Murley

This article is about the Loth-cat. You may be looking for the Anacondan Morley.

[Murley meows]
"Hey."
[Murley meows]
"Hi."
[Murley meows, purrs]

―Murley and Sabine Wren^[1]

Murley was a Loth-cat owned by the Mandalorian Sabine Wren during the time of the New Republic, living alongside Wren in the LothalNet comm tower E-272 on the planet Lothal. Around 9 ABY, the cat spent time around Wren during her attempts to unlock a compass containing a star map and briefly encountered Wren's former Master, Ahsoka Tano. Wren later departed on a quest to find Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, leaving Murley on Lothal.

Biography

"Uh-uh. Looking for a key, okay?"

―Sabine Wren to Murley, working to decipher the star map^[1]

The Loth-cat Murley^[2] was owned by^[5] the Mandalorian artist Sabine Wren.^[1] Wren named the tooka^[5] and lived with him on the planet Lothal in LothalNet comm tower E-272 during the New Republic Era,^[1] around 9 ABY.^[6] When Wren returned to the tower after refusing to attend a ceremony, Murley woke from a nap and greeted^[1] his^[3] companion, who scratched his chin. Wren then retrieved a container of^[1] special pellets,^[2] poured the food into a bowl, and set it down on a crate for Murley. Wren petted the cat as he ate before locating a hologram of her friend^[1] and fellow rebel, the Jedi Padawan^[5] Ezra Bridger.^[1]

The cat was resting on a table when Wren brought back a compass containing a star map taken from her former Master, Ahsoka Tano. Murley took an interest in the compass, sniffing it before hissing and pawing at the item^[1] like a toy.^[5] Wren chastised the creature and proceeded to project a hologram of ruins on the world Arcana over where Murley stood, causing the animal to jump to the floor and leave promptly. The Mandalorian later exited the living space to the tower's catwalk, where Murley joined her, meowing and peering upward. Wren took notice and bent down, petting Murley and talking to him about an upcoming trip. The cat sniffed her before noticing and screeching at the presence of a HK-87 assassin droid.^[1]

Murley later interacted with Tano, who crouched in front of the Loth-cat when visiting the tower. Murley hung back when Tano entered the tower's interior but kept her within sight and wailed at the appearance of a second assassin droid, who ambushed Tano. Tano destroyed the droid, and Murley hissed at its decapitated head. The Loth-cat subsequently snoozed but raised his head upon Wren's return. The Mandalorian then petted him. Wren later left Lothal—and Murley—on a quest in search of Bridger,^[7] just as she told her pet she would do.^[1]

Personality and traits

"I think I'm going on a trip."
[Murley purrs, then screeches]

―Murley's reaction to Sabine Wren and an assassin droid^[1]

Murley was a Loth-cat,^[1] a breed of tooka.^[8] His fur, soft to the touch,^[9] was tan and white, interspersed with patterns of brown spots and stripes. Murley possessed black eyes, black skin, and pointy ears,^[1] as well as sharp teeth and claws.^[2]

Although not domesticated, Murley enjoyed^[2] spending time with Sabine Wren, greeting and following her around^[1] in her tower, finding the living space comfortable.^[2] The cat liked being pet and scratched beneath the chin, purring when Wren did so. Murley enjoyed feeding time, sniffing and staring intently at Wren while she prepared his food and licking his lips upon receiving it.^[1] Murley also took frequent naps^[1]^[7] among Wren's belongings^[2] and sometimes exhibited a silently judging stare.^[9]

The Loth-cat treated the star compass Wren retrieved with distrust, growling and batting at it. The cat ran away when Wren activated a hologram that projected into Murley's space.^[1] The loyal^[5] tooka^[8] also showed disdain for HK-87 assassin droids, hissing at them when they attacked Wren^[1] and Tano.^[7]

Skills and abilities

Murley was adept at hunting,^[2] able to provide for himself outdoors.^[5]

Behind the scenes

"My little Loth-cat, it was so cute. They sprung that cat on me one day. I just walked to set and it was a rehearsal for the scene and it was the first time I saw the cat come to life. It's got hilarious little turkey legs, which is my favorite part." [Laughs]

―Natasha Liu Bordizzo^[10]

Murley was first pictured in a teaser for the Disney+ live-action television series Ahsoka, which was released on April 7, 2023.^[11] The Loth-cat's prop—designed by Legacy Effects—was displayed at the Lucasfilm Pavillion at San Diego Comic-Con,^[12] which was held from July 20 to July 23 the same year.^[13] Murley later debuted in "Part One: Master and Apprentice" and "Part Two: Toil and Trouble,"—the first and second episodes of the series^[1]^[7]—which simultaneously premiered on August 22, 2023.^[14] Murley was later named by the official Star Wars Twitter account on October 3 that year,^[15] promoting a video of the Star Wars Lofi series that features the cat.^[16]

Christian Alzmann's concept artwork of Murley in March 2022 shows the Loth-cat with light-green eyes and white fur with gray patterning. The color scheme in the illustration is an alternate depiction^[17] to the black eyes and tan and white fur later used in Ahsoka.^[1] Sabine Wren's actor, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, noted the cat's appearance during on-set rehearsal as a cute surprise, particularly enjoying his "hilarious little turkey legs."^[10] Murley's scenes were filmed on the proprietary Industrial Light & Magic StageCraft technology on a soundstage known as "The Volume." Production teams relied on a combination of practical puppets and digital versions inserted after filming to bring the loth-cat to life.^[18]

In November 2023, Ahsoka series creator Dave Filoni appeared on Entertainment Weekly's Star Wars podcast, Dagobah Dispatch. Amazed by fans' concern for Murley's safety, Filoni spoke about the cat's ability to leave Wren's tower and independence as a wild animal, raising the possibility of a Murley-centric documentary. During the interview, Filoni referred to Murley using he/him pronouns,^[3] a departure from the it/its pronouns presented in the series' audio description available on Disney+.^[4]