Wooof

Wooof was a Kadas'sa'Nikto who served the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure during the Galactic Civil War. Jabba placed the Nikto in charge of his fleet of skiffs and his sail barge, the Khetanna. In 4 ABY, Wooof was in the throne room of Jabba's palace on the planet Tatooine when the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 delivered a hologram message to Jabba from the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker bargaining for the freedom of his friend, the Rebel Han Solo.

After the Hutt refused Skywalker's offer, Wooof and other members of the court trapped the Rebel Leia Organa after she freed Solo herself. The next day, Wooof watched on as Skywalker killed Jabba's rancor, Pateesa, and escorted the Jedi Knight, Solo, and Chewbacca back to the throne room to be sentenced to death at the Great Pit of Carkoon. Wooof then traveled to view the executions on board the Khetanna. During the ride, the Nikto took a refreshment from the now drink-serving R2-D2. Upon reaching the pit, Skywalker defeated the guards accompanying him and made his way onto the Khetanna. Wooof rushed to the deck of the Khetanna, only to be killed when Skywalker deflected Wooof's own blaster bolt back at the Nikto.

Biography

Smuggler to fleet manager

Wooof was present in Jabba's throne room in 4 ABY.

A Kadas'sa'Nikto^[3] from the planet Kintan, Wooof^[1] was a former smuggler who worked for the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure. Jabba placed the Nikto in charge of the fleet of skiffs Jabba kept at his palace on the planet Tatooine as well as the crime lord's sail barge Khetanna.^[5]

In 4 ABY,^[2] during the Galactic Civil War, Wooof was present^[4] one morning^[6] in the throne room of Jabba's Palace when the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO delivered a holographic message to the Hutt from Rebel Alliance member and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. Skywalker stated his intention to see the fellow Rebel Han Solo, who was imprisoned in the palace within a block of carbonite, set free. Wooof walked across the throne room while the Hutt declared that he would not bargain for Solo's freedom. The holographic Skywalker then gifted the two droids to Jabba, and they were escorted from the room to a^[4] droid torture room^[7] in the palace dungeons.^[8] Shortly after, another Rebel, Leia Organa, arrived at the palace disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, presenting^[4] Solo's co-pilot and friend^[9] Chewbacca as a bounty she wanted to collect on. Organa had actually come to the palace to free Solo from carbonite.^[4]

Jedi drawbacks

"Bring me Solo and the Wookiee. They will all suffer for this outrage!"

―Jabba, to his various servants^[4]

Wooof then took part in a trap that Jabba set for the Organa after the Hutt had been warned by the bounty hunter Boba Fett that Boushh was not who they seemed. Wooof and many other court members lay in wait behind curtains in the throne room later that night. After they had waited for an hour,^[6] the princess entered the room and freed Solo from the carbonite. After Jabba laughed at the pair, the curtains covering Jabba and his personnel were opened and Solo was quickly taken away. Under orders from the Hutt, Organa was brought to him by Lando Calrissian, an ally of Organa's disguised as a palace guard. Wooof and others followed them, staying as Jabba licked the Rebel's face.^[4]

The next morning,^[6] Wooof was in Jabba's throne room, sitting in an alcove with^[4] the Elom Tanus Spijek,^[10] when Luke Skywalker, let in after mind-tricking Jabba's majordomo Bib Fortuna, arrived to negotiate the release of Solo. Wooof and other members of Jabba's court surrounded Skywalker as he demanded that his allies be set free. Jabba was not interested in Skywalker's proposal making Skywalker to use the Force to snatch Nizuc Bek's^[11] DL-18 blaster pistol from^[4] his^[11] holster. The Hutt, however, opened the trapdoor in the throne room, and Skywalker fell into the pit^[4] of Pateesa, the Hutt's pet rancor.^[12] During the fight between the Jedi and the rancor, Skywalker was able to kill the beast by dropping a large gate on^[4] his^[13] head.

Along with the human^[4] guard Fozec,^[14] Wooof retrieved Skywalker, Solo and Chewbacca and brought them up into the throne room. While Jabba sentenced them to death by being fed to the sarlaac at the Great Pit of Carkoon, the Nikto pointed a DL-18 blaster pistol at Skywalker. After Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca were sentenced, Wooof and Fozec escorted Chewbacca out of the throne room and left with the rest of the court.^[4]

Death by deflection

The Nikto later traveled on board the Khetanna to the Great Pit of Carkoon to witness Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca's execution. Wooof grabbed a beverage from the drink-serving R2-D2 and toasted with a human just before the droid bumped into C-3PO.^[4] Upon reaching the pit, Wooof stood beside Boba Fett while Jabba gave the prisoners one last chance to beg for their lives. Things took a turn after Jabba ordered Skywalker be put over the edge of the Bantha-II cargo skiff holding him and his allies into the sarlacc below. As the Jedi leapt back aboard, now armed with his lightsaber which R2-D2 had launched to him, the Jedi began cutting down the guards around him as panic ensued on board the barge. Wooof and a Gamorrean rushed to the top deck of the Khetanna,^[4] as weapons master Vizam^[15] fired at Skywalker and his friends.^[4]

Wooof and the Gamorrean removed a piece of material covering the sail barge's^[4] Me/7 double laser cannon^[16] while Skywalker used a cargo skiff to jump onto the side of the Khetanna, pulling himself up to the deck. Wooof fired at Skywalker with their blaster pistol; however, the Jedi deflected the shot with his blade, rebounding the bolt into Wooof, killing them. Soon after, Skywalker and Organa destroyed the Khetanna with the deck cannon and left with their allies.^[4]

Personality and traits

Wooof had green skin, black eyes, and clawed fingers.^[4]

Equipment

Wooof wore a silver helmet, heavily distressed white shirt, a breastplate, leather jerkin, a codpiece of the same leather, loincloth, ammunition bandolier, and a wrist bracer.^[17] The Nikto wielded a DL-18 blaster pistol during the Rescue of Han Solo.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Creation and Elstree Studios shoot

"It was easy because Phil's workshop was next door to me."

―Nilo Rodis-Jamero describes the collaboration leading to the creation of the Wooof costume^[17]

Wooof first appeared in the original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, which released on May 25, 1983.^[18] The design for Wooof came from a 1981 illustration by Nilo Rodis-Jamero, which labeled the character "Wooof #3" and had the character using a pirate-like sword. During the production of Jedi, Wooof was considered to be an alien race, but was later re-dubbed "Klaatu" in reference to the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. The character's mask, hands, and costume were created through a collaboration between Rodis-Jamero's costume team and Phil Tippett's creature design team.^[17]

The costume consisted of a loincloth which production notes describe as being made from "crummy sheep skin," a chestplate made out of urethane, heavy leather jerkin and codpiece of the same leather, ammunition bandolier, wrist bracer, and a helmet made by the Industrial Light & Magic plastic shop, which had a much rougher finish than the Imperial helmets.^[17] In the film, Wooof was played by an uncredited^[4] Mike Stevens.^[17] The throne room scenes were filmed between January 25 and February 8, 1982 on Stage 8 at Elstree Studios, and the sail barge interior shots were filmed on Stage 9 between February 9 and February 11.^[19]

Canon and non-canon appearances

Identifications

A photo of Wooof was misidentified as Klaatu on the StarWars.com Databank.

In the Star Wars Legends continuity, Wooof first appeared in Return of the Jedi: The Storybook Based on the Movie, written by Joan D. Vinge^[20] and released on May 12, 1983.^[21] In the new Star Wars canon, the character was first identified by name in the reference book Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, published by Dorling Kindersley^[5] on September 4, 2015,^[22] though the production^[17] name was first applied to the character in the Star Wars Legends continuity with the Jabba's Palace Limited set of cards from Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game.^[23]

The StarWars.com Databank entry for Klaatu, another Kadas'sa'Nikto in the employ of Jabba, incorrectly uses a photo of Wooof for illustration.^[24] The fifty-fifth issue of the 2015 comic series Star Wars, released on October 3, 2018, has a variant cover^[25] designed after the Kenner action figure of Wooof.^[26] Both the issue and the toy misidentified the character.^[25]^[26] "Make Sail", an article published in Star Wars Insider 228^[27] and released on October 29, 2024,^[28] incorrectly identifies a LEGO Wooof minifigure as Klaatu.^[27]

Tatooine Rhapsody appearance

Wooof appears in "Tatooine Rhapsody," an ambiguously canon short film in the Star Wars: Visions series^[29] released on September 22, 2021.^[30] In the short, Wooof, Boba Fett, a Human and Pagetti Rook interrupt a performance of the band Star Waver to capture band member Geezer Odajion, on whom Jabba has placed a bounty. When the band fights back, Wooof gets repeatedly hit in the face with the drumsticks of the multi-limbed band member Lan Ar-Shoo. After other members of the band defeated Rook and the Human, Wooof was thrown off the stage and the band escaped in their starship.^[29]

After Fett was able to capture Odajion and take him to the Mos Espa Grand Arena on Tatooine, the band negotiated a deal with Jabba to perform one song with the band member. before his planned execution. At the arena, Wooof aimed a blaster rifle at the back of Ar-Shoo as lead singer Jee Ken Tsokee informed Odajion of the fact that they would perform one song before Odajion's execution.^[29]

LEGO appearances

Wooof appears in the video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga,^[31] which was released on April 5, 2022.^[32] Wooof appears in two levels, "A Plan to Save Han" and "The Copa-Khetanna". In the former, Wooof and Klaatu appear as killable NPCs during Luke Skywalker and Gamorrean guard Jubnuk's fight with Pateesa. In "The Copa-Khetanna", Wooof is a guard on the skiff taking Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca to their executions. Before Jabba gives the command to put the captives into position, Wooof is dispatched by the Rebel Lando Calrissian, who is disguised as one of Jabba's guards. The Wooof model is reused for enemies in that level and for the Kyber brick thief known as the "Kyber Swiper".^[31]

Wooof also appears in "Jabba's Halloween Bash", an animated LEGO short part of the LEGO STAR WARS: Celebrate the Season series. In the short, which was released on October 5, 2024, the Nikto attends a Halloween party held by Jabba on the Khetanna. Wooof, standing next to the Gran Ree-Yees and the Chadra-Fan Kabe, cheers on new arrival Boba Fett after he shoots a new expression into a pumpkin held by a Jawa.^[33]

When Darth Vader arrives to the party, Wooof, Ree-Yees, and Kabe all cower back as Vader approaches Jabba. The Sith Lord forces the Hutt off of his throne. An afraid Jabba makes his way to Fett and forces the bounty hunter to help him. Fett takes a drink away from Vader's hand, leading to the Sith being revealed to be Bib Fortuna after stumbling backwards into the real Vader. Wooof, Jabba, Fett, and others watched Fortuna be prodded into the Great Pit of Carkoon from the top of the Khetanna. All watching on from the sail barge cheered when the majordomo fell off the skiff he was on.^[33]