Jabba the Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is a large, slug-like crime lord of the Hutt species. Jabba first appeared in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, in which he is portrayed by a one-ton puppet operated by several puppeteers. He subsequently appeared in the 1997 Special Edition of the original Star Wars film,[j] and the 1999 prequel film The Phantom Menace. Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward in Return of the Jedi and by Scott Schumann in Star Wars and The Phantom Menace.
"Jabba's Palace" redirects here. For the card game expansion set, see Star Wars Customizable Card Game.Jabba the Hutt
Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Larry Ward [b]
- Scott Schumann [c]
- Ed Asner [d]
- Clint Bajakian [e]
- David W. Collins [f]
- Brian Drummond [g]
- Kevin M. Richardson [h]
Jabba Desilijic Tiure
Male
Crime lord
- Ziro (uncle)
- Gorga (nephew)
- Others in Legends [i]
Rotta (son)
Jabba lives in a palace on the desert planet Tatooine. He places a bounty on the smuggler Han Solo, and sends bounty hunters to capture him. After Darth Vader freezes Solo in carbonite, the bounty hunter Boba Fett delivers the frozen Solo to Jabba, who puts him on display in his palace. A group of Solo's friends attempt to rescue him, but Jabba captures them; he enslaves Princess Leia and decrees that Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca will be fed to a Sarlacc. Luke orchestrates an escape, and during the chaos Leia strangles Jabba to death.
Jabba has received generally positive reviews from critics, and his name has entered common parlance as being synonymous with negative qualities such as morbid obesity, corruption, and corporate greed.
Concept, creation, and portrayal[edit]
Episode IV: A New Hope[edit]
The original script to Star Wars[k] describes Jabba as a "fat, slug-like creature with eyes on extended feelers and a huge ugly mouth",[1] but Lucas stated in an interview that the initial character he had in mind was much furrier and resembled a Wookiee. When filming the scene between Han Solo and Jabba in 1976, Lucas employed Irish actor Declan Mulholland to stand in for Jabba the Hutt, wearing a shaggy brown costume. Lucas planned to replace Mulholland in post-production with a stop-motion creature. The scene was meant to connect Star Wars to Return of the Jedi, to motivate Han Solo to take a risk and carry dangerous passengers, and explain why Han Solo was imprisoned at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.[2] Nevertheless, Lucas decided to leave the scene out of the final film on account of budget, time constraints, and because he felt that it did not enhance the film's plot.[3]
Lucas revisited the scene in the 1997 Special Edition release of A New Hope, restoring the sequence and replacing Mulholland with a CGI version of Jabba the Hutt. He also replaced the English dialogue with Huttese, a fictional language created by sound designer Ben Burtt. Joseph Letteri, the visual effects supervisor for the Special Edition, explained that the ultimate goal of the revised scene was to make it look as if Jabba the Hutt was actually on the set talking to and acting with Harrison Ford, who portrayed Solo, with the crew looking like they had merely photographed it. Letteri stated that the new scene consisted of five shots that took over a year to complete.[4][5] The scene was polished further for the 2004 release on DVD, improving Jabba's appearance with advancements in CGI techniques.[6]
Characterization[edit]
Jabba has been described as an exemplar of lust, greed, and gluttony.[21] The character is known throughout the Star Wars universe as a "vile gangster"[22] who amuses himself by torturing and humiliating his subjects and enemies. He surrounds himself with scantily-clad slave girls of all species, chained to his dais. The Star Wars Databank remarks that residents of his palace are not safe from his desire to dominate and torture:[23] in Return of the Jedi, the Twi'lek slave dancer Oola is fed to Jabba's pet rancor.[24]
Jabba the Hutt's physical appearance reinforces his personality as a criminal deviant. In Return of the Jedi, Han Solo calls Jabba a "slimy piece of worm-ridden filth". Film critic Roger Ebert described him as "a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat."[25] Incidentally, the word for "toad" or "frog" in Slavic languages (zhaba, жаба) sounds very close to "Jabba," while in Arabic حُوت (ḥūt) means "fish / whale". Science fiction writer Jeanne Cavelos wrote that Jabba deserved the "award for most disgusting alien".[26] Science fiction authors Tom and Martha Veitch wrote that Jabba's body is a "miasmic mass", and that "[t]he Hutt's lardaceous body seemed to periodically release a greasy discharge, sending fresh waves of rotten stench" into the air.[27] Jabba's appetite is insatiable, and some authors portray him threatening to eat his subordinates.[28][29] The Hollywood Reporter's Arthur Knight called Jabba a "truly frightening... gross walrus-shaped grotesque."[30]
In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jabba demonstrates genuine affection for his son Rotta and is worried by his kidnapping and angered by his supposed death. In one Star Wars Legends story, Jabba prevents a Chevin named Ephant Mon from freezing to death on an ice planet; afterward, Ephant Mon becomes one of his most loyal servants.[31]
Appearances[edit]
Star Wars films[edit]
Although mentioned in previous films, Jabba was first seen in Return of the Jedi (1983), the third installment of the original film trilogy. The beginning of the film features the attempts of Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker to rescue Han Solo, who had been imprisoned in carbonite in the previous film, The Empire Strikes Back.[32]
The captured Han is delivered to Jabba by bounty hunter Boba Fett and is placed on display in the crime lord's throne room as a decoration. Lando Calrissian, droids C-3PO and R2-D2, Leia, and Chewbacca infiltrate Jabba's palace to save Han. Leia is able to free Han from the carbonite, but she is caught and enslaved by the Hutt. Chained to Jabba, she is forced to wear a metal bikini. Luke arrives to "bargain for Solo's life", but Jabba rejects his offer and attempts to feed him to his pet rancor, an enormous monster. Luke kills the rancor, with him, Han, and Chewbacca condemned to be devoured by the Sarlacc. At the Great Pit of Carkoon, Luke escapes execution with the help of R2-D2 and defeats Jabba's thugs. During the subsequent confusion, Leia chokes Jabba to death with the chain used to tether her to his throne. Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 escape, and Jabba's sail barge explodes over the sarlacc pit in the background.[32]
The second film appearance of Jabba the Hutt was in the Special Edition of Star Wars, which was released in 1997 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its release. In the original version, Han Solo disputes with the alien bounty hunter Greedo (Paul Blake and Maria De Aragon), whom he kills, and Jabba confirms Greedo's last words and demands that Han pay the value of the payload lost by him. Han promises to compensate Jabba as soon as he receives payment for delivering Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO to Alderaan. Jabba agrees, but threatens to place a big price on Solo's head if he fails.
Jabba the Hutt made his third film appearance in the 1999 prequel Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, set 36 years before Return of the Jedi. Jabba gives the order to begin a podrace at Mos Espa on Tatooine. With this done, Jabba falls asleep and misses the race's conclusion.[33][34]
Jabba is referred to in the film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) by a young Han Solo's (Alden Ehrenreich) mentor Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), who invites Han to join him in working for a "big shot gangster" on Tatooine. At the end of the film, Han and Chewbacca decide to go to Tatooine for the job.[35]
The Clone Wars[edit]
Jabba figures into the plot of the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, wherein his son Rotta is captured by Separatists, where it is later revealed that Ziro, Jabba's uncle, took part in the kidnapping as part of his plan to take full control of the Hutt Clan. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein) return him to Jabba in exchange for the safe passage of Republic ships through his territory. This is backed up by Padme exposing Ziro's crimes to Jabba, who vows to ensure that Ziro will be punished severely.[36]
Jabba subsequently appeared in a handful of episodes of The Clone Wars series, starting in the third season. In the episode "Sphere of Influence", wherein Jabba is faced by Chairman Papanoida, whose daughters were kidnapped by Greedo, Jabba allows a sample of Greedo's blood to be taken to prove him the kidnapper.[37][38] In the episode "Evil Plans", Jabba hires the bounty hunter Cad Bane (voiced by Corey Burton) to bring him plans for the Senate building. When Bane returns successful, Jabba and the Hutt Council send Bane to free Ziro from prison.[39][40] Jabba next makes a short appearance in the episode "Hunt for Ziro" in which he is seen laughing at his uncle's death at the hand of Sy Snootles (voiced by Nika Futterman), and pays her for delivering Ziro's holo-diary.[36][41] In the fifth seasons episode "Eminence", Jabba and the Hutt Council are approached by Shadow Collective leaders Darth Maul (voiced by Sam Witwer), Savage Opress (voiced by Clancy Brown), and Pre Vizsla (voiced by Jon Favreau); when disappointed by these, Jabba sends bounty hunters Embo (voiced by Dave Filoni), Dengar (voiced by Simon Pegg), Sugi (voiced by Anna Graves), and Latts Razzi (voiced by Clare Grant) to capture them. After a battle, the Shadow Collective confront Jabba at his palace on Tatooine, where Jabba agrees to an alliance.[42][43]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Jabba the Hutt has received positive reviews from critics. The Telegraph said that Jabba the Hutt is one of the "films' most memorable Star Wars creatures".[60] Blake Hawkins of Comic Book Resources said that Jabba the Hutt is "definitely one of the strangest, grossest things in Star Wars".[61] Jabba the Hutt ranked #5 on the Forbes Fictional 15 list of wealthiest fictional characters in 2008.[62] Business Insider's Travis Clark said, "Like Stormtroopers or Darth Vader, some villains just come to mind when you think of Star Wars. Jabba is another one of them."[63] Rolling Stone said that Jabba is "without a doubt the finest Star Wars portrait of the id" and that you have to "admire his dedication of being his true, absolutely horrendous self".[64]
Jabba the Hutt's CGI appearance in the re-release of A New Hope has often been compared to his puppet in Return of the Jedi, with most commenters preferring the puppet. After the Hutt Twins' first appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, Matt Singer of ScreenCrush wrote that no Hutt species should ever be CGI as it does not "look real".[65] TheWrap's Phil Owen said that the CGI Jabba looked "incredibly horrible".[66] Matt Goldberg of Collider also said, "The CGI Jabba the Hutt looked awful."[67] The Denver Post applauded the special effects team on Return of the Jedi for making Jabba look like a "horrid creature".[68]
Mass media[edit]
The character's name has become an insulting term of disparagement. To say that someone "looks like Jabba the Hutt" is commonly understood as a slur to impugn that person's weight or appearance.[69][70][71] Jabba the Hutt has also come to represent greed and anarchy, especially in the business world.[72] Lindsey Boylan, the first accuser of New York's 56th Governor Andrew Cuomo for sexual harassment, compared Cuomo to Jabba the Hutt.[73] Robin Mukherjee wrote about "inner selves" and described his "inner self" to Jabba the Hutt, stating: "It is pleasure-seeking to the point of gluttonous, has a sense of lust that seems to never be satisfied, and personifies the sin of sloth."[74] The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria stated that a Lego toy set of Jabba's palace was racially biased of two religious structures in Turkey, because Jabba the Hutt is a "racial prejudice and vulgar insinuations against … Orientals and Asians as sneaky and criminal personalities."[75] Carrie Fisher, actress of Princess Leia, said that if Donald Trump were to play a Star Wars character it would be Jabba the Hutt, because of the sexual allegations against him.[76]
In popular culture[edit]
In the 1990s, Jabba the Hutt starred in his own comic book series, Jabba the Hutt: The Art of the Deal, which is a reference to the book of the same title by Donald Trump.[77] The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., included a display on Jabba the Hutt in the temporary exhibition Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, which closed in 1999. Jabba's display was called "The Hero's Return," referencing Luke Skywalker's journey toward becoming a Jedi.[78] In 2012, a reduced scale of Jabba's barge, the Khetanna, was created in Huntington Beach, California, as a parade float for a Star Wars-themed charity relay.[79]
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