Bloodline

Lando Loiters in a Marketplace

In my last post – The Force Awakens Without Lando – I noted my disappointment that Lando Calrissian did not make an appearance in The Force Awakens while the other main characters from the Original Trilogy were included. I’m not going to rehash that entire post here, but I would encourage you to check it out if you haven’t done so. I will point out that in the post I acknowledged that The Force Awakens was a good movie even though Calrissian was missing from it. And besides, I am hopeful that he will be appearing in Episode VIII and/or IX.

So why, might one ask, am I discussing Lando once again? Is there more to be said about his absence from The Force Awakens? No, not really. Instead, I wanted to extend the conversation on Lando by turning to the 30-year period of time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. So far, only a handful of stories have taken shape (across various mediums) which have begun to populate this New Republic/Rise of the First Order era. And yet, of those stories that have begun popping up, two characters in particular have been noticeably absent from this era: Luke Skywalker and (you guessed it) Lando Calrissian.

A while back, a guest post from Michael Miller considered Luke’s absence from this era of stories, and I definitely think you should check out what Michael had to say. In the meantime, I’ll cut right to the chase: I find it incredibly odd and definitely confusing that Lando has been such an incredibly minor – and at times blatantly absent – character in the this particular era of the Star Wars timeline. Now, I say this with the full awareness that Lando has popped up in a few post-Endor stories (I’ll come back to these momentarily). Plus, it’s important to note that Lando has been given a great(er) deal of attention in stories that take place before Return of the Jedi. Notably, in the show Star Wars Rebels, Calrissian has made a couple of fun cameos and Lando was the main character in a five-part Marvel comic series aptly named Lando. In fact, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the Lando series was one of my favorite story-arcs added to the Disney canon, perfectly capturing Lando’s personality, vocabulary, demeanor, and overall style.

Yet, even though Lando is the star of his own comic series and has a spattering of appearances on Rebels, I am left to wonder why he is not a more noticeable and active presence in the stories unfolding in the weeks/months/years following the Battle of Endor. Like I said, he has shown up here and there, but these moments are few in number and relatively shallow.

For example, in Claudia Gray’s novel Bloodline, set 24 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, Lando sends a message of support to Leia as she deals with the fallout of the Galactic Senate learning that she is the daughter of Darth Vader. A kind gesture on Lando’s part, to be sure, but nothing he actually says in the message is detailed, nor does he factor into the novel in any other way.

In the four-part Shattered Empire comic series, set in immediate aftermath of the Battle of Endor, Lando actually appears in Issue #001 and #003. In Issue #001, Lando participates in the battle (flying the Millennium Falcon) and is present for the celebration which immediately follows the Rebel victory, chatting it up with Han Solo and other soldiers. Nothing new or surprising there. On the other hand, in Issue #003, Calrissian leads a New Republic into the Battle over Naboo, stopping the Empire’s operation to destroy the planet. Pretty awesome, I have to admit. Besides, it makes perfect sense that in the days, weeks and months after the victory at Endor, Lando would continue to serve as General in the Rebellion-turned-New Republic. However, his very next chronological appearance on the Star Wars timeline makes a lot less sense…

: General Calrissian takes command of the Battle over Naboo.
Photo Credit – Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part III

In July 2016, Lando was part of an update to the game Star Wars: Uprising. While I eagerly welcomed his addition to the game, hoping that his arrival would add a dynamic new layer to the game plot/story, my enthusiasm quickly turned to utter confusion and disappointment. Allow me to explain. When one initially meets with Lando in the Longstar Marketplace on the planet Burnin Konn, Lando lays out his profitable reasons for sneaking into the Anoat sector (which serves as the location for the game and is under Imperial blockade) and is willing to cut you in on the deal. In turn, Lando gives you a job to raid the Imperial base on Nar Hypa, a moon orbiting the planet Mataou, a mission which yields some basic materials, credits, and trophies (which can be used to purchase other goods). Excited to discover what would come after my first “Lando Job,” I quickly became discouraged when I realized Lando was not going to immediately send me on another run. Surely, I figured, if I waited a day a new mission would be ready for me…and I was right! Logging into the game a day later, I was greeted by an in-game message that “Lando has a job for you.” I eagerly scooted over to the Longstar Marketplace, sought out Lando, and was presented with the EXACT SAME MISSION! The same map, Imperial forces spread out in the same places, and a similar payout. Since Lando was introduced into Uprising, his “jobs” are always the same. And, to make things even more ridiculous, Lando just keeps standing around the Longstar Marketplace. One would presume that at some point he’d make his way to the Carbon Score Cantina…

: The “Lando Mission” description.
Photo Credit – Star Wars: Uprising

Now, unless one counts some credits and a handful of in-game material as meaningful, Lando’s presence in Uprising is, to put it bluntly, entirely pointless. That is, it is pointless as of right now. While Lando’s inclusion in Uprising currently lacks any significant purpose, I am hoping that his role in the game will be expanded, especially considering the game is set in the days/weeks/months following the Battle of Endor. In short, since a (former?) Rebel/New Republic General was able to infiltrate the Imperial blockade of the Anoat sector, making his way to Burnin Konn, one would think (and hope!) that he would have plans to provide aid to the forces fighting Imperial oppression in the sector. Of course, Lando might also end up indefinitely loitering in Longstar Marketplace, his presence having no outward effect on the overall goal of breaking the Empire’s blockade and freeing the sector. Honestly, at this point, who knows what will happen with Lando in the Anoat sector.

Then again, who knows when or how Lando will show up again in a post-Endor story. I’ll be sure to update this post the next time he does.

Addition: On September 22, 2016, the game developers of Star Wars: Uprising announced that Uprising will permanently shut down in November 2016. As someone who consistently played the game since it came out, I am naturally disappointed although not surprised. The game failed to live up to a number of expectations, and while I enjoyed the lore which it added to the rich Star Wars canon, game play consistently fell short, particularly given its repetitive nature which I detailed (in part) with the “Lando Missions.”

In light of this development, I am left wondering what this will mean for Lando Calrissian, Perhaps, even though Uprising is shutting down, a novel or comic will be written that completes the game’s primary story – the liberation of the Anoat sector – with Lando taking on a larger, more central role. Or, perhaps he will simply be stuck in limbo, continuing to stand around the Longstar Marketplace on Burnin Konn while the New Republic defeats the remnants of the Empire at Jakku. I suppose only time – and more stories – will tell what Lando’s role will end up being.

So, What’s Luke Been Up To?

Guest Talker: Michael J. Miller

In the months leading up to the release of The Force Awakens, one of the most prominent questions on everyone’s mind was – Where is Luke Skywalker? He wasn’t in any of the trailers. He was shockingly absent from the poster. We only heard his voice, narrating a slightly altered version of what he tells Leia about his family and the Force in Return Of The Jedi. Speculation was rampant. And there were even those (apparently the ones who’d never watched Star Wars or totally missed the point of the whole narrative) who were insistent that Luke had fallen to the Dark Side and perhaps was even Kylo Ren. Now, all those questions have been cleared up. But the most important question for me still remains. And I hope I get an answer worthy of the mythic hero of Star Wars.

The answer to this question is important because, to put it simply, Luke is important. Luke Skywalker is the hero of Star Wars. Yes, it’s Anakin’s story but Luke is the force (no pun intended) of redemption that allows Vader to do what must be done. If Anakin is the savior, Luke is the redeemer. And both of them are necessary to bring balance to the Force. So we know where Luke was at the end of Return Of The Jedi – happily celebrating a major victory with his family and friends, while the redeemed Force ghost of his father looks on with Obi-Wan and Yoda. And we know where Luke is at the end of The Force Awakens – doing his mystic hermit thing on a not-so-easily-accessed lake front property in utter isolation. Even R2 was left behind. His hand hasn’t been cared for (presumably), leaving the synthiflesh to rot away and expose the metallic hand underneath.

: Celebration taking place behind him, Luke looks off towards the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and his father.

Gif Credit – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The question I need answered (the question I am so, so scared won’t be answered with the clarity and detail it absolutely needs) is what has Luke been doing in the thirty years since the Battle of Endor?? One of the major faults I have found with the Disney Canon is that (with few exceptions) it gives us no real worthwhile details. It’s all painted in broad strokes. We are left struggling to fill in almost as many gaps during those thirty years as we had before The Force Awakens was released. Disney seems to perpetually tell stories set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, stories (more often than not in my opinion) having little to no significant impact on the saga, while ignoring the gaping holes in the timeline Star Wars fans want to know about.

The major exception to this rule would be Claudia Gray’s beautiful and brilliant new novel, Star Wars: Bloodline. This was the first novel I’ve encountered since Disney took over that gave me the thrill I almost always found with the old EU. It gave a detailed look at the Star Wars galaxy. It expanded on what was in the films in a way that made logical sense. And the expansions were helpful and felt necessary. Also, she gave us both a picture of Leia that was organic and dynamic as well as new characters who were exciting and seemed to naturally fit in the Star Wars universe. Ransolm Casterfo is the first new character I’ve found in the Disney Canon who seemed as complex and integral to the Star Wars universe as characters like Pellaeon, Natasi Daala, and Talon Karde did the first time I met them.

The novel also left us with some MAJOR question marks in regard to Luke Skywalker. (If you haven’t read Bloodline yet, this paragraph and the next contains minor spoilers about moments Luke is mentioned in passing in the novel but doesn’t address anything that’s central to the plot of the book.) You see, Bloodline is set six years before The Force Awakens. Granted, we only get glimpses of what Luke’s been up to since Return Of The Jedi. But it doesn’t seem like he’s been doing much. He and Ben Solo are bouncing around the galaxy doing…something.

: The cover of Star Wars: Bloodline.
Photo Credit – Del Rey

A discussion in the Senate sees Lady Carise Sindian remark, “Princess Leia spoke of her brother, the famous Luke Skywalker, who has been little seen in the public sphere for many years now.” Then Tai-Lin Garr replies, “Since the Rebellion, Skywalker has lived a private life. He has asked no more of the New Republic than any of its other citizens, nor have we just cause to ask any more of him than the substantial service he has already given.” So the last of the Jedi decided to…retire? He’s road tripping with his nephew? Whaaaat??

Judging from the little information the new Disney Canon has provided us, Luke is apparently completely disconnected from the New Republic and almost entirely cutoff from his family. We can infer then IN THE PRECEEDING TWENTY-FOUR YEARS he didn’t rebuild the Jedi Order. So, I ask again, what was he doing?

The final conversation Luke has with Yoda before his death on Dagobah makes this even more confusing. As Yoda lays down for the last time he tells Luke, “Twilight is upon me and soon night must fall. That is the way of things, the way of the Force.” His final words to Luke are, “Luke…when gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke…the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned. Luke…there is…another…Skywalker.” The literal final instruction Yoda – the Jedi Master that Kenobi told Luke to find to complete his training – gave Luke was to pass on what he had learned. And the Disney Canon wants us to accept that Luke’s response was, “Nah.” I don’t buy it. It doesn’t make any sense.

Luke wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He spends much of the Original Trilogy trying to become a Jedi Knight like his father. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan taught Luke, “The Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy before the dark times, before the Empire.” So he knows that the Jedi were an order who protected people during the Old Republic before Vader and the Emperor wiped them out. He finds Yoda, completes his training, is instructed to pass on what he’d learned, and THEN DOES NOTHING FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS.

Why?? Again, it makes no sense and a legitimate answer must be given.

This story must be told and it must be told with a depth and intimacy to rival Claudia Gray’s depiction of Leia in Bloodline. A few lines of exposition (and maybe a few flashbacks) in Episode VIII aren’t going to cut it for me. Luke Skywalker is too important a character for that! We need to understand why he turns his back on everything he was, everything he did, and everything he was instructed to do.

: The cover of Jedi Search, first book in The Jedi Academy Trilogy.
Photo Credit – Del Rey

As I watched Yoda’s death scene in Return Of The Jedi a few more times, I wondered if perhaps Disney wanted us to buy that Yoda told Luke to pass on what he learned to his family alone. You could make the argument, from the phrasing, that Luke could have interpreted it that way. But we know this isn’t the case. In The Force Awakens, Han tells Rey and Finn that Luke was bringing up a new group of Jedi when Kylo Ren cut the order apart and Luke took off. We know that there can’t be that many Skywalkers around. So, in the six years between Bloodline and The Force Awakens, he was (finally!) training new Jedi. But the question remains, why did he wait? What was he doing??

In the Expanded Universe, Luke spent much of his time after the Battle of Endor learning everything he could about the Jedi to rebuild the Order. By seven years after Endor (in Kevin J. Anderson’s “The Jedi Academy Trilogy”) Luke was taking his first tentative steps in recruiting new Jedi and training them on Yavin 4. Yes there were problems. There were ups and downs. But Luke was passing on what he had learned and trying to restore the Jedi to the galaxy. Why isn’t he doing that in the Disney Canon? Why isn’t he advising the New Republic in any role? What could possibly be going on that’s more important than all of this?

All Luke Skywalker, last of the Jedi, does post Return Of The Jedi in the Disney Canon is…fight for shrubbery?? In the (weirdly lackluster) conclusion to Shattered Empire, our first new canon look at life post-Endor, we see Luke Skywalker and Lieutenant Shara Bey infiltrate the highly secure Imperial base on Vetine…to save two trees. They’re important I guess? Luke says of the trees, “These are all that remain of the tree that grew in the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The Force is with them.” And they are clearly important enough for Luke to risk his and Shara’s lives by invading this facility three months after the Battle of Endor. But they’re also important enough for Luke to just randomly and spontaneously give one away to Shara so she could plant it in her family garden?? What? So Luke redeems his father, fights for a shrub (a shrub we never hear about again), and then does absolutely nothing.

: Luke, stands before the remains of the Tree that grew in the Jedi Temple.
Photo Credit – MARVEL Comics; Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part IV

We’re supposed to believe that the man who destroyed the first Death Star, who became the last Jedi Knight, who learned from Yoda, who redeemed Anakin Skywalker so balance could be restored to the Force just walked away? He did nothing. For over twenty years. He was just sitting around…waiting? Why? WHY?

The cynic in me believes it’s because Lawrence Kasdan remains pissy that Lucas didn’t use the darker ending he wanted for Return Of The Jedi. As is well documented, Kasdan wanted Han Solo dead and Luke, so broken by his ordeal, to fade into the mist like Shane at the end of the famous Western of the same name. Lucas didn’t go that route (in part, I’d argue because he understands the purpose of myth and what lesson Star Wars was supposed to be teaching us) and Kasdan has been open about his displeasure with it. Well now The Force Awakens rolls around and look what happens! With Kasdan helping with the writing duties Han Solo dies (admittedly, in a powerful moment that I feel served the character and the story well) and Luke Skywalker has disappeared only to be found out in the wilderness alone, not unlike a wounded gunslinger haunted by what he’s had to do (something that doesn’t fit his character or the tone of the end of Return Of The Jedi at all).

Cynicism aside, this is still a MAJOR question that needs an appropriate answer. There’s no logical reason Luke Skywalker hasn’t been active in the galaxy since the Battle of Endor. And every instance he’s shown up in the Disney Canon has only served to make his absence and apparent apathy more confusing. So, when the time comes, I hope we get a story that honors who Luke Skywalker is. The relevant question for Episode VIII is no longer Where is Luke Skywalker? but rather What has Luke Skywalker been doing for THIRTY YEARS that is more important than rebuilding the Jedi? The answer, whenever Disney decides to give it to us, better be damn good. Luke Skywalker as a mythic hero, and we as Star Wars fans, deserve nothing less.

Check out these other Guest Talker posts by Michael Miller:

The Nature of Hero

The Seduction of the Dark Side

A Man in Debt to a Hutt

Heir to a Criminal Empire

When I saw The Clone Wars movie for the first time, I was profoundly struck by the fact that Jabba the Hutt had a child – Rotta the Huttlet. This unexpected fact immediately added a whole new dimension to the notorious crime lord. No longer was he just the King of the Star Wars underworld, driven only by the desire for profit, power, and prestige. Instead, he was also tender and caring, a parent who loved his Huttlet and would stop at nothing to protect his “pedunkee mufkin” (punky muffin).

When Rotta is kidnapped at the film’s outset, Jabba sends bounty hunters to track down his child and the culprits. When the heads of the bounty hunters are returned without their bodies, a desperate Jabba turns to the Republic/Jedi and Separatists/Count Dooku for help. For Jabba, the return of his son is far more important than the perception of weakness asking for help might create. In turn, one of the most truly genuine expressions of affection in all of Star Wars – at least in my opinion – comes when Rotta is returned to his father. I am always moved by the scene, overcome by Jabba’s voice, his expression, his sheer joy and obvious relief when he sees that his “mufkin” is safe. You can FOLLOW THIS LINK to watch the scene for yourself, and while you might not have the same experience I have, I think you will at least see understand what I am saying about Jabba’s joy and relief. Plus, Rotta is also clearly relieved when he is back in his father’s arms, a happy child with his equally happy father.

Rotta the Huttlet is returned to his father, Jabba the Hutt.

Photo Credit – Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie)

So what has become of the adorable Huttlet from the The Clone Wars movie? Well, I have no idea. Since his introduction in the film, Rotta has been an otherwise invisible character in Star Wars. After I saw the movie, I was certain that Rotta would be making a number of appearances throughout the Star Wars canon, that his character would be expanded. Instead, Rotta appears in just one episode of The Clone Wars (“Sphere of Influence”), he received an indirect mention in the episode “Hunt for Ziro,” and has a couple of mentions in a handful of Star Wars reference books. And that is it. I keep expecting him to show up somewhere else in the canon, but as time goes on, my optimism that he will reappear has started to wane.

And this really REALLY bothers me. Rotta is the heir to Jabba’s criminal empire for crying out loud!!! HOW IS THAT NOT A BIGGER DEAL!?!?! Unless Rotta died before the events of Return of the Jedi, the young Hutt HAS to factor into the Star Wars universe again. Period. End of story.

As it stands right now in the post-Return of the Jedi universe, the death of Jabba not only created a power vacuum in the criminal underworld, but it threw the Hutts into chaos. In the novel Aftermath, for example, we learn that although Jabba has been dead for months, the Hutt Council had not yet determined his successor. Given this small fact, it would hardly be surprising if the reason Jabba’s replacement had not been determined was because the most dominant and influential Hutts were fighting among themselves, concerned only for their individual self-interests. The thing is, Jabba already has a successor who can take his place on the Council, which leads me to wonder if the Hutts had not yet “chosen” a successor because they didn’t want to give Rotta the seat. With Jabba dead, it is likely that other Hutts wanted to deny Rotta the power his father had, and keeping him from the Council is one way to do this. Moreover, with the godfather dead, and his son still young, many Hutts would assuredly try to move quickly to assimilate Jabba’s holdings into their own. Again, a way of denying Rotta his rightful power/wealth while bolstering their own.

Of course, I cannot say with certainty how the Hutts have acted after Jabba’s death because there is such little in the canon to work from. Regardless, my point is ultimately that in the wake of Jabba’s demise, no matter what the situation really looks like, Rotta should be the one to step up and take over his father’s legacy. Honestly, think about the potential Rotta offers the post-Return of the Jedi canon. His father dead and the Hutt Clan in chaos, the young Hutt – just a teen in Hutt years – could begin his own rise to power in the underworld, ruthlessly reorganizing the entire Clan. You heard me: ruthless. This wouldn’t be the cute and adorable Huttlet we meet in The Clone Wars movie. Oh no, this would be a Hutt who had started learning the tricks of his father’s trade, who was being groomed to eventually take over the family business – and the family business is deadly. That said, I am picturing a scenario where Rotta orders the execution of the remaining members of the Hutt Council, a way of showing all other Hutts that he is in charge and that you do not cross him. How intensely cool would that be!?!?!

But rebuilding his father’s empire and becoming the top Hutt isn’t the ONLY story worth telling about Rotta. No, there is another layer to this story, a deeper one that could help drive Rotta’s ruthless nature – a desire for revenge, a desire to kill the one called “Huttslayer.” I am referring, of course, to Leia, the term “Huttslayer” being given to her by members of the Nikto species in the novel Bloodline. Since we learn in the novel that a recording of Leia killing Jabba exists, and that the Hutts are in possession of all but one copy, there is every reason to believe that Rotta would have eventually watched the video. In turn, it is hardly far-fetched to imagine a scenario where Rotta seeks to bring Leia to justice – “Hutt justice” – and make her suffer for killing his father. In fact, while I know a lot of people will undoubtedly disagree with this, I am even open to Rotta getting what he wants – the death of the “Huttslayer.” Will that story actually happen? No, of course not, but that doesn’t mean I am closing the door on the idea. Good storytelling needs unpredictable and difficult moments, situations so gut-wrenching that you are not only repulsed but you can’t stop yourself from wanting to know what happens next. To me, that is what Rotta killing Leia would do, it would punch us in the gut, totally changing the trajectory of the Star Wars universe, but we wouldn’t be able to turn away because we would HAVE to know what happens afterwards.

Leia becomes the “Huttslayer,” killer of Jabba.

Photo Credit – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

In fairness, I am not saying a story involving Rotta going after Leia would HAVE to end this way. Hell, maybe following the events that will transpire in Episode IX, Rotta seeks justice in a Republic court, bringing Leia to trial for killing his father. The possible outcomes are limitless! Still, my point is ultimately that a story involving Rotta and Leia SHOULD happen, if only as a way to get Rotta back into the Star Wars canon. Then again, Rotta should already be a bigger factor in the canon. Frankly, Rotta’s absence isn’t just confusing, to me it is outright pathetic, a clear sign that after he was invented as a plot device in The Clone Wars movie, no one really knew what to do with him. Well, I know what to do with him. Disney/Lucasfilm can just give me a call and I will get Jabba’s “pedunkee mufkin” back into the fold, following in his father’s footsteps as the King of the Star Wars underworld.

Check out these other Hutt Week posts:

The Imperial Talker Presents: Hutt Week

Hutts: Galactic Gangsters

Hutt Week: “Cute” Jabba the Hutt Merchandise (by Jenmarie from Anakin and His Angel)

Jabba the (CGI) Hutt

Why Ziro’s My Hero (by Andrew – @AndrewinBelfast)

A Man in Debt to a Hutt (by Michael Miller)

Hutt Haiku Poems

The Hutts of Mataou

Hutt Profile: Gardulla

Hutt Week: A Conclusion

The Compassion of a Jedi Master

Set more than twenty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, author Claudia Gray’s novel Bloodline provides a captivating glimpse of Princess Leia – now a Senator – as she navigates the political turmoil of the New Republic. The book adds a great deal of insight into the post-Endor universe and I highly recommend that Star Wars fans read it. My intention in this post, though, is not to provide a full-fledged review of the the novel. Instead, what I really want to do is share just a couple of thoughts I had while reading Bloodline, a couple of connections that got me excited. So, let’s get down to business…

: The cover of Star Wars: Bloodline.
Photo Credit – Disney/Lucasfilm

At the outset of Bloodline, an emissary from the Twi’lek homeworld of Ryloth addresses the Galactic Senate, briefly explaining that his planet has historically been the target of Hutt oppression, and that this oppression was doubled under Imperial rule. Emissary Yendor goes on to explain that with the decline in power of the Hutts, other criminal factions – most notably cartels run by the Niktos – have arisen to fill the power vacuum. In particular, he notes that a Nikto cartel run by a Kajain’sa’Nikto (red Nikto) named Rinnrivin Di possess the greatest threat to the people of Ryloth, and beseeches the Senate to investigate Rinnrivin Di’s criminal activities.

For those of you who have watched The Clone Wars animated series, and specifically the Season 3 episode “Supply Lines,” you may recall that the episode features a Kajain’sa’Nikto Jedi Master named Ima-Gun Di. Well, the moment I read the name “Rinnrivin Di,” the lights and sirens went off in my brain and I immediately wondered: are the two Nikto somehow related?

Honestly, I have no idea. It certainly could be possible, but “Di” could also just be the “Smith” of the Nikto species. Still, it sure is interesting that the two have the same surname, and it really makes me wonder if Claudia Gray or someone on the Lucasfilm Story Group had the idea of connecting Ima-Gun Di and Rinnrivin Di in their OWN bloodline.

What makes this all the more fascinating, though, is that Master Ima-Gun Di led the Republic effort to defend the planet Ryloth – and the Twi’leks – against a Separatist invasion. While Master Di’s only appearance is in “Supply Lines,” and only in a handful of scenes at that, these few moments in the episode are enough make us understand quite a lot about him. Ima-Gun Di is tactically gifted as a general, holding out against a far superior enemy and we watch as he concocts a plan to bottleneck the Separatist forces. But we also see that he is a true friend of the Twi’leks as he works tirelessly to protect them from the oncoming battle droids. This is no more apparent than when Master Di personally oversees the rear-guard action that will cost him his life, selflessly fighting and dying “for the Twi’leks” so they can “live to fight another day.”

: Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di
Photo Credit – Star Wars The Clone Wars (Season 3, Episode 3), “Supply Lines”

One Nikto with the surname “Di” fighting on behalf of the Twi’leks, another many years later causing harm to the Twi’leks. Again, it really makes one wonder if the connection between these two is intentional…

But I don’t want to belabor the connection. It is definitely worth pondering, but I have another thought to consider about Ima-Gun Di and the Twi’leks, one that relies on a little more information found in Bloodline, and elsewhere, about the Nikto species.

One piece of that information comes during Emissary Yendor’s address to the Senate, but it comes not from the Emissary but instead from c-3PO. Turning to Leia as she listens to Yendor’s presentation, C-3PO states that “The Niktos served the Hutts for centuries. They’ve never had a truly independent government of their own. Hardly even a world of their own, really.” In fact, the first Niktos we meet in Star Wars appear in Return of the Jedi and are henchmen for Jabba the Hutt. Furthermore, we also see Nikto enforcers serving the Hutt Clan in The Clone Wars, and learn from Star Wars: Uprising that Nikto stalkers are utilized whenever Hutts feud with one another.

: A Nikto Stalker.
Photo Credit – Lucasfilm/KABAM

Now, it is certainly possible to raise some thoughts and questions about the relationship between the Niktos and the Hutts. In Bloodline, Rinnrivin Di himself tells Leia that his “people have their reasons for hating the Hutts.” But my interest here is not to speculate on what those “reasons” happen to be. Rather, for the sake of this post, I am far more curious about the relationship between the Niktos and the Twi’leks. Since the Hutts oppressed Ryloth for centuries, and the Niktos served the Hutts as henchmen, enforcers, and stalkers, it is safe to assume that the Twi’leks had many negative encounters with members of the Nikto species who were acting on behalf of the Hutts. In fact, Princess Leia strikes at very heart of this point in Bloodline when she notes that “Ryloth has never had much in the way of resources, and whatever they had was traditionally taken away from them by either the Niktos or the Hutts.”

So what the heck does all this have to do with Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di? Well, since the relationship between the Niktos and Twi’leks was tenuous at best, how then would the Twi’leks have reacted to a Nikto Jedi Master leading the defense of their homeworld? Imagine, for example, being a Twi’lek parent whose young daughter was ripped away from them by Nikto enforcers to be taken and made a slave in the palace of a Hutt. Now, imagine seeing a Nikto Jedi Master step off a Republic gunship – how would it make you feel?

You see, as I read Bloodline and thought about the possible relationship between Ima-Gun Di and Rinnrivin Di, I also found myself thinking about the possible emotions the Twi’leks may have experienced seeing, or simply knowing, that a Nikto was fighting FOR them when their planet was under threat. I can easily picture the look of shock and/or surprise on the face of some Twi’leks when they first saw Ima-Gun Di, wondering if this Kajain’sa’Nikto was really to be trusted.

: Master Di speaks with Twi’lek freedom fighter Gobi Glie.
Photo Credit – Star Wars The Clone Wars (Season 3, Episode 3), “Supply Lines”

But I’m also certain that Master Di knew that members of his species, working on behalf of the Hutts or in their own self-interest, were responsible for a great deal of Twi’lek suffering. As a Jedi Master and as a Nikto, Ima-Gun Di must have been aware of what his presence on Ryloth would mean to many Twi’leks. This is why I think it would be brilliant for a Star Wars writer like Claudia Gray to create a story – even if it is only a short story – that shows us Master Di’s arrival on Ryloth and his subsequent interactions with the Twi’leks before we meet him in The Clone Wars. This story could provide a little background on an otherwise unfamiliar Jedi Master, insight into the beginning of the Ryloth campaign, but most importantly it could show us the compassion of Master Di as he worked to heal some of the pain the Niktos had inflicted upon the Twi’leks.

Of course, this is not to suggest Master Di could single-handedly mend every wound, especially since he had a battle to fight, but perhaps his example and legacy could serve as the future for understanding and reconciliation between the Twi’leks and the Niktos.