Klatooinian

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Klatooine

• Size:
  1.8 meters

• 

From the Expanded Universe

Indentured to the Hutts for millennia, the Klatooinians are nonetheless a proud people with a strong sense of tradition. They evolved on the planet Klatooine in the Si'Klaata Cluster.

The harsh desert environs of Klatooine resulted in a fiercely tenacious species. The Klatooinians greatly revere age and experience, for it is the mark of true strength to survive to an advanced age in so hostile a climate. Klatooinian youngsters are afforded few rights, and the early years of a Klatooinian's life is marked by hard work, ceaseless indoctrination and minimal freedom. Klatooinians can't even find individuality in their own name, since most are named after a limited pool of historical figures. After ten years of strict education, a Klatooinian youth is sold into servitude, where he or she learns a trade.

The Klatooinian reverence for age was exploited by the ancient Hutts. The loathsome gastropods live for centuries, and the primitive Klatooinians regarded them as near-gods for this. The Hutts recruited the Klatooinians, along with the Nikto and the Vodrans, species from neighboring worlds, to wage war against Xim the Despot at the Third Battle of Vontor. From that day on, the Klatooinians were property of the Hutt criminal empire.

Since the Hutt influence spans many planets, the Klatooinians quickly spread throughout the galaxy. Some enjoy limited freedoms, but they are often encountered when Hutt interests are nearby. The Klatooinians have never established a trade relationship or business venture without the approval of the Hutts, and it can be certain that any money earned by such enterprises are at least partially -- if not entirely -- funneled back to the gangsters.

In recent decades, a strong streak of rebelliousness has grown among the younger generations of Klatooinians, bolstered by the seismic political changes that saw the collapse of the Republic. If the Republic was once thought invincible, and it fell, then perhaps too the Hutts could be overthrown.

Behind the Scenes

The Klatooinian species was developed as Barada, a skiff guard in Return of the Jedi, first in concept sketches and then maquettes. Barada was realized as a slip-on mask and hands, and several Barada-type aliens were crafted for the Sarlacc-battle sequence.

The masks were reused for the Special Edition of Return of the Jedi for a new Klatooinian, the drummer Umpass-stay. The creature department crafted multiple Klatooinian masks for prequel background extras, and Klatooinians can be seen in Mos Espa, at the Podrace Arena, in the Coruscant underbelly, aboard the Naboo-bound starfreighter and even in the Jedi order.