It has been long established that the Empire was prejudice
against non-human species. Yet the rebel alliance is made up almost entirely of
humans. So what gives? Why aren’t hordes of alien races coming to the aid of
the Rebellion. The answer is of course, they are there, you just have to know
where to look.
The film “Return of the Jedi” makes it evident that
the Rebel alliance is made up of more than just humans. Although some species
are more apparent than others. Most fans know about Mon Calamari, Sullustans,
and Bothans, but what about Dressillians and Ishi Tib? These fascinating
species are in “Return of the Jedi”, and when you start to see them in the
film, it is hard to unsee them.
Dressillian
The
“prune faced” Dressillian race had limited contact with the rest of the galaxy
until their planet was taken over by the Empire. At this point most
Dressillians decided to join the Rebel Alliance.
Dressillians
are not well known among fans, yet the species is hiding in plain sight. Upon a
rewatch of “Return of the Jedi” I found that these guys are everywhere. They
are all over the Battle of Endor briefing scene and they can even be spotted on
Endor during the Ewok celebration.
When
a 1984 action figure released under the name “Prune Face”, many fans thought
that these guys might be the fabled “Bothans” that Mon Mothma spoke of during
the debriefing scene. The 1991 book “Heir to the Empire” squashed this theory
however. The book’s author, Timothy Zahn, described Bothans as being covered in
fur, so the mystery of the Prune Faces would remain a mystery. It wasn’t until
a 1995 sourcebook where one Pablo Hidalgo finally gave the “Prune Faces” the
name Dressilian. Since then Dressilians have appeared all over the Expanded Universe.
The 2015 book “Moving Target” gives a pretty important role to a Dressillian
named Lokmarcha.
Ishi Tib
The
Ishi Tib are amphibious beings whose faces are said to resemble a five pointed
star. Ishi Tib lived close to oceans on their home planet and used coral reefs
to farm fish, seaweed, and crustaceans. Some say that Ishi Tib could not go
more than 30 hours without a salt water bath or else their skin would break
open resulting in internal and external bleeding until death.
Fans that really know their Star Wars aliens could probably tell you that there
was an Ishi Tib in Jabba’s Palace. But fans that really, really know their
stuff will also let you know that a group of the green creatures are present
during the Battle of Endor briefing scene.
Early
designs of the Ishi Tib were pink and nicknamed “Starfish”, however by the time
“Return of the Jedi” was in production they were called “Bird Lizards” on set.
The Ishi Tib in Jabba’s palace was identified in the Collectible Card Game as
Sasha Tiel but the Ishi Tib Rebel released as a 1995 action figure has never
been given a name.
Mon Calamari
The
Mon Calamari species were native to the watery world of Mon Cala. The species
lived in underwater cities as well as cities on land. They lived side-by-side
with the Quarren species until the Clone Wars when the Quarren decided to join
the Separatists.
The
Mon Calamari were named after a calamari salad, which creature designer Phil
Tippet was eating for lunch one day. Eight Mon Calamari masks were constructed
for “Return of the Jedi” in tones of red and orange. The Mon Calamari from
Rogue One (Including Admiral Raddus) have skin tones of white and grey and are
said to be from the polar regions of Mon Cala.
Sullustan
Sullustans
evolved underground on the planet of Sullust and were adept at low-light sight
and had a heightened sense of hearing. Eventually Sullustans would become adept
at mining. Their mining skills also lead them to the successful field of
mineral processing and the mega cooperation of SoroSuub was created. At the
height of its power SoroSuub employed half the population of planet Sullust.
The planet Sullust is important in the film “Return of the Jedi” because that
is where the Rebel fleet is located during the famous briefing scene. Darth
Vader even refers to the planet in dialogue.
The
Sullustans Nien Nunb and Ten Numb appeared in “Return of the Jedi” and got
their names from the fact that they were “Number Nine” and “Number Ten” on the
creature packaging list. The character of Nien Nunb is voiced by a Kenyan
student who used two Kenyan languages when voicing the character. Mike Quinn
performed Nien Nunb in “Return of the Jedi”, “The Force Awakens”, and “The Last
Jedi”.
Bothan
Though
Bothan were mentioned in the “Return of the Jedi” briefing scene, no Bothans
were shown in the film. It wasn’t until 1991 that Bothans were featured in the
novel “Heir to the Empire” by Timothy Zahn. Though Zahn’s descriptions of the
creatures were basically furry looking humans, the Expanded Universe eventually
developed Bothans into creatures with dog-like snouts.
Much
of Bothan culture focused on gaining power and influence. Bothans would do
anything to get ahead to the point that Bothans were seen as untrustworthy by
outsiders. Bothans were also paranoid and were constantly expecting to be
betrayed by other members of their race. It was only during times of war that
Bothans banded together and put the needs of the species over the needs of the
individual.
Ewok
The
Forest Moon of Endor was a place of many dangers for the Ewok race. They were
habitually at war with the Duloks and had to defend their territory from
treacherous Boar-Wolves and giant Gorax. Hungry Temptors hid inside of logs and
trees and Condor Dragons hunted from the skies. In addition to native threats
there seemed to be constant invasions from off-world including the Galactic
Empire, Sanyassan Pirates, and even a Dathomir Nightsister. Still, the Ewoks
got along with some of the moon’s inhabitants, including the Yuzzums and the
Whisties.
To
defend their village from many foe, Ewoks would often construct giant traps.
These traps were specifically used to fend off giant Gorax creatures, but they
also worked well against the AT-ST vehicles of the Galactic Empire.
George
Lucas originally planned to use Wookiees in “Return of the Jedi” but later
changed his mind and developed a much smaller creature. The word Ewok therefore
uses about half the letters of the word Wookiee. It is also notable that the Ewoks received their own full-length live-action films in the late 1980s. These two made-for-tv (but released on the big screen internationally) films are the only Star Wars films to predominately feature a race of alien beings that are not human (though there are some humans in the film).
Star Wars Aliens
The Aliens of the Cantina
The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"
The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace
The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band
The Aliens of the Battle of Endor
Flipping Heads
The Aliens of Attack of the Clones
The Aliens of Revenge of the Sith
Aliens of Podracing
Aliens of Ralph McQuarrie
Aliens of Rogue One
Aliens of The Last Jedi
Aliens of Endor
The Most Obscure Aliens of the Original Trilogy
Aliens of the Mandalorian
Bonus Aliens
The Five Subspecies of Nikto
Aliens of Star Trek
From that
point on, fame was really inevitable. A backstory was fleshed out through
StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider, and even “The Complete Encyclopedia”. The
"Ice Cream Maker" that Willrow carried out of Cloud City is now known
to be the city's main computer memory core. Willrow was taking it with him to
protect Bespin’s Rebellion contacts from falling into Imperial hands.
Hood has
also recently appeared in the background of a Star Wars comic (Star Wars 22)
and in the mobile game: "Star Wars Uprising”.
