Jabba the Hutt is the most fearsome gangster in the galaxy Star Wars. This deformed and disgusting being, similar to a slightly too talkative slug, was imagined as one of the most formidable in his universe by George Lucas. From his place in George Lucas’ creation to the legends that surround him in the Expanded Universe, here are 8 facts you (maybe) didn’t know about Jabba.
#8 Jabba had to wear a ridiculous hat
When it was necessary to imagine the final appearance of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, the giant slug was not necessarily the first idea of the special effects artists. Initially, Jabba the Hutt could have been a hairy creature, a very different concept from his final appearance. But George Lucas had a completely different idea of the character. To him, Jabba is kind of strange mix between a mafia godfather and a “sultan” straight out of the 1001 nights. By his simple presence, Jabba must make his power and authority shine through. We have to understand that he likes to see people being tortured. To illustrate this concept, Lucas asks the teams to take inspiration from 2 specific actors.
George Lucas asks teams to forget their first idea and imagine the alien and monstrous version of actors Sydney Greenstreet in Casablanca and Marlon Brando in The Godfather. For his part, costume designer Nilo Rodis-Jamero compared Jabba to Orson Welles, who had become quite portly with age. But George Lucas stuck to his idea of a desert mobster, so much so that at a certain stage of development, he even imagined that Jabba could have worn a fez. If you don’t know what a fez is, it’s simply the hat that OSS 117 wears when he sings Bambino In Cairo Nest of Spies. Now, let your imagination imagine Jabba wearing this hairstyle…
#7 Fans edited Jabba’s first appearance
In the original edit of Star Wars: Episode IV, Jabba never appeared on screenbut the special edition of Star Wars: A New Hope surprised audiences with a brand new scene where a computer-generated version of Jabba meets Han Solo near the Millennium Falcon. In reality, the scene wasn’t really new. It was originally filmed in 1977 but was cut from the final film. An actor named Declan Mulholland was cast to play Jabba in the deleted scene. Lucas had filmed the scene with the intention of replacing the actor with an alien creature using stop-motion animation technology. Unfortunately, the result was not satisfactory. Lucas eventually replaced Mulholland with a CGI Jabba during the special edition of the film in 1997.
But, faced with this addition with dubious special effects and questionable effectiveness within the story, this time, it was the public who remained doubtful, to say the least. The effect was later modernized again in yet another re-release of the film. However, fans were still unhappy with the result. Fortunately, some Star Wars fans are more proactive than complainers and thus took the initiative to remake the effect themselves. Taking into account the technology presented in the prequel, they made it so that Jabba was not really present but a hologram projected by a robot capable of moving, like Darth Sidious in The Phantom Menace.
#6 The first version of Jabba reappeared several times
As we have just seen, Jabba was first played by a real actor, Declan Mulholland. Although this actor was originally envisioned as a form of lighting double for special effects, the existence of this scene, long invisible to fans, allowed him to take other forms. For example, in the game Star Wars Outlaw d’Ubisoft, the villain, Sliro, has a character design that pays homage to Declan Mulholland playing Jabba. Meanwhile, actor Declan Mulholland appeared in the film Bandits, Bandits by the brilliant Terry Gilliam, where he plays one of the members of a group of thieves costumed like “his” Jabba. The costume in Bandits Bandits is a little more elaborate than that of the deleted scene from A New Hopebut there is an undeniable resemblance with the original version of the mighty Jabba the Hutt.
Later, in the comics Star Wars #16 (released in 2021), during the crossover event War of the Bounty Hunters, a character resembling Jabba the Hutt from Mulholland makes a brief appearance. This unnamed character is aboard the Dark Syndicate battlecruiser Son-Tuul Pride and is heading to the auction of Han Solo’s body frozen in carbonite. For the record, the Son-Tuul Pride crime syndicate is a rival gang to Jabba. Although this character is not actually a human version of Jabba the Hutt, it’s a great tribute to Declan Mulholland. Sadly, Mulholland would not have the chance to read the comic as he passed away in 1999, but From now on, his face is still a little part of this galaxy far, far away.
#5 There was another Jabba in the 1980s
As previously mentioned, in the original cut of Star Wars: Episode IV, Jabba never appeared on screen. For spectators and fans gradually discovering the films and the universe Star Wars, Jabba was a “phantom menace”. A name mentioned as a danger hovering around Han Solo without us really knowing who he could be. However, the instant and immense success of Star Wars immediately led to the creation of a comic book series exploring side adventures experienced by the heroes between the different episodes of the original trilogy. So, long before Return of the Jediit is in these comics that a Jabba the Hutt very different from the one we know made his first appearance.
In Star Wars #2 (par Roy Thomas et Howard Chaykin)which at this point was essentially an adaptation of A New Hope, the meeting scene between Jabba and Han Solo appears. Jabba is clearly introduced as “Jabba the Hut”, but at the time the term “Hut” was used as a title for gangsters rather than a population name.. In these early Marvel comics, Jabba’s species was a walrus-like alien called Nimbanel. Jabba Nimbanel made two more appearances in Marvel comics before the release of Return of the Jedi, until the movie made it obsolete. Later, when the comics were re-released, the character Nimbanel was retroactively transformed into Jabba’s accountant, and the Nimbanel aliens finally appeared in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
#4 George Lucas imagined Jabba’s planet
Hutt is actually the name of an entire population coming from the planet Nal Hutta. When this planet first appeared in the television series Star Wars : The Clone WarsGeorge Lucas provided sketches of what he wanted this planet to look like. Indeed, the author had very precise ideas of this universe which he wanted to be as repugnant as Jabba himself. Nal Hutta is a very hot planet, which explains the Hutts’ thick, leathery skin. It is also humid, with many swamps and marshes. The buildings look more like pustules than houses. Even the rain is viscous and disgusting.
#3 The War made Jabba more powerful
Originally, George Lucas wanted to minimize the use of Jabba outside of the live-action films of the saga. This made it possible to maintain the menacing aspect of the character. In this sense, Lucas had initially refused to authorize the authors of Star Wars: The Clone Wars to use Jabba. The first episode should be entitled to a cinema release, he finally changes his mind. From there, an entire narrative arc will complete the history of the galaxy by showing how authoritarian and totalitarian regimes only strengthen the organized crime environment that they claim to fight.
Initially, when Ahsoka Tano saves Jabba’s child, Rotta, This leader of one of the most powerful crime families in the galaxy agrees to help the Republic led by Palpatine by letting him freely use the galactic routes he controls. At the end of the Clone Wars, Palpatine, although becoming emperor, only has to keep this agreement already in place. Moreover, the more Palpatine’s regime gets tougher, the more Jabba gains. Not only do the Hutts now manage many of the Empire’s secret prisons and weapons caches, but They also benefit from the bans and additional taxes that the Empire has imposed on certain products. to increase the number of their various traffics.
#2 Jabba could have eaten Leia
In Return of the Jedi, Jabba’s repulsive appearance is often amplified when we see him ingest all kinds of things in an absolutely disgusting manner. When the character unmasks Leia who had entered his home posing as a bounty hunter, he asks his guards to approach him. In this scene, Jabba pretends to lick Leia’s face. Even if the sexualized nature of this moment seems obvious, it is in fact nothing of the sort. In reality, Jabba is licking his lips because the monster plans to devour him when the time comes.
Indeed, in the comics Jabba the Hutt: The Dynasty Trap released in 1995, Jabba is imprisoned for killing a character named Rusk Nuum. In reality, it was that character’s sister, Norba Nuum, who schemed for Jabba to kill him. Norba Nuum therefore has Jabba arrested then decides to go see him in his cell to explain to him that she is smarter than him and wants to negotiate arrangements in exchange for his release. Jabba remains calm, lures her to him, and eats her alive in retaliation.
#1 Jabba should have been the hero of a Guillermo del Toro film
Since Disney bought the universe of George Lucas in 2021, the studio has multiplied avenues to make its acquisition profitable. Today, slowly, we are starting to know a little more about the many avenues envisaged to expand the universe Star Wars. Among the abandoned projects was a film entirely devoted to Jabba, which was to be directed by Oscar winner Guillermo Del Toro. Superhero film writer David S. Goyer first revealed the project on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, mentioning that a lot of concept art had been produced. Del Toro confirmed these comments on social media.
Guillermo del Toro had planned to tell a “Rise and Fall” type film, a bit like Scarface, which would have featured the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt. Although passionate about this project, he recognized that it was not his property or his money, and that this film was one of many abandoned scripts. Despite some bitterness, del Toro says he saw it as an enriching experience for his team, stressing the importance of learning from every situation. It must be said that after missing the opportunity to realize The Hobbit and around ten other projects, the Mexican director has acquired a certain capacity for resilience.
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