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- "Oh no! The rancor!"
- ―C-3PO
Pateesa[5] (Huttese for "friend") was a male[3] rancor owned by the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure after his majordomo Bib Fortuna gave it to him as a birthday gift.[6] The Hutt kept the pet in his palace on the desert planet Tatooine,[2] where it was cared for by the human keeper Malakili.[4] Pateesa was killed by the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker during a mission to rescue his friend and fellow rebel Han Solo.
Biography
Edit
Jabba often fed his enemies or those who upset him to the rancor Pateesa. When the Twi'lek dancer Oola displeased the Hutt shortly before the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, he dropped her into the pit below his throne room where he kept Pateesa, and the rancor devoured her.[2] Another victim was an unidentified Aqualish who had incurred the wrath of Jabba. Jabba and his entourage would often watch Pateesa devour his victims for entertainment.[7]
Shortly after Oola's death, the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker arrived at the palace with the intent of rescuing his friend Han Solo who Jabba held captive. However, Jabba rejected his demands and threw Skywalker into the pit along with the unlucky Gamorrean guard, Jubnuk. Pateesa quickly ate the guard, but was then killed by Skywalker, who managed to lower a dividing door within the pit down onto the rancor's head. Pateesa's death greatly upset Jabba, who demanded Skywalker and his companions be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon, but died above the pit when the Jedi escaped.[2]
Malakili was devastated by the rancor's death, believing that he had failed him and no longer had purpose in life. The trainer was also bitter towards Skywalker for killing his pet and companion. Malakili found a new purpose in life when he encountered the vigilante lawman and Mayor of Freetown Cobb Vanth, who enlisted his services in looking after the Huttlet Borgo and taming two rontos.[5]
Behind the scenesEdit
- "I like the idea that everyone loves someone. And even the worst, most horrible monster you can imagine was loved by his keeper. And the rancor probably loved his keeper."
- ―George Lucas on Pateesa's relationship with Malakili
Pateesa, then identified simply as Jabba's rancor, first appeared in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi[2] and was later identified in Chuck Wendig's 2016 novel Aftermath: Life Debt.[5]
Originally, Pateesa was intended to be a man in a suit, but the results weren't satisfyingly realistic, so it was filmed in the form of a rod puppet.[8] The rancor's roars were remixed from an audio recording of an aggressive Dachshund.[source?]
An image often mistaken to be Pateesa battling a krayt dragon is actually a joke from the crew of Industrial Light & Magic. They placed a model of one of the dragons from the 1981 film Dragonslayer in the arms of the rancor model and took a picture. The picture was included in the 1997 behind the scenes book Star Wars: Chronicles.[9]
AppearancesEdit
- 5-Minute Star Wars Villain Stories
- Star Wars Battlefront II (Appears as a corpse) (DLC)
- Bounty Hunt
- A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy (Indirect mention only)
- The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
- Star Wars LINE Webtoon
- Star Wars Battlefront (Appears as a corpse) (DLC)
- "You Owe Me a Ride"—From a Certain Point of View (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures – "Jabba the Hutt - Galactic Gangster"
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
- Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
- Return of the Jedi Golden Book
- Rescue from Jabba's Palace
- Aftermath: Life Debt (Mentioned only) (First identified as Pateesa)
- The Legends of Luke Skywalker
- Bloodline (Indirect mention only)
SourcesEdit
- Rancor in the Encyclopedia (link now obsolete; backup link)
- Monsters of The Clone Wars: A Season Two Bestiary on StarWars.com
- Ultimate Star Wars
- 9 Creatures in the Star Wars Universe We'd Like to Keep as Pets on StarWars.com
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: Complete Locations
- Princess Leia: Royal Rebel
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: Alien Archive
- Rancor in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Aftermath: Life Debt
- ↑ Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- ↑ Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures – "Jabba the Hutt - Galactic Gangster"
- ↑ Return of the Jedi: Behind the Scenes on StarWars.com (Slide 7)
- ↑ Star Wars: Chronicles
