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Versé, formerly known as Versaat,[4] was a human[3] female who was the niece of Mariek Panaka, a captain in the Royal Naboo Security Forces and the wife of Captain Quarsh Panaka. Versé was recommended by Panaka to join Senator Padmé Amidala's new cohort of Handmaidens. She was a top-notch slicer and used her talents in Amidala's service in more ways than one.[4]
In 22 BBY,[2] Versé and her fellow handmaiden Cordé were killed when the ship they had traveled to the planet Coruscant on was destroyed by the bounty hunter Zam Wesell in an attempt to kill Amidala and prevent her from voting against the Military Creation Act.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
Versé was portrayed by Avril Wynne in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, the second installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.[5] As Wynne remained uncredited until 2019 and her face was mostly obscured throughout her sole scene in Attack of the Clones, author E. K. Johnston opted to substitute a new person as inspiration for the character's physical appearance when writing Queen's Shadow. Johnston sought to create a more racially diverse cast in Queen's Shadow than found in the films and based Versé's appearance on a tour guide she had at Rotorua, New Zealand. Johnston envisioned the character as stockier in build than her fellow Naboo Royal Handmaidens and portrayed by an actress of Māori descent, much like Queen Apailana's actress, Keisha Castle-Hughes.[6]
Johnston also toyed with the possibility of making Versé a transgender woman in Queen's Shadow, but decided against including it openly in the novel because at the time of writing it she did not feel she could do it justice.[7] The author later indicated that she personally viewed Versé as trans,[8] in her heart, but noted that aspect of her character never made it in the finished work.[9]
In an interview, Johnston stated that she explicitly chose to include a scene—ultimately a conversation between Amidala and Rush Clovis—due to Queen's Shadow not having any trans characters. She indicated that she had originally started working on Versé being trans in the novel, saying that since the actor playing the character in Attack of the Clones was not clearly visible, she had more room to work with while drafting a story. However, Johnston noted that she quickly realized she did not want to pursue the concept for two reasons, one being that she wanted the first time she wrote a trans character to mean something the first time she wrote one for Star Wars, instead of it being a brief mention. Secondly, the author felt strongly that she could not make Versé trans because she canonically dies, as it would be disappointing to readers if such a character was introduced and then swiftly killed off. Instead, Versé was given a backstory as a skilled slicer, though her origins still reflected a similar character arc to Nomi Marks from the Netflix series Sense8, who is a transgender character.[10]
Appearances[]
- Queen's Shadow (and audiobook) (First identified as Versaat)
- Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (First appearance)
- Attack of the Clones Read-Along Storybook and CD (Indirect mention only)
- Queen's Hope (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 55 Starship Fact File: J-Type Diplomatic Barge (First identified as Versé)- A Guide to the Royal Handmaidens of Naboo on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Celebrating Padmé and Her Handmaidens in Queen's Shadow on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑
Naboo royal handmaidens in the Encyclopedia (original site is defunct)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, including the death of Versé on Coruscant, to 22 BBY.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Queen's Shadow
- ↑
A Guide to the Royal Handmaidens of Naboo on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Words Words Words — The Queen's Shadow Character Reference Guide on Tumblr: "The only handmaiden I had a bit of wiggle room with was Versé. Her actress is uncredited and we only see her very briefly on the ramp before the explosion. Even the RHS struggled to get a good view of her face, and trust me when I tell you that they are very good at that sort of thing. For this reason, I decided to sub in a new person, and based her on the tour guide I had at Rotorua, NZ. Versé is stockier than the others (because she never has to double for Padmé), and she's not white. I hesitate to say she's Maori, because SPACE, but she'd definitely be played by a Maori actress if the book was made into a movie." (backup link) (screenshot)
- ↑
E. K. Johnston (@ek_johnston) on Twitter (post): "I'm going to be really honest with you: I chickened out of making Versé openly trans bc I wasn't good enough to do her justice. It means nothing, but I am a better writer now, and next time I'll suck less. But yeah, Padmé would be down." (backup link)
- ↑ E. K. Johnston (@ek_johnston) on Twitter (post on January 6, 2020): "Versé is trans (I cannot stress enough how little credit I deserve for that as it isn't actually "in canon"), and Tonra is bi/pan, same as Sabé." (original link is obsolete)
- ↑ E. K. Johnston (@ek_johnston) on Twitter (post on January 6, 2020): "Sabé, Yané, and Saché on the page, Versé and Tonra in my heart." (original link is obsolete)
- ↑ 15 Johnston Interview Trim on the official Rebel Legion YouTube channel (May 10, 2022) (backup link)
