Jabba The Hutt

Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character appearing in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. He is depicted as a large, slug-like alien. His appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian", a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat.

Jabba is mentioned in Star Wars (1977) and later in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), where he was referred to as a ruthless gangster who had a bounty on Han Solo, who owed him money for dumping an illegal cargo. When A New Hope was re-released in 1997, Jabba was included in a scene that had been cut out of the original film, further developed by computer-generated imagery. Jabba appeared in the third film, Return of the Jedi (1983), in which he was depicted by means of a complex animatronic puppet. He served as a minor antagonist throughout the initial series, where he was shown abusing his many cohorts, putting a bounty on Solo's head, attempting to kill Luke Skywalker, and enslaving Princess Leia Organa, who eventually kills him. In the prequel film, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Jabba features in a cameo at the start of the Boonta Eve Classic pod race.

Jabba's role in Star Wars is primarily antagonistic. He is about 600 years old, a Hutt crime lord and gangster who employs a retinue of criminals, bounty hunters, smugglers, assassins, and bodyguards to operate his criminal empire. In his palace on the desert planet Tatooine he keeps a host of entertainers at his disposal: slaves, droids, and alien creatures. Jabba has a grim sense of humour, an insatiable appetite, and affinities for gambling, slave girls, and torture.

The character was incorporated into the Star Wars merchandising campaign that corresponded with the theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. Besides the films, Jabba the Hutt is featured in Star Wars literature and is sometimes referenced by his full name, Jabba Desilijic Tiure. Jabba the Hutt's image has since played an influential role in popular culture, particularly in the United States. The name is used as a satirical literary device and a political caricature to underscore negative qualities such as morbid obesity and corruption.