Bothan

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"Many Bothans died to bring us this information."
―Mon Mothma, before the Battle of Endor[1]

Bothans were a group known for operating a spy network.[2] Bothans were known to communicate with each other in a series of growls.[3]

Bothan spies were credited with obtaining information concerning the location of DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station, despite sustaining heavy casualties, thereby enabling the Rebel Alliance to plan an attack on the unfinished space station.[1] The Bothans also provided the Rebel Alliance with other useful information, such as the door code for the shield generator bunker on the forest moon of Endor.[4] They forged false chain codes that were implanted into Aqualish by Nautolan doctors.[5]

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Behind the scenes

"It's pretty easy to confirm: we are purposely trying not to show them to leave all possibilities for when that story gets told. The dude in Resistance is based on the EU design of a Bothan that the Animation art team used as reference for a background alien."
―Matt Martin[6]
How Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills depicts Bothans

How Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills depicts Bothans

Bothans were first mentioned in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,[1] and first canonically appeared in the 2016 novel Bloodline.[3] Individuals resembling the Star Wars Legends depiction of the Bothan species[7] have appeared in various canon visual media, such as Star Wars Resistance,[8] Legends of the Alliance in the form of Mak Eshkra'rey,[9] Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters,[10] Sabine My Rebel Sketchbook,[11] and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook,[12] but whether these creatures are in fact Bothans has yet to be confirmed.

Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo joked that the reason why Bothans are never seen is because they are such good spies.[13] Because Bothans were first mentioned in Return of the Jedi, Lucasfilm decided that a live-action production should be the first to establish what they look like.[14]

The reference book Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills also "pictures" Bothans by showing silhouettes of bothans from the Star Wars Legends continuity with red X's marked over them implying that those silhouettes are not what bothans look like.[15] According to Matt Martin The Lucasfilm Story Group made the decision to hold off on picturing Bothans.[6]

Appearances

Non-canon appearances

Sources

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Non-canon sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  2. ↑ Heir to the Jedi
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bloodline
  4. ↑ Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
  5. ↑ Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 TwitterLogo Matt Martin (@missingwords) on Twitter (post on August 2, 2019) (backup link)
  7. ↑ The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
  8. ↑ SWResistanceLogo Star Wars Resistance — "Secrets and Holograms"
  9. ↑ Legends of the Alliance
  10. ↑ War of the Bounty Hunters – Jabba the Hutt 1
  11. ↑ Sabine My Rebel Sketchbook
  12. ↑ Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook
  13. ↑ BlueskyLogo Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post): "It's pretty much a recurring bit now. It's how you know they're good spies - you never see them." (backup link)
  14. ↑ BlueskyLogo Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post): "A decade ago, we figured "they're a production concept; production should define them." No takers yet." (backup link)
  15. ↑ Star Wars: How Not to Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills