Unidentified Utai wrangler

The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on official information from the Star Wars Legends continuity, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

A Utai wrangler worked at a varactyl corral in Pau City on the planet Utapau. In 19 BBY, while Utapau was occupied by the Separatist Droid Army as part of the Clone Wars, the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi visited the corral, seeking a way to climb the city's sinkhole wall to reach the Separatist General Grievous. He used a mind trick to manipulate the wrangler into providing a varactyl, and used his Force sense to select Boga as his mount. The wrangler gave Kenobi a saddle and the Jedi rode Boga into battle against Grievous.

Biography

A member of the Utai species worked as a varactyl wrangler in Pau City,^[1] the capital^[2] of the planet Utapau.^[1] During the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Utapau was occupied by the Separatist Droid Army, under the command of General Grievous.^[2] In 19 BBY,^[3] the Republic-affiliated Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived on Utapau and sought to kill Grievous—the new Confederate leader—to end the war. Kenobi knew that he would need to scale the walls of the city's sinkhole wall to reach Level 10, where Grievous was entrenched.^[4]

The Jedi arrived at the varactyl corral and used a mind trick through the Force to instruct the Utai wrangler to provide him with one of the creatures.^[1] The Utai watched Kenobi's hand as though in a daze,^[5] and his eyes appeared distant for a moment^[2] before he repeated Kenobi's command^[1] and turned to talk to the other Utai present in the Utai language and retrieve a saddle. The Jedi surveyed the varactyls there and used the Force to sense the inner qualities of the creatures that would suit his needs. Kenobi selected the varactyl Boga due to the commitment to obedience and loyalty he sensed within her.^[2]

He told the wrangler—who had returned with the saddle—of his choice, and the wrangler gave the Jedi her name and began tacking up the varactyl with the other wranglers. Kenobi fed Boga from a selection of leaves nearby and called the creature a "good girl," but realized he did not know the creature's gender and pronouns and asked the wrangler for clarification. The wrangler responded in Utai and shrugged, which Kenobi took to mean that he did not understand the question. The Jedi mounted Boga and apologized to the wranglers that he had no currency to pay them, instead hoping that winning freedom for their planet would suffice. Kenobi rode Boga up to Level 10 and throughout his combat with Grievous in the Battle of Utapau, in which he defeated the cyborg general.^[2]

Personality and traits

The Utai was susceptible to mind tricks, stood at a short height,^[2] and had pale pink skin.^[1] The wrangler mainly spoke in Utai, but could comprehend some of Kenobi's gestures. The Utai gave some confused looks to Kenobi when he did not understand the Jedi's speech.^[2]

Skills and abilities

The wrangler could speak some phrases in Galactic Basic Standard.^[1]

Equipment

The Utai wore a blue uniform,^[1] and handled equipment for riding varactyls, such as saddles.^[2]

Behind the scenes

The Utai wrangler was created by Star Wars creator George Lucas for the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Revenge of the Sith.^[6] Storyboards featuring the Utai were designed by Derek Thompson.^[7] The wrangler's first appearance came in the second issue of the comic adaptation, written by Miles Lane, illustrated by Douglas Wheatley, and published by Dark Horse Comics^[1] on March 23, 2005.^[8] The character was ultimately cut from the finished film,^[9] which premiered on May 19, 2005.^[10] In the film's novelization, written by Matthew Stover^[9] and published on April 2, 2005,^[11] the wrangler's dialogue is only in Utai,^[2] whereas he responds in Basic in other sources, including the comic^[1] and the children's book Obi-Wan's Foe,^[5] also published on April 2.^[12] This article follows the latter two sources.

Appearances

Explore all of Wookieepedia's images for this article subject.

• Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (Cut)
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith novelization (and unabridged audiobook)
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith abridged audiobook
• Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith 2 (First appearance)
• Obi-Wan's Foe

Sources

• Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith Illustrated Screenplay
• Star Wars Storyboards: The Prequel Trilogy
• The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 39 19 BBY 25-30: The Battle of Utapau

Notes and references