The Strange Story of Max Rebo’s Arms

When Disney de-canonized the old Expanded Universe they threw out a lot: characters, comics, novels, cartoon series, made-for-TV-movies. They said goodbye to 40 years of history and in return they got a clean slate- a fresh start- a second shot- a do-over. And one of the things they did, without many people even noticing- They took away Max Rebo’s arms.

First some history. Max Rebo is the leader of the Max Rebo Band who is seen performing in Jabba’s Palace. He resembles a little blue elephant and was puppeteered by Simon Williamson in 1983. Max Rebo plays an instrument called a red ball organ and when the film released most fans assumed that Rebo was sitting behind the organ and playing the instrument with his hands. This seemed to be a safe assumption, which the old Expanded Universe agreed with. The old EU depicted Rebo and members of his species (The Ortolan) as being short blue elephants with arms and legs. But apparently Rebo was never intended to have arms from a production standpoint.

If we look at the preliminary model for Max Rebo we can clearly see that he was never designed with arms. Rebo had two feet, which he used to play his organ. In the model, you can clearly see his legs protruding from his butt and turning into knees. We also see that his nose is more bulbous- more like a proboscis monkey than an elephant trunk. And his ears may not be ears, they could be interpreted as flippers. The model is well-designed and smart sci-fi, but the problem is that when the model was turned into a puppet much of this was lost. The puppet just looks like a short blue elephant. So when Kenner released the Max Rebo action figure in 1984- fans got a little blue elephant with arms and legs.

Pablo Hidalgo (a member of the Lucasfilm Story Group) published a lengthy article concerning Max Rebos original design in 2013. So it is no surprise that the story group (or perhaps Hidalgo personally) decided to change Rebo’s design for the new Disney Universe. Rebo and his species now have no arms. Here is a timeline showing specific evidence of the change:

2013- Pablo Hidalgo publishes “Getting to the Bottom of Max Rebo” shedding light on the original “no arm” design.

July 2015- The Comic “Kanan #4” depicts an Ortolan with no arms

September 2015- “Star Wars: Everything You Need To Know” proclaims that Max Rebo does not have arms and instead plays his organ with his feet.

April 2016- “Star Wars Character Encyclopedia” reiterates that Rebo plays his organ with his feet.


And so it seems Rebo and his Ortolan brothers are doomed to a no-arm existence. Or are they?  In December 2016 A Max Rebo Funko Pop figure was released depicting both arms and legs, exactly like the 1986 Rebo figure and the old Expanded Universe design. Now, I’m not saying Funko Pop is the ultimate authority on the issue but then in July 2017 two episodes of “Forces of Destiny” depict an Ortolan seeming to have arms. Fan were quick to point out the “Forces of Destiny” Ortolan to Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee (twitter handle “@HolocronKeeper”). Leland’s response seemed to be tongue in cheek saying “So far, I've only seen two visible limbs. 🙂”.

All this evidence seems to point to a troubling fact. Pablo Hidalgo, Leland Chee, and the rest of the Story Group are screwing with the fanbase. I don’t mean this in a negative way. I just mean that the “Keepers of Canon” seem to realize that Canon doesn’t have to be strict and serious, it can be fluid and fun. When Hidalgo published that 2013 article he saw an opportunity to “fix” the original Max Rebo design issue, but Hidalgo also knows that canon doesn’t have to be set in stone, so for “Forces of Destiny” he allowed the old Ortolan design to be used. I think Hidalgo and Chee want to keep the diehard fans on their toes, they want to keep the debates going, they want to poke fun at the hardline fans who treat Star Wars like a religion other than what is really is… a fictional world.

So does Max Rebo have arms or not? It’s really up for you to decide. The Star Wars universe is full of mysteries and when someone answers a mystery it takes away the fun (*Cough* Midiclorians). Ultimately, it is up for you to decide. If you want a definitive answer on Max Rebo’s arms you can turn to your own “head canon” on the subject. Otherwise let’s keep the debate going, the ball is in your court now, Star Wars fans.

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