Star Wars Characters Who Disappeared Without Explanation
When you're creating a universe as extensive as the Star Wars franchise, some characters are inevitably going to fall through the cracks. We're talking about those obscure characters who show up once or twice and then completely disappear. And then, there are those minor characters who get developed a little bit, then seemingly vanish, leaving viewers wondering what happened. That's to be expected, of course. The Star Wars universe now covers movies, TV shows, and a ginormous collection of books, comics, and video games. With so many awesome characters who deserve screen time, some other characters are just going to get pushed to the side.
Still, that leaves fans with unanswered questions. Whatever became of these characters? Well, we wondered the exact same thing, which brings us to this article. Even though Star Wars did a fantastic job of balancing screen time for a massive cast, there are a handful of heroes and villains who vanish throughout the franchise's five-decade run. From scumbag bounty hunters to Rebel fighters, here are some Star Wars characters who disappeared without explanation.
(While multiple Star Wars sources talk about these characters, we're primarily focusing on them disappearing from the movies and TV shows.)
Mon Mothma disappeared after defeating the Death Star
What happened to this lady? Mon Mothma first appears in Return of the Jedi as a leader in the Rebel Alliance. She seems super important. The Rebels are gearing up to assault the second Death Star on the moon of Endor, and in a room filled with Rebel troops, Mon Mothma briefs everyone on how they'll go about their attack strike. As she explains, the Death Star is relatively undefended since the Empire's fleet is scattered across the galaxy. On top of that, the Emperor himself is overseeing the Death Star's completion. In other words, it's a really good time to attack. It's super unfortunate that they were wrong about most of that intel, but hey, they were really smart with what information they had. And after that little speech, Mon Mothma gives that chilling and mysterious line, "Many Bothans died to bring us this information."
After that, we don't really see Mon Mothma. She's not in the new trilogy, despite surviving the Battle of Endor. She does appear in some prequel content, like Rogue One and a few episodes of the animated series Clone Wars. But that's it. We're not sure how such a powerful and important figure in the Rebel Alliance could just disappear like that. Surely, Mon Mothma could've helped the Resistance fight against the First Order, but we never hear about her further Star Wars adventures.
Did Elan Sleazebaggano rethink his life?
If you don't remember this Star Wars character, Elan Sleazebaggano is a drug dealer who briefly shows up on the screen in Attack of the Clones. During this scene, Anakin and Obi-Wan chase a bounty hunter into a nightclub, and it's here that Sleazebaggano approaches Obi-Wan and offers to sell him death sticks. We're not sure what death sticks are, but we are pretty sure they're not for kids.
Anyway, Obi-Wan uses a Jedi mind trick on Sleazebaggano. Obi-Wan says, "You don't want to sell me death sticks." Sleazebaggano immediately agrees. Then, good guy Obi-Wan adds, "You want to go home and rethink your life." Right away, Sleazebaggano repeats these words and walks out of the nightclub to go home and rethink his life. And that's the last time we see the sci-fi drug dealer. If you're anything like us, you're probably asking yourself whether or not this dude did reconsider his life. Did he decide to go down a different career path? Did he admit himself to rehab? We suppose we'll never know because this guy never shows up again.
Ric Olie is obviously gone
Ric Olie, a ship pilot for Naboo, was nicknamed "Captain Obvious" by Star Wars fans for saying super obvious things all the time. This is the guy in Phantom Menace who says, "Power's back!" to his teammates when the ship's power turns on. Or when they're flying over a small city, Olie says, "There's a settlement ... a spaceport, looks like." Our personal favorite is when Olie and his fellow fighters are assaulting a Trade Federation ship, and he shouts, "Enemy fighters straight ahead!" You know, just in case any of them didn't see the billion enemy ships swarming them. So yeah, Captain Obvious — it's an older nickname, but it checks out. Once in a while, Olie did say something fans actually didn't know, like when he mentions that the entire planet of Coruscant is one big city.
Anyway, Ric Olie is a part of the small team that's trying to fly Padme Amidala to the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. Later in the film, Olie helps defend Naboo from a droid invasion. He has a pretty gentle and mild spirit about him, even taking the time to explain the ship's controls to a young and curious Anakin Skywalker. But after The Phantom Menace, we never hear from Captain Obvious again. As far as the movies reveal, we don't know what happens to him.
Boss Nass has vanished from the Star Wars series
Boss Rugor Nass is first introduced in The Phantom Menace when Jar Jar Binks brought Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to Gungan City. Despite talking funny and spitting saliva everywhere, Boss Nass is an important character in the first prequel movie. The Trade Federation is blockading the planet of Naboo and preparing for an invasion. Initially, Nass is reluctant to help his fellow Naboo inhabitants, as the Gungans live underwater and don't get along with the land-dwellers. But in the end, Nass rallies the Gungans to the surface to ward off the droid army, thus saving the day.
But despite playing such an important role in the first prequel, we don't see Boss Nass very much after that. This is probably because the Gungans were such unpopular characters that the creators gave them significantly less screen time in the following two films. Still, we do see Nass attend Padme's funeral in Revenge of the Sith. Beyond that, Nass disappears into thin air. Did he retire from politics and live out the rest of his days on Naboo? Did he assist the Rebels when the Empire took over? Viewers are just left to guess.
Whatever happened to Yaddle?
Not everyone loves the prequels, but we can all admit they did a great job of showing the world of the Jedi Knights. We got to see the Jedi Temple for the first time, how they trained Padawans, and the workings of the Jedi Council, which was composed of the wisest and strongest Jedi. One of these warriors that we don't get to hear much about is Yaddle, who sits on the Jedi Council. She's the same species as Yoda, and she was present during a handful of council sessions in The Phantom Menace. She's there when Qui-Gon Jinn delivers the news that the Sith have returned, and she's also present during Anakin's test when the council decides whether or not they're going to train him.
Honestly, Yaddle is one of several Jedi in the prequels that we wish we knew more about, but she basically just amounted to a background character. As far as we know, Yaddle didn't die in the Battle of Geonosis or during Order 66, when the Emperor executed the Jedi throughout the galaxy. Maybe she was just as wise and powerful as Yoda, but alas, we don't get to hear her story in the films or TV shows. Given that her species lives for a very long time, it's not outrageous to theorize that she got to see the end of the First Order and the Sith Eternal, but sadly, we're not told what became of Yaddle.
Finis Valorum fell from grace and out of the Star Wars franchise
How in the Galactic Republic do we not hear how this guy's story ends? If you need your memory refreshed, Finis Valorum is the supreme freaking chancellor of the entire galaxy in The Phantom Menace. He holds this esteemed position until Padme Amidala requests the Senate kick him out of office. This makes room for Senator Sheev Palpatine to become the new supreme chancellor. And we all know how that story ends. Of course, if you watch the moments leading up to Valorum's impeachment, you'll see that Palpatine orchestrated the whole thing.
In Episode I, we learn that Valorum is really struggling to get a hold on corruption and bureaucracy within the Senate. As Palpatine summarizes to Padme, "If I may say so, your majesty, the chancellor has little real power. ... The bureaucrats are in charge now." Padme requests Valorum to do something about the invasion of her home planet Naboo, but his efforts are ineffective, and afterward, she gets him kicked out of office. You would think such a powerful and important figure would show up later in the series, but aside from brief appearances in the animated TV show, we don't see Finis Valorum after his fall from grace.
Mas Amedda stood next to Palpatine ... before vanishing
Mas Amedda is one of those background characters that we don't get to hear a lot from, but we wish we knew more about him. Mas Amedda is the big, blue guy with huge horns coming out of his head. We first see him in The Phantom Menace as a politician serving in high-ranking government rules. When Padme Amidala calls on the Senate to expel Finis Valorum from the office of supreme chancellor, the Senate erupts in chatter, at which point Mas Amedda demands order in the Senate. We often see this guy next to Sheev Palpatine. In fact, Mas Amedda is standing next to Palpatine at the end of Attack of the Clones when they're overlooking the army of the Republic, and he's also there when Palpatine makes himself Emperor.
The animated Clone Wars series gives more information on this sneaky politican. As it turns out, our blue friend was aware of Palpatine's identity as Darth Sidious from the get-go, and he was in league with the Emperor. Palpatine, of course, needed a lot of help to rise to power, and one of his resourceful friends was Mas Amedda. However, after the rise of the Empire, we don't really hear a lot about him. He isn't standing next to Palpatine anymore, that's for sure. In fact, he doesn't appear in the original or new trilogy at all.
Lama Su built an entire army and then disappeared
It's hard to forget the Kaminoans. Despite Star Wars fans encountering dozens of different alien species, the Kaminoans have a particularly memorable appearance and personality. These are the long-necked, big-eyed scientists who run the factory that produces the clone army. Obi-Wan Kenobi visits their planet of Kamino in Attack of the Clones while tracking a bounty hunter, and when Obi-Wan arrives, he meets their leader, Lama Su, who explains all kinds of shocking things to our hero. Actually, Obi-Wan is surprised that the planet even exists at all considering it isn't in the Jedi archives. And that's when Lama Su, who's overseeing the creation of the clone army, explains that many years ago, a Jedi Knight ordered the creation of the clones for the Republic.
At first, it's unclear if Lama Su is in league with the Sith or is unwittingly being used by them. But as the animated Clone Wars series shows us, Lama Su is indeed working together with Count Dooku. In one episode, Lama Su is aware that the clones contain Order 66, and he must take steps to prevent the Jedi from discovering this secret. But from Revenge of the Sith and on, we don't see Lama Su again. Given the Kaminoans' ability to manufacture an entire army, one might think they would come back into the story at some point, but it never happens.
What happened to Bren Derlin after The Empire Strikes Back?
Played by Pixar mascot and Cheers star John Ratzenberger, Bren Derlin is an officer in the Rebel Alliance during The Empire Strikes Back. Early in the film, Luke Skywalker fails to return to the base at Hoth before nightfall. Han Solo ventures out to find him, which is a very dangerous mission as the blizzard conditions could kill anyone. Back at the base, everyone is waiting nervously. Bren Derlin, who's in charge of operations and security, tells Leia, "Your highness, there's nothing more we can do tonight. The shield doors must be closed." For the protection of the bass, Major Derlin orders the closing of the doors, and needless to say, he doesn't want to do it, but he has to take responsibility for everyone's safety inside. Fortunately, Han and Luke eventually make it back anyway.
We next see Bren Derlin just before the Battle of Hoth. The Empire discovers the secret base of the Rebel Alliance and begins their assault. After Leia explains the plan to all of the fighters, Bren Derlin commands everyone to get to their stations. He seems like the kind of guy people listen to and respect. Derlin survives the battle of Hoth, but we don't see him afterward. As a major, Derlin should've shown up at various battles, but he simply vanishes from the story, like a snowflake in a Hoth blizzard.
Is Dexter Jettster still at that cafe?
If you ever see a character with a rhyming first and last name, chances are they're a throwaway character. In other words, they're just going to show up in one scene, and then you'll never see them again. And that's exactly what happens with Dexter Jettster. Let's refresh our memories, shall we? In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan needs help identifying a poison dart. To do this, he visits an old friend, even though we've never heard of this guy until this very moment. In a diner on Coruscant, Obi-Wan meets with a four-armed alien chef named Dexter Jettster
Apparently, these two guys go way back because Obi-Wan calls this guy "Dex," and Dex calls Obi-Wan "old buddy." They hug each other, as though they've been friends since childhood. We have no idea how these two characters ever crossed paths or how they bonded so closely, but none of that matters. Dexter Jettster can absolutely identify this poison dart because he's a convenient character for the sake of plot progression. After he tells Obi-Wan his best bet is to go to Kamino, we never hear from Dexter Jettster ever again. Wasn't this person Obi-Wan's best friend or something? You would think Obi-Wan would contact this guy when the Sith took over to see if he was okay or at least to say goodbye before going into hiding. As far as we know, Dex is still flipping burgers on Coruscant.
Bossk was a cool Star Wars character who never got his moment
Remember that reptile-looking bounty hunter that Darth Vader hires in The Empire Strikes Back? Yeah, that guy completely vanishes. His name is Bossk, and he's among a group of bounty hunters commissioned by the Empire to track down the Millennium Falcon. During this point in the original trilogy, Darth Vader is getting really frustrated with hunting down the Rebels, and the resources he has available to him just aren't cutting it. So he decides to mix things up a little bit by hiring some outside help. Enter specialized bounty hunters who have more experience than regular rank-and-file Imperial workers.
Among this group is a character we know much better — Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who tracks Han Solo to Cloud City. In the end, Boba Fett gets the reward while the rest of the bounty hunters go home empty-handed, including Bossk. But that's about all we see with this guy. He sticks out in the memory of Star Wars fans just because he has such a unique appearance. Sure, in the animated Clone Wars series, he shows up on a few occasions, but the last time we see Bossk, he's in the background of Jabba's ship in Return of the Jedi. And even though Jabba's ship blows up, we don't see Bossk caught in the explosion. It would've been cool if he'd had a minor role in the new trilogy, but we guess Disney wanted to use different characters.
Lobot is keeping things real low-key
You probably don't remember this guy by his name, but his appearance will instantly jog your memory. In The Empire Strikes Back, the good guys eventually reach Cloud City, run by Lando Calrissian. Lando has a bald assistant named Lobot, a cyborg who's equipped with two huge earpieces that connect him with the Cloud City computer system. With this headset, Lobot receives instructions and notifications from all over Lando's sky-high fiefdom. Then, the no-nonsense liaison instructs his underlings as needed to carry out various missions and to repel intrusions.
Unfortunately, Lobot works alongside Lando Calrissian to betray Han Solo and his friends to Darth Vader. However, they do regret that decision and later help the Rebels, arguing that they had no choice at the time because the Empire can be, well, pretty persuasive. But after our heroes escape Cloud City, we never hear about Lobot again. He seems like a pretty cool character that may have been a powerful asset in the fight against the Empire. Maybe he could've helped out during the Battle of Endor or something, but instead, Lobot decides to keep a low profile.