Nute Gunray/Legends

"The plan has gone as you promised, my lord."

- Nute Gunray, to Darth Sidious

Nute Gunray was a Neimoidian from the planet Neimoidia. Following a stint as Minister for the Trade Federation, he rose in power after the Stark Hyperspace War in 44 BBY, eventually becoming Viceroy of the Trade Federation. In 32 BBY, Gunray participated in the occupation of Naboo to settle a trade dispute that began in the Galactic Senate. With the help of Darth Sidious, Gunray invaded the planet to end the trade dispute and secured all facilities in the capital of Theed. He attempted to force the incumbent Queen of Naboo Padmé Amidala to sign a treaty to make his invasion legal, however she denied and the Siege of Naboo continued. The Trade Federation soon surrendered to Naboo forces following the Second Battle of Theed. Gunray was taken to the Galactic Republic capital on Coruscant to be charged with acts of war.

During the ten years following the Invasion of Naboo, Gunray confronted former Jedi Master, Count Dooku, who began a separatist movement that opposed the Republic. Dooku, who secretly was Sidious's Sith apprentice under the name of Darth Tyranus, helped him through his four trials in the Supreme Court, and soon after the trials, Gunray retained his position as Viceroy. The Trade Federation, under Gunray's command, joined Dooku's separatist movement and he was named Leader of the Separatist Council. Gunray, along with Dooku and his master, Sidious, formed the Confederacy of Independent Systems which opposed the Galactic Republic in a three-year war known as the Clone Wars.

During the Clone Wars, Gunray approached Onaconda Farr, the senator of Rodia, with an offer he couldn't refuse: join the Seperatists, and receive the aid and protection for Rodia that the Republic had failed to provide. However, Gunray's motivations for the generous offer were far from friendly; in return, he demanded that Farr lure Senator Amidala to the planet and hand her over to him. Gunray's plan ultimately failed and he was captured by the Republic and given to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano. Dooku sent his Dark Jedi apprentice, Asajj Ventress, to rescue the Viceroy from the Republic forces. Stationed inside the Republic Star Destroyer, Senate Commando Faro Argyus released the Viceroy and met up with Ventress in Argyus's cruiser. Argyus was betrayed and murdered by Ventress, however, in a fit of rage over his arrogance.

In 19 BBY, the Separatist Council was moved to the volcanic planet of Mustafar, after Confederate General Grievous became leader of the CIS after the death of Dooku. Gunray along with the other Separatist leaders were betrayed by Darth Sidious after he sent his new apprentice, Darth Vader, to Mustafar to end the war. Gunray was the last council member to be killed by Vader's lightsaber, which had ultimately brought an end to the Clone Wars.

Early political career (44–33 BBY)
"As I told you once before, Viceroy, you serve yourself best when you serve me."

- Darth Sidious

Gunray joined the Trade Federation as a junior trade officer, and soon enough, saw an opportunity for promotion. The Pulsar Supertanker corporation was being reviewed by the Federation for expulsion, and the verdict happened to depend on the testimonial of Gunray. Gunray supported the expulsion, citing "malicious disregard of profit" and "charitable donations lacking discernible reward". The resulting expulsion of Pulsar voided its CEO's position in the Trade Federation Directorate, and was in need of replacement. Gunray quickly filled the role.

By 44 BBY, Gunray served as the Trade Federation's Senator in the Galactic Senate. He implored the Senate to intervene when the Stark Commercial Combine began attacking Federation transports carrying precious bacta. Gunray demanded the Federation be allowed to increase its Droid Army, though he secretly met with Senator Ranulph Tarkin to bring a more decisive end to the Combine. Gunray was pressured into giving Tarkin the name of the planet on which a conference was to be held between Iaco Stark and Republic representatives.

Gunray himself joined the negotiating team on Troiken, though Stark, aware of Tarkin's plan to attack his forces, sabotaged the Senator's fleet. Aggressive negotiations broke out on Troiken, during which Gunray commanded his battle droid bodyguards to open fire&mdash;without specifying the enemy. Jedi Master Tyvokka was gunned down by Gunray's droids, though the cowardly Neimoidian demanded the surviving Jedi help him to his ship.

Unfortunately for Nute, his transport was destroyed, forcing him to tag along with the Jedi as they battled Stark's forces in what became known as the Stark Hyperspace War. Nute Gunray was eventually escorted back to Coruscant in the company of Senator Finis Valorum prior to Stark's defeat. Despite this encounter, Gunray would afterwards deny he had ever seen Jedi in action.

For his dubious role in the conflict, Nute Gunray became Viceroy of the Trade Federation, though he was still restrained by the Trade Federation Directorate. Gunray was contacted by the mysterious Darth Sidious, who promised to make Gunray the sole leader of the Federation, and was also able to grant his forces a much larger and improved battle droid army. These new battle droids figured in Sidious's plan to rid Gunray of the Directorate: during a summit on Eriadu, the droids unexpectedly opened fire on the Directorate, killing all but the absent Nute and the new Federation Senator, Lott Dod. Under the guidance of the enigmatic Darth Sidious, Gunray filled the remaining positions with his associates, Daultay Dofine, Rune Haako, and Hath Monchar, making the Trade Federation a Neimoidian monopoly.

Shortly before the Blockade of Naboo, Hath Monchar&mdash;deeply involved in Gunray and Palpatine's plot&mdash;went missing. Fearing the Deputy Viceroy would spill their secrets, the two engaged both a bounty hunter and Palpatine's apprentice, Darth Maul. Although Monchar was able to spread some information, the young Sith was able to track down and kill the Neimoidian and his contacts, neutralizing the threat.

Blockade of Naboo (32 BBY)
"We would never do anything without the approval of the Senate. You assume too much."

- Nute Gunray, to Queen Amidala, before invading Naboo

Under Sidious's command, Gunray blockaded Naboo from trade routes, with the official reason being that the Trade Federation was disgruntled by Outer Rim trade route taxation. Chancellor Valorum dispatched two ambassadors to talk with Gunray aboard the Saak'ak, and he was shocked to discover that the ambassadors were in fact Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He swiftly contacted Sidious, at which point Daultay Dofine expressed his concerns about the plan. Sidious angrily ordered that Dofine be kept out of his sight. Dofine hurried away, frightened by the Sith Lord.

Sidious told Gunray to kill the Jedi, and Gunray destroyed their ship and released toxic gas into the conference chamber. However, the two Jedi managed to escape, but Gunray decided to keep this secret from Sidious for the time being, as he was concerned over the legality of actually invading Naboo. Sidious assured the Viceroy he would "make it legal". Gunray was smug when talking with Queen Amidala, telling her he knew nothing of any ambassadors. Amidala told Gunray he had gone too far before ending the transmission. Gunray ordered OOM-9 to find the Jedi, but the droids were unable to. The invasion was well-organized, and the planet fully conquered within the day. Viceroy Gunray and Rune Haako entered Theed with their troops and Gunray received word from OOM-9 that they had captured Queen Amidala. Gunray proudly proclaimed victory and marched into the palace.

The outraged Governor Sio Bibble demanded how Gunray planned to explain this invasion to the Galactic Senate, to which Gunray replied he and the Queen would a sign a treaty to legitimize the occupation. The Queen quickly told the Viceroy she would not cooperate, but Gunray was not impressed, informing her that the suffering of her people would persuade her to see his point of view. The Queen was marched off to a detention camp, but on her way there was rescued by Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, who managed to get her off the planet and past the blockade. Gunray was now forced to inform Sidious, who was not pleased with this latest turn of events. Sidious revealed his apprentice to the shocked Gunray and Haako, and told him that Darth Maul would find the Queen. Gunray quickly secured the planet, with only the "primitive" Gungans eluding him. He set himself up in the Queen's palace in Theed, taunting Governor Bibble from his mechno-chair. He soon grew tired of the Governor's protests however, and informed him he would die much sooner than his people. After unsuccessfully pleading for intervention by the Old Republic Senate, Amidala called for the expulsion of Chancellor Valorum, who was unable to out-talk Senator Lott Dod. A new chancery election was called for, and Naboo's own Senator Palpatine was ultimately elected the new Chancellor.

Despite the ouster of Valorum, the Galactic Senate still would not take action, and Amidala returned home, vowing to liberate her planet or die trying. Gunray reported his success to Sidious, who was pleased, he told the Viceroy that his apprentice Darth Maul was coming to join him. As Maul arrived, Gunray detected the Queen's ship and tracked it to the swamps on Naboo. He reported this to Sidious, who was wary of the Queen's more aggressive motives. Gunray next detected the assembled army of Gungans in the swamps and dispatched OOM-9 and a large majority of his army to crush them, dismissing them as primitives.

Gunray remained in the throne room with Rune Haako and Darth Maul. Maul left to deal with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn as Gunray became concerned the battle was taking place far too close to him. The Queen was able to work her way into the palace, before being captured and marched before the Viceroy. Gunray ordered her to sign the treaty, but the Queen's disguised handmaiden appeared, confusing him. He ordered his droids after Sabé, the Queen's decoy, believing her to be the real Queen. This was Gunray's fatal mistake. The real Queen used the distraction to take out Gunray's guards and held him and Haako at gunpoint. Gunray was not worried at first, because he thought his droids would break through to rescue him. But his hopes of rescue were shattered when a young boy named Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship, deactivating his army. With his forces destroyed and Darth Maul killed, Gunray and Haako were captured and sent back to Coruscant to stand trial for their crimes.

Controversy
Gunray was alleged to be having an affair with Lora Besh, who, in 22 BBY, just before the start of the Clone Wars, released an unauthorized biography of Gunray, entitled Gunray On Top. It spent at least several months as a top-ten bestseller, and its sales may have increased due to its subject's involvement in the war.

Clone Wars (22–19 BBY)
"What about the Senator from Naboo? Is she dead yet? I am not signing your treaty until I have her head on my desk.''" "''I am a man of my word, Viceroy."

- Nute Gunray and Count Dooku, on Geonosis

After four trials in the Republic Supreme Court, Gunray still maintained control over the Trade Federation, although several of his associates were killed in the Battle of Naboo. Gunray never publicly revealed the involvement of Darth Sidious in the blockade of Naboo, partly out of fear, but also because Gunray felt that Sidious had not abandoned him completely, and was working to ensure nothing ever came of the many trials that Gunray and his chief officer's went through. During his final trial by the Republic, Viceroy Gunray was approached by Count Dooku, and, in a moment of weakness, he revealed the existence of Sidious to the former Jedi&mdash;who promised to bring the matter before the Jedi Council.

Gunray decided to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which wished to secede from the Galactic Republic, although he had one demand: that Senator Amidala be killed as revenge for his capture ten years prior. The leader of the Confederacy, Count Dooku, had promised him this, so he hired a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to kill the Senator with his bounty hunter companion, Zam Wesell. Much to Gunray's dismay, they both failed when Jango would not let Zam give up her client and shot her with a saberdart.

Of course, this proved to be worthwhile when Obi-Wan Kenobi tracked Jango to the droid factory on Geonosis and forced Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker to rescue him, getting themselves captured in the process. Gunray saw his chance for revenge and was delighted when the former Queen was sentenced to death and he would be there to witness it. To his fury, she escaped being killed by the nexu unleashed on her, and left the planet with the aid of over 200 Jedi and the Republic's new clone army. Gunray was barely able to flee for his own life in the melee between battle droids, Geonosians, Jedi Knights, and clone troopers. The Clone Wars had begun, and Gunray suddenly found himself preparing his droids for war. Gunray was a businessperson, not a commander, but there was no way he could break his ties with the CIS without losing his life. He soon ended up providing the bulk of CIS funding.

Soon after the war had begun, Count Dooku revealed himself as a Sith, with his master as none other than Darth Sidious. Nute Gunray was frustrated that he had once again found himself in service to forces over which he had no control whatsoever. Gunray also found himself at odds with the Confederacy's new Droid leader, General Grievous. When he was first introduced to the General on Geonosis, he thought of Grievous as nothing more than droid&mdash;greatly angering Grievous, who might have killed Gunray had Count Dooku not intervened. Gunray's attitude quickly changed when he witnessed the General's capabilities, and Grievous's actions in the catacombs on Geonosis helped Gunray and the other Separatist leaders escape the planet alive. However, the two would share a mutual enmity of one another until throughout the rest of the war.

Due to the stress of war, the wrinkles on Gunray's face became more severe than most Neimoidians.

Rodia and capture
"I am a man of great wealth, and I can be very generous to my allies.''" "That is a very tempting offer, Viceroy. In the meantime, I have a gift for you''."

- Commander Gree presents handcuffs to Viceroy Gunray

A short time after the Battle of Geonosis, the swamp planet of Rodia was attacked by pirates. Desperate, Rodia's Senator, Onaconda Farr, looked to Nute Gunray for help. He agreed to supply Rodia's citizens with the needed food, shelter and other everyday materials in return for one small favor: to kidnap fellow Senator Padmé Amidala, with whom the Viceroy still held a grudge. Farr was a close family friend of Naboo's former Queen, and called her to Rodia under the pretext of aiding the Rodian people.

Amidala came with her personal protocol droid, C-3PO and incumbent Gungan representative from Naboo, Jar Jar Binks. Eventually, she and C-3PO were captured and imprisoned by Gunray and his battle droids, but Jar Jar interrupted his plans by disguising himself in Anakin Skywalker's Jedi cloak and running into the battle, along with the help of a Kwazel Maw he had nicknamed Boogie. Gunray attempted to flee the ensuing chaos, but found his battle droids being destroyed one by one. Eventually, Farr turned against the Viceroy, and Gunray found himself held at gunpoint by both Amidala and Farr. Soon, clone troopers arrived on Rodia and arrested the Viceroy.

Gunray was whisked upon the Tranquility, a Jedi Cruiser with Luminara Unduli, Ahsoka Tano, Commander Gree, Captain Faro Argyus, and the latter's squadron of Senate Commandos. He was to be taken to Coruscant, where he would stand trial for the fifth time in his life. Gunray attempted to hold out under Jedi interrogation, but after being threatened by Tano, he reconsidered and offered to negotiate a bargain. He soon withdrew the offer when Separatist droids boarded the ship, and Asajj Ventress arrived in the detention area and set him free&mdash;once free, Gunray locked Tano in his cell and gloated over her predicament. His victory, however, was short-lived when Ventress was forced to flee after reinforcements arrived led by Unduli, and Gunray found himself back inside his own cell.

After diverting Tano, and making sure she joined Unduli in battling Ventress, Captain Argyus revealed to Gree he was with the Separatists and killed the clones and commandos&mdash;letting Gunray out of his cell once again. As Argyus faced off with Gree, Nute saw that Gree had the upper hand, sneaked up behind the clone and knocked him unconscious with a blaster rifle. Gunray, Argyus, and Ventress managed to escape the crippled vessel, but when Argyus stated he had done the most work in saving Gunray, intending to claim credit for the rescue to Count Dooku, Ventress promptly murdered the boastful Commando for the insult, after which Gunray told Ventress he had always had a 'good feeling' about her. Gunray later assisted Count Dooku in a plot to lure Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his former Padawan, Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb, to the droid leader General Grievous's castle on the moon of Vassek; they arrived under the pretense that Gunray was there, but instead engaged the cyborg general himself.

Assisting Cad Bane
"You had better live through this! I want my money, Bane!''" "''You can count on it."

- Nute Gunray and Cad Bane

Darth Sidious later ordered Gunray to dispatch reinforcements to assist bounty hunter Cad Bane at Devaron. Bane had stolen a Jedi Holocron which contained vital information which Sidious desired. Gunray sent a Trade Federation escort of Munificent-class frigates to safeguard Bane's escape from Devaron, but was furious when he discovered that Bane had lost four of his ships in battle with the Republic. Though Bane assured Gunray that Sidious would compensate him for the loss of his fleet, Gunray demanded that Bane transmit him the data from the Holocron, but Bane had been unable to open it thus far.

Much to Gunray's shock, Bane let Jedi board his ship, and then successfully forced Jedi Anakin Skywalker to open the Holocron in exchange for his Padawan's life. Bane reported his success to Gunray, and the Viceroy offered to send him a rescue ship in exchange for the data from the Holocron&mdash;but Bane remained far too cagey to accept Gunray's offer, and made his own escape as the last ship in Gunray's borrowed fleet was destroyed.

End of the War (19 BBY)
In 19 BBY, near the end of the Clone Wars, Gunray attempted to convince the Wookiee royal families of Kashyyyk to join the Confederacy. The royal families, acting through a council dominated by King Grakchawwaa, were on the verge of agreeing to join the Confederacy out of self preservation&mdash;but General Grievous, having grown impatient, ordered Gunray to deploy droids to "persuade" the Wookiees to join the Separatists, Gunray did not agree with this move, but deployed the droids anyway. Unfortunately, this resulted in the death of Grakchawwaa's son, Prince Rikummee. In anger, Grakchawwaa allied himself with the Republic, forcing the Separatists to launch a massive invasion of Kashyyyk in the closing days of the war. As the Separatists were being driven from the core, Gunray returned to his personal redoubt on the Neimoidian purse world of Cato Neimoidia, in an attempt to recover his many possessions and treasures before escaping to the Outer Rim. He was quickly being advanced upon by clones and Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Though the Republic forces managed to penetrate the fort, Gunray was able to narrowly escape to a Lucrehulk-class battleship above the planet with only his most treasured possessions. In his haste to leave the planet, Gunray forgot to take his mechno-chair, which he used to communicate with Darth Sidious. The chair fell into the hands of the Republic, and provided them with a valuable clue in the hunt for Sidious. Gunray attempted to conceal his mistake, but he was found out by General Grievous, who was furious that the Republic had eavesdropped on one of his transmissions to the mechno-chair, and thwarted his plan to make the planet Belderone the new home of the Separatist council.

Gunray and the Separatist Council were later relocated to the outer rim world of Utapau, where Gunray and the others watched Grievous's attack on Coruscant via the holonet, for the first time, Gunray began to believe that he had underestimated the Cyborg General, and joined the rest of the council in celebration.

Gunray's celebration was short-lived, as news soon reached the Council that Count Dooku had been killed and the Separatist forces defeated. Gunray was furious, and openly challenged Grievous before the council, noting the General's failure at Coruscant, the escape of Chancellor Palpatine and the death of Count Dooku, but he was dismissed by the General.

Death
"The war is over. Lord Sidious promised us peace! We only want&mdash;"

- Nute Gunray's last words

Shortly after, he and the rest of the Separatist Council were moved to Mustafar by General Grievous at Darth Sidious's command, and Grievous himself was killed a short time later. As the head of the Council, Nute Gunray now found himself the leader of the remaining Confederacy forces. He and the Council were contacted once more by Darth Sidious, who told the Viceroy he had done well, and promised that his new apprentice, Darth Vader, would arrive on Mustafar to "take care" of him.

When Vader arrived, Gunray welcomed him, but Vader mercilessly cut down all of the council members, saving Gunray for last. Nute Gunray begged before Vader, pleading desperately and trying to tell Vader that all the Confederacy wanted was peace, but he was cut down by the Dark Lord. Afterwards, the Confederacy's droid armies were deactivated and the Clone Wars came to an official close. His body was found shortly thereafter by salvage crews who investigated the mining facility after its destruction.

He was succeeded as Viceroy of the Trade Federation by fellow Neimoidian Sentepeth Findos, who soon reluctantly handed over the Federation's assets to the new Galactic Empire.

Personality and traits
"I never risk my own skin if I don't have to."

- Nute Gunray, to Ahsoka Tano Gunray was pessimistic, intolerant, highly concerned for his own welfare, and often trying to shift blame onto others. He was openly fearful of Sidious and the Sith in general. Despite this, he almost always played into their hands. He had no qualms about exploiting innocent people for the love of money&mdash;rather, he encouraged it. He grew increasingly impatient over the years, often sacrificing tact for speed. His personality grated against General Grievous, who, unlike Gunray, was a vicious, strategically-minded brave general with a sense of authority. Gunray, in turn, despised Grievous, and believed the General to be unstable and arrogant. Gunray was skilled in the political arena, often discouraging an opponent with a series of baseless, condescending assurances. These skills carried over to his role as Federation Viceroy, where he was constantly in the position of having to pacify an employee, client or opponent. Gunray was also a highly successful businessman, his talents in this field catching the attention of Darth Sidious.

Although often perceived as a coward, Gunray was willing to get his own hands dirty if he was threatened, and delighted in exacting revenge upon those he felt had wronged him in some way; this was especially true in the case of his unhealthy obsession with Padmé Amidala.

Behind the scenes
Nute Gunray was played by Silas Carson, who also played Ki-Adi-Mundi, Neimoidian Senator Lott Dod, and Republic Lieutenant Williams in all three episodes of the prequel trilogy. He was played by voice-actor Phil Proctor in the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, by Tom Kenny in the Clone Wars TV series, by David W. Collins in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game, and by Scott Cleverdon in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game.

Nute Gunray's name was inspired by the name of American politician Newt Gingrich, and his last name is a reversion of the syllables in "Ray-gun", a pejorative nickname for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. A scene cut from Attack of the Clones shows Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala put on trial by the Geonosians. Nute Gunray watches from the side and, when the trial goes on too long, he shouts to Poggle the Lesser: "Get on with it, carry out the sentence. I want to see her suffer!". Poggle the Lesser quickly wraps up the trial and orders his guards to take Anakin and Padmé to the execution arena.

A scene in the script for Revenge of the Sith, which did not make it into the film but was probably filmed, featured Nute Gunray and Rune Haako hiding under a table as Darth Vader slaughtered the Separatist Council. Rune Haako panicked and tried to escape, but was quickly killed by Vader (seen in the film), but Nute stayed hidden. As Vader killed the others, Nute quickly got out from under the table and activated the control panel for the doors to open. As the others council members were all killed, droidekas entered and opened fire on Vader. Gunray watched as the smoke cleared and Vader was gone. Vader then dropped down from the roof and destroyed the droids, jumping over to Gunray, cutting off his head. This explains why Nute is so surprised when Vader jumps at him&mdash;he thought he had been killed off by the droids.

Various adaptations of The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith had minor differences. In the The Phantom Menace video game, Gunray can be killed while playing as Queen Amidala in her final level (this will lead to the next phase of the level regardless if the final droids he summons are desposed of, this also does not affect the final outcome of the game). In the Revenge of the Sith video game, Gunray escaped Vader in the Separatist control center on Mustafar and attempted to flee in his ship, which was destroyed by the vengeful former Jedi and then plunged into the lava river beneath. In the Revenge of the Sith novelization, Vader responded to Gunray's remark of the promise of peace by saying that Sidious's transmission had been garbled, and that the Sith had actually said they would be "left in pieces" (though Gunray's body was relatively intact when compared to most of the other Separatist leaders). In the Revenge of the Sith comic adaptation, Gunray appears in his Attack of the Clones costume on Utapau, unlike in the film.

Gunray's Revenge of the Sith head piece is the only one without three points.