Pru Sweevant

Pru Sweevant was a Narquois male who was born on the planet Narq^[3] in around 21 BBY.^[2] He worked as a bandit around thirty years after the Battle of Endor. Using contacts in the Mining Guild, he learned the schedules of vulnerable convoys and raided them.^[1] He took particular delight in capturing ships owned by Neimoidians.^[5] He at one point served on the crew of the pirate Sidon Ithano^[4] and was present in the pirate queen Maz Kanata's castle when the smuggler Han Solo entered with the scavenger Rey, the former stormtrooper Finn and the astromech droid BB-8. Shortly after the four newcomers arrived, many of the patrons of the castle rushed outside to witness the destruction of the Hosnian system by Starkiller Base, a superweapon controlled by the First Order. The castle itself was then attacked and destroyed by the First Order's forces.^[6] While in the castle, Sweevant wore a yellow outfit and carried a blaster pistol with an amplified galven chamber that provided a more intense blast. He had red eyes and blue skin and hair, which acted as camouflage amongst the fungus forests of his homeworld Narq.^[1]

Behind the scenes

"C050 was a very simple head. But I designed it with the actor Kiran Shah in mind. It kind of looks like Kiran."

―Ivan Manzella describes designing Sweevant^[7]

Pru Sweevant was created for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, where he appeared briefly as a background character in Maz Kanata's castle.^[6] The character was first revealed to the public through an exclusive article on the website of Vanity Fair in May 2015,^[8] seven months before the films release. Neither the article nor the film identified the character, but his name was revealed in the reference book Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, which was written by Pablo Hidalgo and released in conjunction with the film.^[1] He was played by the actor Kiran Shah, who also played Infrablue Zedbeddy Coggins^[9] and Teedo.^[6] Senior sculptor Ivan Manzella designed Sweevant during pre-production of the film in October 2013, at which time he was known as "Castle Alien C050". Manzella designed the character's simple head with Shah specifically in mind, and believed the character and actor look somewhat alike.^[7]