eliminate fellow Imperials who jeopardized his objectives. His forces inherited resources from the Imperial Military, specifically the Imperial Army and Imperial Navy, utilizing them as a well-organized military to achieve their goals. Remnant forces on Nevarro could occupy and maintain order, fielding at least one battalion. Their frontline infantry included stormtroopers, Imperial armored commandos, scout troopers, at least one incinerator trooper, and one artillery stormtrooper.
Stormtroopers stationed on Nevarro were generally of lower quality, serving as bodyguards for high-ranking officials or maintaining the occupation of Nevarro City. Moff Gideon's remnant also deployed elite death troopers on Nevarro, forming a guard unit for Gideon, as well as a platoon of Phase-III Dark Troopers. Later, they utilized the new Dark Trooper phase 4 armor, which Gideon himself used. Three Imperial Praetorian Guards served as Gideon's bodyguards. Imperial officers also served in various roles, including captaining a starship, acting as security officers, deck officers, pilots, communications officers, and gunnery officers. The remnant also included scientists, such as clone engineers and scientists from the Imperial Department of Military Research.
The remnant's arsenal included the standard E-11 medium blaster rifle, SE-14r light repeating blaster, E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifle, and DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle. Scout troopers used the EC-17 hold-out blaster, and death troopers wielded the E-11D blaster carbine. They also employed E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannons. Furthermore, Imperial forces were supported by armored units, including a K79-S80 Imperial Troop Transport, 74-Z speeder bikes, a Trexler 906 Armored Marauder, and other vehicles. Moff Gideon utilized a personal Outland TIE fighter, a Sienar Fleet Systems TIE fighter series model with folding wings for easy cockpit access. They also possessed at least two RA-7 protocol droids, one of whom served as a bartender in the Nevarro cantina after the remnant's occupation of the planet, while another served on Gideon's cruiser. Additionally, they used R-series astromech droids, Power droids (including at least one MPH power droid), MSE-6 series repair droids, and at least one Viper probe droid.
Moff Gideon commanded a fleet as part of his Imperial remnant. The fleet included a modified Gozanti-class Assault Carrier, a Class 546 light cruiser, several Outland TIE fighters, TIE/ln space superiority starfighters, a squadron of TIE/IN interceptors, a squadron of TIE/sa bombers, several Imperial transports, and one Lambda-class T-4a shuttle.
Following the end of the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire ruled the galaxy for a period of time, enforcing Emperor Sheev Palpatine's will with a technological military force. However, the Alliance to Restore the Republic rebelled in the Galactic Civil War, achieving decisive victories culminating in the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. There, the Emperor and his enforcer, Darth Vader, were killed, and the second Death Star battle station was destroyed. Without central leadership, the Empire fractured into holdouts.
Across space, Imperial Moffs and governors retained control over their sectors, [star systems](/article/star_system], and planets, while fleets and armies were scattered. In the chaos after Endor, these leaders vied for power in the vacuum left by Palpatine's death. The Imperial Military became uncontrollable, with warlords seizing power. After the Battle of Jakku, the Imperial armed forces were shattered, and the Empire surrendered to the New Republic, established by the Rebel Alliance.
The weakened Empire signed a peace treaty with the New Republic, ending the Galactic Civil War and dissolving the Empire. However, remnants persisted, gaining footholds on distant worlds. Former Imperials became warlords, and stormtroopers became mercenary bands serving them. Moff Gideon, a former officer in the Imperial Security Bureau during the Mandalorian Great Purge of Mandalore, formed his faction from the remains of the Imperial Army and Imperial Navy to restore Imperial order to the galaxy.
By 9 ABY, during the [New Republic Era](/article/new_republic_era], Moff Gideon's remnant operated near and secretly established operations on Nevarro, including a facility in Nevarro City and a restarted Imperial base elsewhere on the planet. Gideon commanded a fleet and scientists like Doctor Penn Pershing. On Nevarro, he used "the Client" and his stormtroopers as fronts. The Bounty Hunters' Guild also had a presence, with Greef Karga running the bounty hunting trade in the sector.
Gideon's forces, as part of blood transfusion experiments overseen by Pershing, sought to acquire Grogu, a Force-sensitive alien youngling. Gideon used the remains of the Imperial Army to try and acquire it. In 9 ABY, the Client hired Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter sent by Karga, to locate and acquire a valuable "asset" on Arvala-7. The Client offered beskar, a metal alloy used for Mandalorian armor stolen from Mandalore during the Purge, as payment. Aside from the asset's age of fifty years, the Client offered little information, confident that Djarin would succeed.
After returning from Arvala-7, Djarin delivered Grogu to the Client and Pershing. The Client and Pershing argued about the infant, with the Client wanting to extract the needed material even if it killed Grogu. Pershing refused, citing orders to deliver him alive, prompting the Client to warn Pershing about his own safety. Djarin then returned to rescue Grogu, leading to a firefight with the remnant stormtroopers. Despite being outnumbered, Djarin defeated the troopers and escaped with Grogu.
After Grogu's theft, the Client and his forces re-established Imperial authority on Nevarro. After bounty hunters failed to recapture Grogu, Karga lured Djarin back to the planet to kill him and remove the Imperial presence. However, Grogu saved Karga's life, leading Karga to kill his fellow bounty hunters and side with Djarin, Cara Dune, and Kuiil.
Planning to kill the Client, Karga and Dune escorted a handcuffed Djarin through the city with a Grogu decoy, reaching the cantina. The Client admired Djarin's armor and questioned Mandalore's resistance to Imperial expansion, claiming the Empire improved every system. Moff Gideon then contacted the Client via hologram and ordered a squad of death troopers to fire on the cantina, killing the Client and his stormtroopers. Gideon landed beside the cantina in an Outland TIE fighter, supported by his death trooper guard and the rest of his stormtrooper battalion. Meanwhile, scout troopers tracked down and retook Grogu, killing Kuiil.
From outside the cantina, Gideon emphasized Grogu's importance to Djarin, Karga, and Dune. He gave them until nightfall to surrender, threatening to use an [E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannon](/article/e-hob_heavy_repeating_laser_cannon]. The scout troopers with Grogu overheard Gideon killing one of his officers. The bounty hunter droid IG-11, reprogrammed by Kuiil, then approached them. IG-11 neutralized the scout troopers and took Grogu on one of their 74-Z speeder bikes.
IG-11 rode into Nevarro city, carrying Grogu and shooting stormtroopers. Reaching the clearing by the cantina, IG-11 crashed the speeder bike into the stormtroopers and Death troopers. Djarin, Dune, and Karga joined the fight, killing many troopers. Djarin used the E-Web blaster cannon, and Gideon arrived, injuring him with an explosive. IG-11 and the others helped Djarin back inside the cantina. Gideon ordered an [incinerator trooper](/article/incinerator_stormtrooper] to burn the cantina, but Grogu used the Force to turn the fire back, killing the trooper.
Djarin's group retreated into the sewers and visited a covert. By the time stormtroopers arrived, Djarin's group had left, leaving the Armorer, who defeated the troopers. Another group of stormtroopers awaited them at the end of a tunnel, but IG-11 self-destructed to defeat the squad. As the group left the tunnel, Gideon attacked in his Outland TIE fighter. Djarin chased the TIE with his jetpack and planted a detonator, damaging it and causing it to crash. With Gideon defeated, Djarin departed Nevarro with Grogu.
After helping a passenger and her eggs reach Trask and reunite with her husband, Djarin was recruited by Bo-Katan Kryze, Koska Reeves, and Axe Woves to raid a Gozanti-class Assault Carrier belonging to the remnant and capture weapons being exported from the black market port. The Mandalorians fought through several units of [stormtroopers](/article/stormtrooper] to reach the cargo hold.
A remnant officer trapped the quartet in the cargo control area but was jettisoned with his stormtroopers. Kryze revealed to the captain that they had captured the cargo hold, but the captain threatened to comb the area and kill them. Kryze revealed her objective was to fully capture the ship and storm the bridge, shocking Djarin. Djarin agreed to help Kryze in exchange for information on a Jedi.
The captain contacted Gideon, reporting pirates who had raided past shipments and requesting reinforcements. Gideon ordered the captain to scuttle the ship, killing his bridge personnel and personally piloting the ship into the ocean of Trask.
As the Gozanti plummeted towards the ocean surface, the Mandalorian team of four encountered resistance in the form of heavy blaster fire from stormtroopers, who were using heavy repeating blasters. With the ship losing altitude rapidly, Djarin, covered by his companions, armed himself with two grenades and charged towards the stormtroopers. After enduring intense blaster fire, Djarin successfully eliminated the stormtroopers by hurling the grenades, resulting in their deaths.
Having reached the bridge, Djarin and Reeves took control of the ship, diverting it from its collision course with the ocean, while Kryze interrogated the captured captain regarding Gideon's possession of the Darksaber. The captain responded to her query by stating that she should already be aware of the answer. Kryze threatened to keep him alive, but the captain retorted that while she might spare him, Gideon would not. Consequently, the captain ended his own life using a suicide shocker, resulting in instant death.
Following Kryze's revelation of the Jedi's location in the city of Calodan on the forest planet Corvus, Djarin and the Mandalorians parted ways, with Kryze, Reeves, and Woves retaining control of the captured cruiser.
At one juncture, Gideon received a holographic communication from Dr. Pershing, who was expressing his apologies for the failure of an experiment involving the Child and Strand-Casts. He further reported that their supply of Grogu's blood samples had been depleted, necessitating the acquisition of additional genetic material from the donor to continue his research.
Three days later, Djarin returned to Nevarro seeking repairs and was subsequently recruited by Karga, Dune, and a Mythrol to participate in a mission aimed at destroying the Imperial base. As the group embarked on their mission, a Mimbanesse worker surreptitiously attached a tracking device to Djarin's ship. Upon reaching the base, Djarin and his companions viewed Pershing's hologram and realized that the Imperials were conducting experiments, which explained their pursuit of Grogu. Subsequently, the worker contacted a comms officer aboard Gideon's light cruiser, informing her of the successful placement of the tracking device. The officer then relayed this information to Gideon, who responded with a smile and continued to oversee the work of his scientists on his Dark Troopers.
Gideon's forces successfully tracked Djarin's ship to Tython. From the upper atmosphere, two Imperial transports, carrying a detachment of stormtroopers, were launched from Gideon's light cruiser. As the stormtroopers engaged in battle with Djarin and his allies, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, four Dark Troopers were prepared and deployed from the cruiser, landing near the seeing stone where Grogu was meditating. There, one of the Dark Troopers seized Grogu and ascended back to the cruiser, accompanied by the other three Dark Troopers, while Fett pursued them in his ship. Upon sighting the cruiser, Fett expressed his disbelief at the Empire's resurgence. Once the Dark Troopers had returned to the cruiser with the Child, Gideon's cruiser jumped to hyperspace, but not before destroying Djarin's ship, the Razor Crest, which was grounded. While in hyperspace, Gideon briefly interacted with the Child in his prison cell, observing the child attacking two stormtroopers. Allowing Grogu to exhaust himself in the fight, Gideon presented the Darksaber to Grogu before instructing his stormtroopers to stun him and place him in shackles. Gideon then instructed his communications officer to transmit an encrypted message to Pershing, informing him that they had acquired the donor for his experiments upon exiting hyperspace.
Djarin and his team infiltrated Gideon's cruiser, subsequently dividing their forces, with Kryze searching for Gideon and Djarin seeking the child. Gideon, prepared for their arrival, attempted to deceive the Mandalorian into lowering his guard by promising to return the Child, claiming that he no longer needed him, having already obtained his blood. He then launched a surprise attack on Djarin, initiating a battle in which the Mandalorian defended himself with his beskar spear. Djarin emerged victorious, and brought Gideon to Kryze, attempting to return the Darksaber to her. Gideon laughed, knowing that she could not claim the saber without defeating him in combat.
Subsequently, the Dark Troopers, who Djarin had ejected into space, returned using their rocket boosters. Confident that everyone except himself would be killed by the Dark Troopers, he did not foresee the arrival of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. After witnessing the Jedi destroy the Dark Troopers, Gideon attempted to eliminate the child and then commit suicide. However, he failed in both attempts and was rendered unconscious, allowing Marshal Dune to utilize his valuable ISB intelligence for the New Republic and ensure his proper prosecution. Djarin believed that the New Republic Tribunal would likely execute the Moff for his crimes.
Following the rescue of Grogu from Gideon's light cruiser, Gideon's communications officer, Elia Kane, became part of the New Republic's amnesty program. However, she remained loyal to the Remnant and acted as a spy for them. Sometime after being apprehended by the New Republic, Gideon escaped custody when his beskar-plated commandos extracted him from the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle that was transporting him to his trial. After his escape, he and his forces regrouped at their headquarters on Mandalore.
Having successfully acquired Grogu's blood, Gideon utilized it to create Force-sensitive clones of himself for integration into his army, as well as designing the Dark Trooper phase 4 armor, which he wore in battle himself. To defend the Mandalore system, the remnant deployed a large squadron of TIE/IN interceptors supported by TIE/sa bombers and TIE/ln space superiority starfighters. Elia Kane, one of Gideon's subordinates, routinely served as the remnant's contact with the broader galaxy. Gideon also enlisted the services of Pirate King Gorian Shard and his pirate gang to sow chaos in the outer rim without specifically drawing the attention of the New Republic, particularly in Nevarro's sector.
Several TIE interceptors and bombers were dispatched to destroy Kryze Castle on Kalevala after Bo-Katan Kryze returned home. Concerned that his former scientist Penn Pershing, who had also joined the New Republic's amnesty program, might reveal the secrets of his project to the wider galaxy, Gideon sent Elia Kane to erase his memory. Kane successfully framed Pershing as a criminal while simultaneously advancing her own position within the New Republic ranks. As retribution for being driven off Nevarro, Gideon later dispatched Gorian Shard's pirates to devastate the planet. However, their efforts were thwarted by Mandalorians led by Djarin and Kryze. Kane learned of this and informed Gideon that both Djarin's tribe and Kryze's unit had united in defeating the pirates on Nevarro despite their previous animosity, to which he assured her that he would address the Mandalorian threat.
Subsequently, Gideon attended a meeting of the Shadow Council. He remained silent, listening to the discussions of the other members. Annoyed by Captain Gilad Pellaeon's unwavering dedication to Grand Admiral Thrawn, Moff Gideon sarcastically commented on the Chiss commander's repeated absence and expressed skepticism about his "imminent return." Building on this point, he emphasized the need for new leadership, subtly indicating his own aspirations to assume control. Commandant Brendol Hux instead proposed that Project Necromancer would resolve the matter, before questioning Moff Gideon about Doctor Pershing's situation. The warlord denied utilizing the scientist for his personal experiments and redirected the conversation to the Mandalorian threat. Hux and Pellaeon agreed to provide Gideon with additional resources, including three Imperial Praetorian Guards for his protection during the upcoming battle. With his request granted, the Moff concluded the meeting with a patriotic chant, which was echoed by his fellow warlords.
When the Mandalorians under Kryze and Djarin returned and advanced towards the Great Forge, Gideon dispatched his commandos to lure them into a trap. As Kryze, Djarin, and their forces pursued the Imperials, they found themselves within Gideon's base. Djarin was subsequently separated from the main group and taken prisoner by the commandos and Gideon, who was clad in his beskar armor. As Djarin was led away, Gideon expressed his gratitude for bringing all the Mandalorians together in one place and deployed his interceptors and bombers to engage the Mandalorian fleet. Gideon demanded the Darksaber from Kryze, reminding her of how she surrendered it to him when he offered a ceasefire before the Great Purge. Kryze, fully aware of his intentions, refused and cut through the blast doors to facilitate her unit's escape. Paz Vizsla, disregarding Kryze's plea, made a final stand to cover their retreat.
Djarin managed to escape Imperial custody with Grogu's assistance. Together, they infiltrated the base with the intention of locating the command center and eliminating Moff Gideon once and for all. With assistance from R5-D4, they successfully located the command center. As they approached the command center, they discovered Moff Gideon's Force-sensitive clones and destroyed them, thereby thwarting Gideon's plans to conquer the Galaxy.
This prompted an enraged Gideon to attack Djarin on a platform near the command center when the two arrived there. During the fight, the Praetorian Guards emerged and attacked Djarin, but Grogu intervened, causing the guards to charge at him, who retreated back into the command center. After the Mandalorians regrouped, they launched an assault on Gideon's base with reinforcements from the fleet. Woves decided to remain on the light cruiser to serve as a distraction for Gideon's interceptors and bombers.
The Mandalorians utilized their Kom'rk-class fighter transports to deploy an attack force. Employing their jetpacks, the Mandalorians flew into the skytop opening, engaging Gideon's commandos, with Kryze utilizing the Darksaber to eliminate several of them. After spotting Djarin fighting Gideon, Kryze landed and joined the fight, allowing Djarin to leave and save Grogu. Using Grogu's force powers and Djarin's weapons, the pair managed to defeat all three Praetorian Guards. Gideon crushed the Darksaber with his suit's augmented strength, breaking Kryze's hand in the process and taunting her that without their toys, Mandalorians were weak. As Djarin and Grogu arrived, Kryze declared Mandalorians were stronger together, and the three quickly overpowered him.
With the light cruiser severely damaged, Woves steered it into the base and escaped at the last minute, before the cruiser crashed into the base destroying it. Gideon perished in the resulting destruction. The death of Moff Gideon and the destruction of the Mandalore Imperial base marked the end of Gideon's Imperial remnant.
Sometime after the conflict on Mandalore, Carson Teva referenced Gideon's battle as evidence of coordination among the scattered and dwindling Imperial remnants during General Hera Syndulla's admonishing session at Coruscant for disobeying the orders of the New Republic Senate to ignore the attempts of Morgan Elsbeth's forces to bring Grand Admiral Thrawn from another galaxy. However, Senator Hamato Xiono dismissed Teva's intervention, asserting that it did not prove the existence of a larger conspiracy posing an immediate threat to the Republic, naively suggesting that Gideon had been a warlord acting independently.
Gideon's Imperial remnant made its initial appearance in "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian," the inaugural episode of Jon Favreau's Disney+ television series The Mandalorian, directed by Dave Filoni and broadcast on November 12, 2019.
For the episodes "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" and "Chapter 8: Redemption," Favreau and Filoni sought assistance from the 501st Legion fan organization due to the series' crew lacking a sufficient number of stormtrooper costumes on set. Consequently, many of the stormtroopers observed reinforcing the death troopers were portrayed by members of the organization.