#keibu

As Embo made more regular appearances, he gained an anooba companion named Marrok. “[Concept artist] Pat Presley took that rough design and refined it and I gave Embo the dog,” Filoni says. Well known for his appreciation of wolves and other animals, the anooba was a nod to one of Filoni’s favorite characters from another franchise, G.I. Joe’s "Snake Eyes," who has a dog named Timber. “I always liked that combination of a warrior and dog,” Filoni says.

Beyond the G.I. Joe inspiration, Embo’s original anooba was also steeped in Earthbound legends. “The name Marrok comes from Arthurian Legend and a story called ‘Sir Marrok: A Tale of the Days of King Arthur’ by Allen French,” Filoni reveals. “In the story, a knight of Arthur's round table returns from the Crusades and is transformed into a wolf by a witch who has taken over his kingdom.”

Embo and Marrok made several appearances over the years in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with ties to Jabba the Hutt and a paying gig as security detail for the Grand Hutt Council amid the rise of Maul’s Shadow Collective, several jobs with young Boba Fett’s crew, and an assignment targeting political enemy Rush Clovis for Darth Sidious (just to name a few).