Neepers Panpick

"Thank you so much, Panpick. I'll find a way to repay you for this, I swear it."
"But you were never here, right?"
"Never. We hardly know each other."

―Neepers Panpick and Lexo Sooger^[1]

Neepers Panpick was an alien private detective who operated in the city of Canto Bight during the Cold War between the First Order and the Resistance. He was friends with the masseur Lexo Sooger, and when Sooger's adopted daughter Lula was kidnapped by the crime lord Sturg Ganna, Panpick gave advice to his friend on how to save her and pointed him toward the Canto Casino Hotel. Sooger later sent a copy of a datapad that held details of all Ganna's illegal dealings to Panpick as leverage against Ganna in order to prevent the crime lord from killing him and Lula. In the year 34 ABY, the detective was present in the Canto Casino when the Resistance agents Finn and Rose Tico arrived searching for the Master Codebreaker.

Biography[]

The Canto Bight gumshoe[]

"Last week, some rich heiress lost her pet—an overgrown rat with three tails, all dyed different colors. I found the poor thing hiding out near the countess's estate."

―Panpick describes a recent case^[1]

Neepers Panpick was an alien male who worked as a private detective during the Cold War between the First Order and the Resistance. He was based out of an office in the high-rent part of Old City, a district of the city of Canto Bight on the planet Cantonica. Although he was not wealthy, Panpick would occasionally visit the expensive Zord's Spa and Bathhouse, where he made friends with the Dor Namethian masseur Lexo Sooger, whom he would always request.^[1]

One client who hired Panpick was a rich heiress who had lost her pet in Canto Bight. Panpick was able to located the pet hiding near the estate of Contessa Alissyndrex delga Cantonica Provincion, and upon returning it to her, the heiress was so pleased she doubled the detective's reward for the job. Panpick then used the money to pay for a ceiling fan for his office and a new suit.^[1]

A friend in need[]

"Once I know where to start, I have a…a trail of sorts that I can follow. I just need that start. I guess it's hard to expl—"
"The casino hotel."

―Sooger asks Panpick for help^[1]

Neepers Panpick aided his friend Lexo Sooger.

A week after Panpick helped the heiress, Sooger's adopted daughter Lula was kidnapped by the crime lord Sturg Ganna and so the masseur traveled to Panpick's office to ask for advice. He found Panpick sat at his desk while a live feed of the entrance to the Canto Casino played to the detective's left, which Sooger assumed was surveillance from the Canto Bight Police Department that Panpick had made a deal in order to receive.^[1]

Once Sooger had explained what had happened, he forbid Panpick to directly get involved due to the danger of opposing Ganna, instead asking that the detective give him a lead to start his mission to save Lula. Panpick directed him to the entrance of the Canto Casino Hotel, where he knew that Ganna owned a suite. The detective then shared his deductions about where the suite would most likely be and advice on how Sooger should proceed. He also gifted the masseur three cantocoins to help with funding the rescue and then after the pair discussed Panpick's new ceiling fan, Sooger left.^[1]

Leverage holder[]

"Send it to Neepers Panpick, Private Investigator, along with a message that if we don't check in with him tomorrow, he should release the information citywide."

―Sooger tells Lula to send the information on Ganna to Panpick^[1]

Panpick Casino — Panpick spent time at Canto Casino.

Sooger managed to successfully locate his daughter in Ganna's suite and discovered a datapad that detailed many of Ganna's illegal dealings. The masseur had Lula send it to Panpick as leverage against the crime lord, with orders to release it to the public if the pair failed to check in with him the following day. This allowed them to escape Ganna's suite alive.^[1]

In around the year 34 ABY,^[3] Panpick was speaking to an elderly human woman at a table in the Canto Casino when the Resistance agents Finn, Rose Tico and BB-8 arrived in the casino in search of the Master Codebreaker.^[2] Panpick later encountered BB-8 while the droid was searching the casino, and stared down at the droid.^[4]

Personality and traits[]

"Lula is missing."
"Oh, sands, I'm so sorry to hear. Sit down, sit down. Tell me all about it."

―Panpick shows genuine concern for his friend's plight^[1]

No one knew more about the secrets of Canto Bight's elite than Neepers Panpick.

Panpick was a short bipedal alien with a round, bald head and huge black eyes that made him seem perpetually surprised. He had pink skin and brown whiskers.^[1] His voice was loud^[5] high and thin, similar in sound to a squeaking bird.^[1] No one knew more than Panpick about the activities of Canto Bight's various power brokers and the secrets they kept.^[6]

He was able to immediately deduce something was wrong when Sooger visited him, as the detective's friends only dropped by his office when they had a problem. He was genuinely concerned for the masseur and his daughter, but was initially relieved when Sooger forbid him to become directly involved in opposing Ganna.^[1]

The detective's relief was quickly replaced by guilt, but then suspicion as to why Sooger had come at all if he wouldn't allow Panpick to help. As soon as Sooger asked for a lead, Panpick immediately provided him one and tried to offer as much advice and information as possible to his friend. He also donated money to Sooger, claiming it would held assuage his guilty conscience.^[1]

Equipment[]

"Paid for that fan and a new suit."

―Panpick reveals what he did with the rich heiress's paycheck^[1]

Despite not being as wealthy as many other residents of Canto Bight, Panpick needed to dress to impress his clients and so wore a black velvet suit, a long, quilted vest and shoes in the perfect state of shine. He used a datapad while in his office.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Concept art of Neepers Panpick was titled King 56.

Neepers Panpick was created for the film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi and was portrayed by Kiran Shah.^[2] Prior to the film's release on December 15, 2017,^[7] the character was revealed on July 15 in a behind the scenes video released on the official Star Wars YouTube channel.^[8] He then appeared and was first named in the short story "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing," which was written by Rae Carson and released as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi^[1] on December 5.^[9] Concept art of Panpick for his appearance in the film was drawn by creature concept designer Ivan Manzella and titled "King 56".^[10]