Oola

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Ryloth

• Species:
  Twi'lek

• Gender:
  Female

• Size:
  1.6 meters

• Affiliation:
  None

• 

From the Movies

Oola, the beautiful green-skinned dancer, was enslaved to the disgusting crime lord, Jabba the Hutt. While she was one of several dancers, including Yarna D'al Gargan, Rystáll, Lyn Me and Greeata, only Oola was given the "privilege" of being chained to Jabba's throne.

Jabba delighted in watching the young Oola dance to the music of the Max Rebo Band. When Jabba wanted more than dance, however, Oola refused. Angered with his rebellious slave, Jabba opened the trap-door beneath the dance floor, and fed Oola to his deadly rancor creature.

From the Expanded Universe

The tale of the Twi'lek slave girl Oola is a sad one of a short life. Her captivity began on Ryloth, the Twi'lek homeworld. Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hutt's major-domo, longed to find the perfect "gift" for his master, the perfect slave girl to meet the crime lord's depraved interests. Fortuna found Oola living in the "place of twilight," a perpetual dusk-land on the tide-locked world.

Oola, the daughter of a clan chief, fit Fortuna's needs. Fortuna kidnapped the innocent girl, along with a younger Twi'lek girl named Sienn. Fortuna took them to his smuggling complex, and had other Twi'lek dancers teach Oola and Sienn the ways of exotic and captivating dance sure to get the Hutt's attention. Fortuna deluded the girls with tales of the opulent lifestyle of Jabba the Hutt, and the promised glory of being a palace servant. Four months later, Fortuna felt his prizes were ready. He had his assistant Jerris Rudd take them to Tatooine.

In the port city of Mos Eisley, Rudd placed Oola and Sienn in hiding. A man clad in black stumbled upon the girls' hiding place. This man was named Luke Skywalker. He promised the two escape from their slavery. Sienn fled with Luke, but Oola, tantalized by visions of palace life, stayed behind. Soon thereafter, Fortuna presented Jabba with Oola, and the Hutt crime lord was instantly smitten. Oola faced the cold reality of the Hutt's palace, a dank place of corruption filled with the dregs of the galaxy. Her life was not one of decadence, but one of servitude. She was beaten by Gamorrean guards when she did not please her masters, and was often threatened by Fortuna.

Hope eventually returned to the young girl. Two days later, when speaking in conspiratorial whispers to the Hutt's new translator droid, C-3PO, Oola learned that Luke Skywalker would arrive at the palace. With newfound hope, Oola danced that day, the best dance she had ever performed. It was also her last.

Oola was survived by her half-sister, Nolaa Tarkona, who rose to prominence two decades into the New Republic's rule. She was the leader of the Diversity Alliance, a radical anti-human alien movement that challenged the Republic's authority.

Behind the Scenes

The filmmakers had originally intended an extended sequence of Oola tumbling into the rancor pit, which was cut for time and budgetary reasons. When the Special Edition Return of the Jedi was in pre-production, the musical number featuring Oola was one of the scenes to be revisited.

Special Edition Producer Rick McCallum had also produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. An episode set in 1917 Austria starred actor Benedict Taylor, the brother of dancer Femi Taylor, who played Oola in Jedi. Learning of the Special Edition, Taylor told McCallum that his sister was in the same physical shape -- if not better -- she was years ago during the original early-80s shoot. Learning of this, the Special Edition scenes were restructured to take advantage of the original actor returning to the part.