Bail Antilles

"Who else has been nominated?''" "''Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare."

- Queen Padmé Amidala and Captain Panaka

Bail Antilles was the senator of Alderaan in the waning years of the Galactic Republic. Antilles was nominated to succeed Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum after the Galactic Senate chose to remove Valorum from the chancellery.

Biography
In the waning decades of the Galactic Republic, Senator Bail Antilles represented the planet Alderaan in the Galactic Senate. During the Invasion of Naboo, Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo unsuccessfully lobbied the Senate to intervene in the crisis to stop the Trade Federation occupation of her homeworld. She called for a Vote of No Confidence in Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, whose chancellery had been hampered by the bureaucracies of the Senate. Along with Ainlee Teem of Malastare and Sheev Palpatine of Naboo, Antilles was nominated to succeed Valorum as Supreme Chancellor. Palpatine ultimately won the election &mdash;an outcome that led to the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Behind the scenes
"Alderaan seconds the motion for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum."

- Adrian Dunbar as "Bail Organa," in a deleted scene from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

The name Bail Antilles dates back to the original drafts of the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The May 1974 rough draft of the film depicted Bail Antilles as a rugged-looking galactic trader and confederate of Aquillian Ranger Clieg Whitsun. A revised treatment in 1975 changed the character to an Aquillian Ranger himself and co-pilot of Luke Starkiller, the character who would ultimately become Luke Skywalker. As the story developed further, Bail Antilles was initially established as the father of Princess Leia from Ogana Major. After Ogana Major was renamed Alderaan, the slightly-tweaked name of Organa was given to Leia and her royal family. The rough draft version of Bail Antilles appears in the 2013 comic book series The Star Wars, an adaptation of George Lucas' draft.

Canonically, Bail Antilles was first mentioned in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Actor Adrian Dunbar filmed scenes for the role, which at that point was referred to as Bail Organa. In the deleted scene, "Organa" seconded Queen Amidala's call for a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum. During production, the character's name was changed to Bail Antilles, and Jimmy Smits was ultimately cast for the part of Bail Organa in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Dunbar was disappointed after hearing from director George Lucas that the scene had been cut, as the actor took the part because Lucas originally intended to include him in the rest of the prequel trilogy.

Despite only being mentioned in the film, Antilles made a few appearances in books and other material in the Expanded Universe, which has since been rebranded as the non-canon Star Wars Legends line. He appeared in two James Luceno novels, 2001's Cloak of Deception and 2008's Darth Plagueis. He was also referred in Luceno's 2005 novel Labyrinth of Evil. Several reference books also made mention of the character to provide information about him, such as The New Essential Chronology.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace