Ello Asty

"Direct hit!"'' ''"But no damage."

- Bastian and Asty

Ello Asty was a talented but reckless male Abednedo T-70 X-wing fighter pilot for the Resistance. Asty flew during the Battle of Starkiller Base but was shot down trying to destroy the weapon.

First Order-Resistance conflict
"I'm hit!"

- Asty's final words before his X-wing's destruction

Ello Asty was an extremely skilled, though occasionally reckless, Abednedo Resistance T-70 X-wing fighter pilot approximately thirty years following the Battle of Endor. The male pilot was known for his superb abilities behind the stick&mdash;and for his trouble remembering that a squadron relies on teamwork. He flew with Cobalt Squadron during the First Order–Resistance conflict. Asty's helmet had "born to ill" written on the side of it in Aurebesh.

Battle of Starkiller Base
After the destruction of the Hosnian system, Asty joined in the briefing about the First Order's Starkiller Base with the other pilots and General Leia Organa's handpicked staff. During the battle against the superweapon, Asty flew with Blue Squadron. He joined in the final run against the superweapon's thermal oscillator led by Black Leader Poe Dameron. Asty's craft was subsequently shot down during the run by ground fire. Although he was killed, the Starkiller Base weapon was destroyed and it was a victory for the Resistance.

Behind the scenes
"This character here is an animatronic character, so he can blink, his eyes can move, he can sniff his nose. Obviously it is worn by a preformer and his heads inside."

- Neal Scanlan describes Atsy's anamatronic mask in the "Creating Creatures" featurette

Ello Asty appears in the 2015 Star Wars film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The character was preformed physically by Paul Kasey and voiced by veteran Star Wars voice actor Matthew Wood. The character's name is a reference to the album Hello Nasty by the hip hop group Beastie Boys, and the inscription on Asty's helmet, "Born to Ill", references their debut album Licensed to Ill. J.J. Abrams said the name was a suggestion from the creature department, which he approved for both the Beastie Boys reference (he had featured their songs "Sabotage" in Star Trek and "Body Movin'" in Star Trek Into Darkness), and the fact it served as a phonetic reference to his show Lost.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens