- "He's a master codebreaker, an ace pilot, a poet with a blaster."
- ―Maz Kanata to Finn, Rose, and Poe Dameron
The Master Codebreaker was a human male codebreaker who had an association with the Pirate Queen Maz Kanata and a love for gambling.
Biography[]
Tomorrow never dies[]
- "Perfecting the arts of infiltration, espionage, and high-stakes bluffing requires that I rub extremities with the most valuable players in the galaxy."
- ―Master Codebreaker, in the Smuggler's Guide
Sometime after Supreme Leader Snoke's assumption of leadership within the First Order, Master Codebreaker stole the Smuggler's Guide from the Kanjiklub chief in the middle of negotiations for the domination of Rim territories, and wondered if Maz Kanata intended the book for him as another one of their tests of intellect. Before trying to uncover the enigma, Codebreaker visited the betting parlors of Hosnian Cardota, where he played with the arms dealers, steadily decreasing their money supply to their offense. Eventually, one of them tried to poison him, but the toxicity was nullified by hullepi-culture tongue sheath. He claimed to exit the parlor from the 350th-floor balcony using a para-wing glider. Master Codebreaker then returned to the enigma of the logbook and wrote an entry detailing this exploit in the Smuggler's Guide.[2]
Top-flight arms dealers and syndicates[]
- "Furthermore, my experience in the Hosnian system made me realize that you neglected to credit the galaxy's true powers—perhaps by design?"
- ―Master Codebreaker, in the Smuggler's Guide
Following his experience in the Hosnian system, Codebreaker noticed that Maz's list of powerful crime syndicates was decades out of date and that she neglected to mention the galaxy's true powers. He then wrote in the Smuggler's Guide new list of powerful syndicates: Black Sun lost their place in the list; the Crymorah Syndicate was replaced by Droid Gotra; Crimson Dawn was replaced by Son-tuul Pride and the Guavian Death Gang; the Pykes and Hutts were replaced by Kanjiklub and the Red Key Raiders. He also added corporate entities that Maz neglected to mention: Sienar Fleet Systems, BlasTech, Kuat Drive Yards, Mining Guild, and Corporate Sector Authority.[2]
Cipher machine[]
- "I am reminded that very little ever really changes."
- ―Master Codebreaker, in the Smuggler's Guide
Taking a break from ciphers to earn credits, though he also said he wouldn't be against Chandrilan cocktail, Master Codebreaker paid a visit to the Brentaal Trading Houses on Brentaal IV, one of the few worlds that still allow Codebreaker to play the games of odds which he recorded in the logbook.[2]
After his sojourn on Brentaal and parts spinward, he continued trying to uncover the secrets of the logbook, and suggested that it could be bio-hexacrypted and that he only needed to determine the biological sample Maz selected for encryption to crack this. He was also reminded that regardless of which faction holds power, Galactic Republic or Galactic Empire, New Republic or First Order, business interests retain their grip on manufacturing. Eventually, Master Codebreaker managed to decode the meaning of the logbook, concluding that it is an elaborate cipher that Codebreaker claimed means "Happy Fete Week," wondering if it was an elaborate way by Maz to wish him New Year Fete. He recorded his attempts to decode the Smuggler's Guide in it.[2]
Later, Master Codebreaker tried to send the Smuggler's Guide back on course to Takodana as a thank you to Maz, so he decided to place it in the Millennium Falcon. He managed to locate the[2] YT-1300f light freighter,[3] and sneak the logbook on board, thinking Han Solo wouldn't notice it. The book then ended up being discovered by Gannis Ducain.[2]
Rolling on Canto Bight[]
The Master Codebreaker was sought by Rose Tico and Finn on a mission to stop the First Order's flagship, the Supremacy, from tracking the Resistance through hyperspace. They were sent to him by Kanata because they were desperate for someone of his talents. When they finally spotted him in the Canto Casino in Canto Bight, they attempted to run up to him, but were apprehended by the Canto Bight Police Department for illegally parking their starship on the beach.[1] The Master Codebreaker's companion—a woman going by the name "Lovey" who hoped to take his title[4]—asked him about the disturbance, and he responded that he thought it was of little consequence.[1]
Personality and traits[]
- "You'll find him with a red plom bloom on his lapel, rolling at a high stakes table in the casino on Canto Bight."
- ―Maz Kanata
Master Codebreaker was only known by his title, and kept his original identity a secret. However, he once posted all of his personal information to a public node, encrypted by bio-hexacrypt, and anybody who uncovered the information was welcome to take his mantle. However, nobody was known to have retrieved the information.[4]
Matching his levels of secrecy, the Codebreaker's companion kept her real name hidden from him, and he only referred to her as "Lovey". At the Canto Casino, Master Codebreaker was only allowed to play dice games, and he was forbidden from electronic entertainment.[4] He regularly wore a brooch in the shape of a red flower, a plom bloom, pinned on his lapel, which Maz told Finn and Rose about as an identifying mark. On the day he was sought out by the pair, he was sporting a thin black mustache.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Master Codebreaker is a character created by Rian Johnson for the 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi. He was portrayed by Justin Theroux, who was cast one day before filming.[5]
In earlier versions of the film's script, Finn and Rose met the Master Codebreaker inside a cabaret room of the Canto Casino. The Codebreaker enlists their help to steal jewels from an insectoid warlord known as the Butcher of Brix. The three climb onto the casino's rooftop intending to break into the warlord's room, but are spotted by a surveillance droid. The Codebreaker is abducted using a "taser beam" from a huge prison ship, and Finn and Rose are arrested by the Canto Bight Police Department.[5] Jason Fry, the author of the film's novelization, originally wanted (along with Johnson) to include this alternate meeting between the Codebreaker, Finn and Rose to shake up the fans' expectations, but ultimately it was decided that presenting an alternate version of a major scene would shake up expectations too much, so the idea was dropped.[6]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition audiobook
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel audiobook
- The Last Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD (Mentioned only)
- The Last Jedi: Rose and Finn's Secret Mission
- The Last Jedi Adaptation 2
- The Last Jedi Adaptation 3
- Star Wars Forces of Destiny — "Shuttle Shock" (Mentioned only)
Non-canon appearances[]
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Heroes of the Galaxy (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Ultimate Sticker Collection
- The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- The Last Jedi: Rose Tico: Resistance Fighter
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy
- Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – The Official Collector's Edition (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Timelines (Indirect mention only)
- Lovey in the Databank (backup link)
- Master Codebreaker in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- ↑ Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition author on creating new scenes, reimagining Luke Skywalker's life, and working with Rian Johnson by Sheperd, Jack on The Independent (March 11, 2018) (archived from the original on August 19, 2020)