Willrow Hood

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"Attention. This is Lando Calrissian. Attention. The Empire has taken control of the city, I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive."

―Lando Calrissian, warning the residents of Cloud City^[src]

Willrow Hood was a human male who was a resident of Cloud City during the reign of the Galactic Empire. In 3 ABY, after Imperial forces took control of the city, Hood participated in the city's evacuation.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Evacuating the Harbinger[edit | edit source]

Willrow Hood^[2] was a human male who was present aboard the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Harbinger when it was hijacked by the Rebel Alliance^[3] at some point between 0 and 1 ABY.^[4] For fear that the overloaded reactor might explode, the admiral in command of the Harbinger ordered the passengers and crew to abandon ship before the Rebels set foot aboard it. Along with stormtroopers and technicians, Hood rushed to a hangar for evacuation, a camtono under the arm.^[3]

On Cloud City[edit | edit source]

In 3 ABY,^[5] Hood was on Cloud City, in the atmosphere of Bespin, when the Galactic Empire took up occupation of it. As Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian informed the platform's citizens of the takeover, causing many to attempt to flee, Hood ran through the city's corridors, once again holding a camtono, and passed by Calrissian and his Rebel allies Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 as they made their own escape.^[1]

The Anoat Paradise[edit | edit source]

During the Imperial blockade of the Anoat sector^[6] in 4 ABY,^[5] however, Hood was still on Cloud City. Months into the blockade, he was occasionally seen at the Paradise Atrium, an upper-class lounge owned by Voras the Hutt, leader of the criminal Ivax Syndicate, still cradling a camtono in his arms.^[6]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

Willrow Hood first appeared as an extra in the film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back,^[1] released on May 21, 1980.^[7] The character was initially identified by the Legends Star Wars Customizable Card Game^[8] released in 1997, with his name being brought into canon by the Star Wars: Card Trader digital app.^[2] Based on the ice-cream-maker-like prop Hood carries in the film, he is often known to fans as "Ice Cream Guy," "Ice Cream Maker Guy," or "Ice Cream Man."^[9]^[10]^[11] A tradition was established at Star Wars celebration called "The Running of the Hoods" in which fans dress up in orange jumpsuits similar to Hood's, put on fake mustaches, and run around the convention with ice cream makers. This has given the character somewhat of a hero status among fans.^[12]

During production of The Mandalorian TV series, Jon Favreau shared photos on his Instagram account, one of which featured a container similar to the one carried by Hood in The Empire Strikes Back.^[13] The container was later named as a "camtono" in the first episode of the season, "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian,"^[14] and has made numerous appearances in the show since.^[15]^[16]

Hood was set to appear in the second issue of Star Wars: Shadow of Vader, a five-part comic book miniseries that was to be published by Marvel Comics starting November 2018,^[17] but the series was ultimately cancelled.^[18]