The Grand Master

This article is non-canon within the canon continuity. This article covers a subject from a Star Wars: Visions story that Lucasfilm declared is set in an alternate history within a reimagined galaxy.

The title of this article is the rank and/or affiliation of an individual. This article is about an individual who is known only by rank or affiliation.

The Grand Master was a Force-sensitive human male who served as the leader of the Crusaders, a radical sect of Jedi. He was obsessed with revenge against the former Sith known as the Ronin, who had wounded his face and cut off his legs in battle. Upon learning the Ronin had been located on the planet Olcatz, the Grand Master traveled there in his starfighter to find him dueling the Sith Aneé-san on the feet of an overturned AK-BK walker. The Grand Master leapt down from his starfighter, wounding Aneé-san as he landed, but the Ronin pushed her away before the Grand Master could kill her. The Ronin and Grand Master dueled, with the Ronin eventually being knocked back and dangling from the walker's snowshoe. However, his astromech droid R5-D56 sacrificed himself to distract the Grand Master and allow the Ronin to escape.

The Ronin and Aneé-san were both rescued by Ewoks and formed a truce against the Grand Master, luring him and his forces to Tkoku Island. After initially sending Crusaders across the bridge to the island, the Grand Master dashed across it to engage the Ronin and Aneé-san in another duel. After they both fell back toward a shrine, the Grand Master was able to use the Force to slam Aneé-san into a pillar and face the Ronin alone. The Grand Master stabbed his opponent's chest, but the Ronin grabbed his arm, holding him in place to allow Aneé-san to stab his head with a lightsaber in her leg. On his knees, the Grand Master scrambled for a lightsaber, unable to distinguish between his own blue-bladed lightsaber and Aneé-san's red-bladed weapon. Ultimately, he picked up the red-bladed lightsaber, but was quickly killed by the Ronin after.

Biography

Wounded in battle

A Force-sensitive human male served as a Jedi and would eventually be known as the Grand Master. During a battle, fought as part of^[1] the Sith rebellion,^[1] he faced against an individual who would eventually become a former Sith known as the Ronin. The Jedi ignited his lightsaber as the Sith approached and then struck at the Jedi, cutting off his legs. The Sith stood above him and criticized his obsession with judgment, saying that the Jedi was closer to the dark than the Sith were. As the Jedi screamed and crawled back, the Sith attacked again, wounding his face.^[1]

He later received cybernetic replacements for his legs, jaw, and at least one finger, in addition to other implants.^[1] Eventually, he became the leader of the Crusaders,^[1] a radical Jedi sect.^[2] The Grand Master became obsessed with finding the Ronin and taking revenge against him.^[1]

Revenge

Over twenty years after the Sith rebellion,^[3] while in his starfighter, he received a communication from a Crusader who had learned from the bounty hunter Do N-Yuk that the Ronin had been located on the planet Olcatz. The Grand Master arrived in his starship above Olcatz alongside several Crusaders' transport craft and found the Ronin dueling the Sith Aneé-san on the feet of an upside-down AK-BK walker, which had been the site of a gambling hall owned by Aneé-san's employer, the Yakuza boss Que-Dama.^[1]

The Grand Master leapt from his starship, cutting off Aneé-san's arm and leg as he landed beside her on one of the walker's feet. The Grand Master aimed his lightsaber at Aneé-san, announcing the Crusaders' arrival, but the Ronin, claiming he wanted to deal with her himself, used the Force to push her off the walker before the Grant Master could deliver a fatal blow. The Grand Master turned to face the Ronin, who stood on another foot, and while removing his helmet, declared the Ronin would face justice and would remember his strength, even if he did not remember their previous encounter. Remembering their past battle, the Grand Master challenged the Ronin, demanding he once again show him his power.^[1]

Justice

The walker's legs began to move, bringing them closer together, and the Grand Master swung his lightsaber^[1] tauntingly^[4] before quickly striking at the Ronin, who drew his own lightsaber but was unable to avoid being struck in the shoulder. The Ronin moved to the walker's other foot, switching positions with the Grand Master. As the walker's feet started moving again, bringing them closer together, the Grand Master began swinging his blade. He again quickly moved toward the Ronin to attack, and they exchanged several blows, with the Grand Master eventually cutting the Ronin's hair clip as the AK-BK's feet began to move apart, separating the two warriors.^[1]

The Grand Master crouched and lunged at the Ronin,^[1] seemingly teleporting^[4] and landing an attack that knocked him off the walker's foot. The Ronin grabbed onto the edge of the AK-BK's snowshoe, and the Grand Master raised his lightsaber, declaring he would deliver justice, but the Ronin's astromech droid, R5-D56, slammed into him. The Grand Master cut the droid into pieces and questioned his actions, only to realize his sacrifice had allowed the Ronin to escape. The Grand Master screamed in frustration, then ordered the transport craft to destroy what was left of the walker and leapt up to his starfighter.^[1]

Taking the bait

In his fighter, the Grand Master adjusted his mechanical face with his cybernetic finger as a Crusader congratulated him on his revenge via comms. In response, he claimed that Jedi did not seek revenge, and then, knowing that the Ronin was likely still alive, ordered the planet to be put on lockdown. The Ronin and Aneé-san were found by Ewoks and taken to a bacta hot spring to recover, where they discussed the Grand Master's lockdown of Olcatz and his obsession with revenge against the Ronin. The Ronin agreed to a truce with Aneé-san and to help her and Que-Dama with their plan to defeat the Grand Master. He also visited a cemetery with an image on a large rock of the Grand Master facing a number of Ewoks. Once the Ewoks had prepared traps on Tkoku Island, an anonymous tip was sent to the Crusaders, revealing their coordinates, which one Crusader relayed to the Grand Master.^[1]

The Grand Master set his starfighter down on the shore across from Tkoku Island, near the entrance to the bridge leading to it. A group of Crusaders also arrived in their transport craft, with two of the craft being shot down by missiles guided by a repaired R5-D56.^[1] The Grand Master showed no reaction as the two transports exploded^[4] and ordered his forces to fire on the shield generator on the top of the island. He commanded his troops to take the Ronin alive, and they charged across the bridge toward the Ronin and Aneé-san, who waited on the opposite side. The Crusaders were ambushed by Ewoks hiding in the water and many triggered traps on the bridge.^[1]

Rematch with the Ronin

After watching Aneé-san deal with several Crusaders, the Grand Master crouched and then dashed across the bridge^[1] with superhuman speed^[4] toward her. She removed a cast to reveal a lightsaber with many small blades connected to the stump of the arm she had lost. The Grand Master rapidly struck at her blades with his own lightsaber while more Crusaders moved around them to face the Ronin. After dispatching them^[1] with ease,^[4] the Ronin joined Aneé-san to aid her just as the Grand Master cut off three of her small lightsabers. He taunted her about her lost blades, and she and the Ronin fell back toward a shrine on the island. The Grand Master slowly followed them, and the Ronin activated his wrist cuff to launch^[1] whistling birds from droid lanterns^[4] at him, all of which the Grand Master blocked with his lightsaber.^[1]

The Ronin and Aneé-san briefly stood facing the Grand Master before the Ronin ran at him. The three dueled, with the Grand Master moving with such speed that he again seemed to teleport. Eventually, he was able to push both his opponents back, putting space between them. He flourished his lightsaber, and they ran forward to engage him once again. After exchanging several blows, the Grand Master kicked the Ronin back and cut off two more of Aneé-san's small blades while knocking her to the ground. He briefly dueled the Ronin alone before Aneé-san rejoined the fight and cut off his wig with her standard lightsaber. He briefly paused before resuming the duel, then again kicked the Ronin away to face Aneé-san alone. He cut off her multi-bladed lightsaber, then grabbed her with the Force and threw her against the shrine, slamming her into a pedestal.^[1]

Balance

The Grand Master and the Ronin stood across from each other, and the Ronin charged him to continue the duel. They fought for a short time, eventually pausing as the Grand Master held his lightsaber against the Ronin's neck. The Grand Master stated that balance only came with true peace, and the Ronin attempted to attack again, only to be quickly held in place with the Force. The Ronin pushed apart from the Grand Master, who then declared the Sith must be eliminated or brought to justice. He attacked again, sending the Ronin tumbling to the ground. The Jedi ran toward the former Sith, who used the Force to send three of Aneé-san's small severed lightsabers at him, knocking off his prosthetic jaw and stunning him.^[1]

The Ronin aimed his lightsaber at the Grand Master, telling him he had lost his way and was no longer a Jedi. The Ronin stated there was no balance without both the light and dark sides of the Force, repeating his words from their first encounter. The Grand Master, reminded of their battle, got to his feet and twirled his lightsaber as he once again declared his opponent would face his judgment.^[1]

Just a machine

The Grand Master stabbed at the chest of the Ronin, who initially caught the blade with the Force before the Jedi pushed it into him. He fell to his knees, but suddenly grabbed at the Grand Master's arm, holding him in place as Aneé-san leap toward him and stabbed his head with a lightsaber connected to her prosthetic leg. The Grand Master fell to the ground, and the Ronin pulled the Jedi's lightsaber out of his chest and tossed it to the ground next to Aneé-san's original blade. On his knees, the Grand Master looked at the two still-ignited lightsaber, unable to distinguish between his own blue lightsaber and Aneé-san's red one. Grabbing at the red lightsaber, he distortedly stated he was a Jedi and attacked the Ronin, who quickly landed a fatal blow that cut through the Grand Master's chest. The Ronin told him he was not only no longer a Jedi, he was no longer human. Distortedly, the Grand Master repeated that he was a Jedi and then died.^[1]

During a celebration held on the island later, Que-Dama noticed Do N-Yuk dragging away the Grand Master's body. He questioned the bounty hunter, who explained the Grand Master's remains were worth more than the bounty on the Ronin.^[1]

Personality and traits

The Grand Master was a human male with multiple cybernetic prosthetics, including both legs, his jaw, and at least one finger. He also had implants in his head that could glow purple, a tube connected to both sides of his head, and a panel on his chest with several buttons. He was obsessed with taking revenge against the Ronin, though he claimed Jedi not seek revenge. He considered the Ronin to be a sinner who he would deliver justice to. He screamed with frustration when the Ronin escaped him and yelled with anger before charging toward Aneé-san across the bridge to Tkoku Island. When two of the Crusaders' transport craft were destroyed,^[1] he showed no reaction.^[4]

Powers and abilities

The Grand Master possessed overwhelming strength and speed,^[5] seemingly teleporting as he fought.^[4] As a Jedi, the Grand Master was Force-sensitive, and he was able to leap large distances from his starship to the surface and back. He was also able to lift Aneé-san and throw her with the Force.^[1]

Equipment

The Grand Master wielded a blue-bladed lightsaber and briefly used Aneé-san's red-bladed lightsaber.^[1] He wore a stiff kimono and a sedge hat helmet^[6] that he removed before dueling the Ronin. He also wore a wig that was destroyed by Aneé-san and piloted a starfighter.^[1]

Behind the scenes

The Grand Master first appeared in "The Duel: Payback," an animated short film produced by Kamikaze Douga and ANIMA that released as part of the third volume of the non-canon Star Wars: Visions series on Disney+^[1] on October 29, 2025. The character was first introduced at the Star Wars: Visions panel at Celebration Japan on April 19, 2025.^[8] The spelling of his name was confirmed in a StarWars.com article released on April 25 of that year.^[9] He is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in the original Japanese version and by Will Sharpe in the English dub.^[1]

Concept art of the Grand Master was created by Takashi Okazaki. His kimono was designed to appear stiff, similar to a noh costume.^[6] According to Okazaki, the character was initially conceived as a "white Darth Vader," with its initial design more closely resembling Vader's armor, eventually being rejected for looking too similar to the source of inspiration. The Grand Master's look without the jaw prosthetic was inspired by an illustration of Vader by Ralph McQuarrie in which he appeared to be screaming. Okazaki initially believed that this Vader inspiration for the character led director Takanobu Mizuno to choose Namikawa, who had voiced Anakin Skywalker in Japanese dubs, for the role, but that was not the case.^[10] According to Mizuno, the choice of Namikawa for the part had to do with his voice.^[11]

Mizuno shot live-action animatics for the duel between the Grand Master and the Ronin^[6] using real sword master choreographers. To represent the Grand Master's speed and strength, a ghosting effect was used in which a replica of an image was superimposed on top of itself and then layered over the realistic choreography. Mizuno's team chose a Jedi villain to drive questions of morality, and he hoped that viewers would wonder if the Grand Master could truly be called a Jedi and what it is that makes a Jedi.^[7]

Concept art gallery

"The Duel: Payback"

Storyboards

Concept art

Digital renderings

In-progress artwork

Storyboards

Dueling Aneé-san^[6]

Concept art

Initial concept art for the character, more closely resembling Darth Vader^[10]

Concept art by Takashi Okazaki^[12]

Prosthetics details

Appearances

• Star Wars: Visions — "The Duel: Payback" (First appearance)

Sources

• Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2025 - DAY 3 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (First mentioned)
• Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 First Look and Spinoff Announced – Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 Cast Announced with New Trailer on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 | English Dub Trailer | October 29 on Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 | Official Trailer | October 29 on Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• 日本語オリジナル版＜本予告＞が全世界解禁！『スター・ウォーズ：ビジョンズ』Volume3 on Disney's official Japanese website (September 26, 2026) (backup link)
• VISIONS FILMMAKER FOCUS: THE DUEL: PAYBACK on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• "The Duel: Payback" Episode Guide | Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Meet the Directors Behind the Star Wars: Visions Sequels on StarWars.com (backup link)
• 演じたキャラクターはイケメン『The Duel: Payback』グランド・マスター役 浪川大輔さん on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)

Notes and references