Abednedo (species)

Abednedo were a sentient species native to the planet of the same name in the Colonies region of the Galaxy. Abednedo were humanoid and mammalian, and their face featured dangling mouth tendrils and two fleshy nostrils. Abednedos were brown, cream or tan in color.

They were a common sight in the galaxy, and were found in multiple, contrasting professions. Notable Abednedo included Resistance pilot Ello Asty, Rebel Alliance tech specialist Antrot and senator Brasmon Kee of Abednedo.

Biology and Appearance
Abednedos were a humanoid sentient species that were native to a planet also called Abednedo, located in the Colonies region of the galaxy. A mammalian species, They could be cream, tan or brown in color, and those who were brown often had skin that was mottled with gray. Abednedo had fleshy nose slits and black eyes, which belonged to sockets that protuded from the side of the individuals elongated head. They also possessed dangling mouth tendrils that were remnants of sensory organs which helped their ancestors to navigate underground in the dark. They could grow hair above their eyes and on the side of their heads, which could be white, blond or dark in color. Abednedo had arms that terminated in five digits, and legs that ended in three. At least one Abednedo was significantly larger than all other known Abednedo.

Society and Culture
A gregarious and clever species, Abednedo's curiosity and acceptance of other species made them a common sight in the galaxy, as well as their skill with languages. Many Abednedos were able to understand and speak Basic. Their own language, Abednedish, had its own writing system.

Abednedos were strong supporters of the New Republic.

History
Abednedos evolved from an underground precursor species. they carved out a series of interconnected tunnel-dens, or warrens, to create massive cathedrals, which housed tens of thousands of family units.

At some point, the precursor species evolved into the Abednedo, and they began to start living on the surface of their planet. There, they built multiple cities, spanning the surface of Abednedo. The cities were endless sources of amusement and interest for Abednedos, but in contrast, could strike outsiders as chaotic, due to them including many ornamental spires, flagpoles and riotously colored carvings.

Shortly after the Battle of Endor, the Empire occupied Abednedo, and the planet was subject to a climate disruption array.

Abednedo in the galaxy
A common sight in the galaxy, Abednedos were found in multiple professions, including freight crewers, soldiers, bureaucrats and slicers.

Some Abednedo served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Shortly before the battle of Endor, Antrot was a male Abednedo tech specialist who was part of Operation Yellow Moon, a mission led by Leia Organa that would see the placement of hyper-transceivers in the Corva sector in an attempt to distract the Galactic Empire from the Alliance Fleet gathering over Sullust. This was done in order to launch its assault on the second Death Star at Endor. During the operation, Antrot died in a suicide attack that heavily damaged the Imperial ship the Shieldmaiden. Another Abednedo was known to have served in the Alliance. The individual was present at a briefing on the status of stopping Operation: Cinder, an Imperial contingency plan devised posthumously by Emperor Sheev Palpatine. Awls Ooteek was another rebellion member.

Similarly, at least three Abednedo joined the Resistance. The most notable of these was Ello Asty, who was a member of the New Republic's precision air team prior to joining the Resistance. During the assault on Starkiller Base, Asty was shot down and died. Other Abednedos who joined the resistance were technician Oddy Muva and pilot C'ai Threnalli.

Abednedo occasionally became politicians. In the year 5 ABY, Bushar was an Abednedo senator who served in the Galactic senate of the New Republic. 29 years later, Brasmon Kee represented Abednedo in the New Republic. He was killed by Starkiller Base's superweapon in the Hosnian Cataclysm.

The species could also become thugs and criminals. Arno Xan was a thief who built a collection of stolen imperial armors, which he sometimes wore. Toomata Wree, who was also known as Tooms, was a male Abednedo who was employmed by Surat Nuat on the planet Akiva. Shortly after the Battle of Endor, Wree aided his fellow henchmen Makarial Gravin and Herf, and attempted to retrieve goods stolen by spare parts shop owner Temmin Wexley from Surat's transport ship. However, they were rendered unconcious by Wexley's reprogrammed B1 battle droid, Mister Bones.

Dazur Dar was a member of the Data Seekers, a group of espionage experts who sought to unravel mysteries about the Anoat sector's ancient history. A female Abednedo, Sowa Chuan was employed by Agent Terex of the First Order Security Bureau as a servant. Durm Bormo was a male Abednedo scout. He worked with a team of adventurers on Jakku to discover the secrets of a crashed New Republic corvette. Roodown, nicknamed "Crusher" Roodown, was a scavenger on the planet Jakku. His employer, the junk dealer Unkar Plutt, suspected he was selling salvage to a different buyer, and so Unkar's thugs cut off his arms. He was significantly larger than regular Abednedos. Ilco Munica was a Church of the Force member who lived in the village of Tuanul, also on Jakku. Munica was killed by the First Order, after they attacked Tuanul, looking for former explorer Lor San Tekka, and his map to Luke Skywalker.

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 performer and his head's inside."

- Creature Effects Supervisor Neal Scanlan describes Ello Asty's animatronic mask in the "Crafting Creatures" featurette

The Abednedo species were created by creature concept designer Jake Lunt Davies for the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, and first appeared in the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens prelude series. Five Abednedos appeared in the film, being Ilco Munica, "Crusher" Roodown, Ello Asty, Brasmon Kee and C'ai Threnalli. All characters were played by actors in costumes and animatronic masks, apart from Roodown, who was not animatronic. Ello Asty was performed by Paul Kasey and voiced by Matthew Wood. Asty's costume was also used for C'ai Threnalli. Crusher Roodown was portrayed by Ian Whyte. Ilco Munica was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.

During the production of The Force Awakens, Ello Asty was named as a reference to the album Hello Nasty by the hip hop group Beastie Boys. The director of the film, J.J. Abrams, is a fan of the band, and said that the name was a suggestion from the creature department. The named was approved by him, due to the Beastie Boys reference, having previously featured their song "Sabotage" in Star Trek and "Body Movin'" in Star Trek Into Darkness. In addition, it served as a phonetic reference to his television show Lost.

Taking note of this, Lucasfilm Ltd. Story Group member and author of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, Pablo Hidalgo, named all other Abednedo that appear in The Visual Dictionary as references to the Beastie Boys. Roodown is likely a reference to the song Root down, Munica's to the album Ill Communication, and Brasmon Kee to the song Brass Monkey.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens