24 Star Wars characters only true fans will remember

15. Malakili

With The Book of Boba Fett’s premiere right around the corner and the recent appearance of a rancor in The Bad Batch, a lot of Star Wars fans have been discussing Jabba the Hutt’s beastmaster Malakili, who had a special relationship with Jabba’s ill-fated rancor Pateesa. Pateesa had been his favorite beast he kept watch over because the rancor had protected his life once upon a time. He even had dreams of escaping from Jabba’s Palace, just him and Pateesa.

Paul Brooke brought Malakili to life in Return of the Jedi, but his heart-wrenching sobs were provided by Ernie Fosselius in post-production, however, neither actor is credited in the film. It may be hard to believe, but his brief cameo was even included in Roger Ebert’s review of the film, noting that his distress at Pateesa’s death added to the film.

Chuck Wendig included Malakili in his Aftermath trilogy. Following the death of Pateesa and Jabba, Malakili’s distress grew even greater, to the point that he considered throwing himself into the Sarlacc pit. Despite being a slave to Jabba the Hutt, Malakili had great respect for him. Later, Malakili was presented with an opportunity to teach a Huttlet by Cobb Vanth.