Aliens of The Book of Boba Fett (part 1)

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 Klatooinians:

Klatoonians first appeared in the film “Return of the Jedi” as a species with a face similar to a Grey Hound. The species most recently appeared on screen as the marauders of planet Sorgan in Chapter 4 of the Mandalorian.

Klatooinians often worked as henchmen and bounty hunters. They were close associates to the Hutts for much of galactic history. The Klatooinians even worshipped the Hutts as god-like beings (partly due to the fact that the Hutts had an extensive lifespan).

Trandoshans:

Trandoshans first appeared in the film The Empire Strikes Back in the form of Bossk, the dinosaur-faced bounty hunter. Most recently they appeared in Chapter 2 of the Mandalorian. The Trandoshans in the Mandalorian  had a slightly different design, with much smaller snouts than Bossk. In the Book of Boba Fett, they now bear a closer resemblance to the original Bossk design.

Trandoshans are known as the greatest hunters in the Galaxy. More often than not, the prey they hunt is Wookiees. Trandoshans have the rare ability to grow their lost limbs back.

Aqualish:

Known as Walrus Man on the set of A New Hope and in the 70s toy-line, Ponda Baba was the first Aqualish to appear in the Star Wars franchise. Most recently the species was featured in The Mandalorian. 

The Aqualish were an intelligent species from planet Ando that varied in appearance. The Aquala were more adapted to a aquatic lifestyle and could be identified by two giant fins on the end of their arms. The Ualaq were arachnid-like with four eyes and five fingers who lived mostly on land. Finally the Quara were mammal like and their arms resembled wolf men (such as the Shistavanen). All Aqualish have bulbous tusks that protrude from their faces.

Nikto:

Nikto first appeared in Return of the Jedi, but have most recently been featured in The Mandalorian. In the book of Boba Fett, Nikto are featured as part of the Kintan Striders biker gang.

The Nikto are a species with many subspecies, which makes them hard to identify. The most common Nikto on screen are the “Red Nikto” (Kajain'sa'Nikto) and the “Green Nitko” (Kadas'sa'Nikto). Nikto tend to have spikes and horns on their faces.

Tuskens:

Tusken Raiders are  one of the most identifiable races in Star Wars. In The Book of Boba Fett we learn they have been on Tatooine since before the oceans dried

The Tuskens lived in nomadic clans who believed that the sparse water in the desert has been promised to them alone. Moisture farmers, who stole the water from the ground, were a direct threat to Tusken culture and it was for this reason that clans would sometimes attack farmers.

Pyke:

 The Pyke were introduced in the animated series "Clone Wars". They first appeared in live action form for the film Solo. The Pyke Syndicate are the main antagonists in The Book of Boba Fett and appear maskless for the first time in live action. 

Though the Pyke homeworld was Oba Diah, many members of the species spent time on Kessel where spice was mined. The Pykes were, however, allergic to the Kessel atmosphere and had to wear special armor and breathing tubes while on planet.

The Mystery of Starkiller Base and the Satisfying Answer

 Disney gets a lot of flack from toxic Star Wars fans, but as a member of the true fandom, I won't stop praising Disney for what it has delivered and continues to deliver. Over the past decade, Disney has built the largest canonical fictional universe that has ever existed in terms of cross-media storytelling. We are talking a dozen films, various cartoon and live action series, books, comics, and radio plays all following the same story with very little (if any) contradictory material.

The unsung heroes of this monumental accomplishment are the Lucasfilm Story Group (The Keepers of Canon). Individuals such as Leeland Chee and Pablo Hidaglo not only manage to keep everything straight, but they manage to pack in treat after treat for fans to find.

One such treat is Starkiller Base.

Now, initially there are a lot of story problems with Starkiller Base. One: Where did it come from? Two: Why can it destroy planets? Three: This is just another Death Star right? 

Starkiller is a totally unsatisfying plot device at first glance. But what if it isn't? What if it's just the largest Easter Egg every hidden in a galaxy of Easter Eggs? Allow me explain...

2001: Jedi Quest

We begin our story of Starkiller Base in the Fall of 2001. It has been a couple years since The Phantom Menace released and several months before Attack of the Clones. The first Jedi Quest book is published, a series which will chronicle Anakin's path from Jedi Padawan to Jedi Knight. The first task Anakin must complete in this series? The building of his lightsaber. So he travels to planet Ilum (which obviously comes from the word illuminate). The planet is covered in ice and features secret caves full of green and blue crystals. Anakin will use such a crystal for the core of his first lightsaber.

2012: The Gathering

In the Clone Wars Season 5, Ahsoka Tano brings six younglings to the planet Ilum, where they are to find crystals to power their lightsabers. They have one day to find their crystals and make it out, else they will be locked in the caves permanently. The crystals of Ilum now include the color purple (a reference to Mace Windu's purple lightsaber featured in Attack of the Clones). 

2015: The Force Awakens

Starkiller Base is featured in The Force Awakens as planet with a snow-covered landscape. According to The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary the icy world was selected for its unique-energy crystalline deposits. Okay... honestly we should have seen this coming.

2016: Rogue One

 The entire plot of Rogue One includes the fact that Kyber Crystals are used to power the Death Star. The same crystals used to power a lightsaber are used to power the Death Star. Are we making any connections yet, people?

November 2019: Jedi Fallen Order

When Cal Kestis travels to the planet Ilum to fix his broken lightsaber, it's looking very, very similar to Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens. This is basically proof right?

December 2019: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary

It's confirmed. The story team has been laying the breadcrumbs for a while, but they finally came out an said it. STARKILLER BASE IS PLANET ILUM! One of the most sacred planets in the old Jedi Order was stolen by the Empire and repurposed as a super weapon.

Now, through my research it became pretty obvious to me that the Lucasfilm story team knew that Starkiller Base was Ilum from the very beginning, but didn't confirm it until 4 years after the release of The Force Awakens. Bravo.

Other Star Wars Mysteries:

The Mystery of Max Reebo's arms: https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-strange-story-of-max-rebos-arms.html

The Mystery of the Sandspeeder: https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-mystery-of-sandspeeder.html