Who the heck is Hondo Ohnaka?

Image: StarWars.com

“You know what I always say: Speak softly and drive a big tank.”

Who is Hondo Ohnaka you ask? Hondo, the bold? Hondo, the deathless? Hondo, captain of legions? Hondo, who has seen Empires rise and fall, who was best friends with Kenobi himself?!

Hondo is possibly the shadiest old pirate in the entire galaxy… and it looks like he will be playing a major role in the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction. He’s even getting one of the most advanced audio-animatronics Disney has ever designed.

Hondo Ohnaka might be the luckiest man (well, Weequay) in the entire Star Wars canon. He’s almost like the Chuck Norris or Bill Brasky of Star Wars lore—the stories surrounding him are just bonkers. He once captured Count Dooku, Obi-Wan, and Anakin Skywalker and attempted to ransom them at the same time. He straight up stole Slave I from Boba Fett. His girlfriend was none other than the most ruthless bounty huntress in the galaxy, Aurra Sing. He even survived face-to-face encounters with General Grievous, Darth Maul, and Savage Opress (Maul’s beefy Dathomirian brother). If left up to Hondo, he would probably take credit for the liberation of the entire planet of Lothal. He’s seen things.

Hondo debuted as a fan-favorite in the Star Wars: Clone Wars series as a smooth-talking, peasant-oppressing pirate overlord. One particularly famous episode adapted the story of Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai, where a group of farmers tormented by roving bandits decide to hire a band of samurai to rescue them—only in the Clone Wars version, the samurai were replaced by bounty hunters and Jedi while the role of the bandits was filled by Hondo and his pirates. Over the course of the Clone Wars, he served as a frequent foil and occasional-unlikely ally to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ashoka Tano (Anakin’s Jedi apprentice).

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Hondo fell on hard times after the rise of the Empire. His pirate band fell apart, and his disappeared into obscurity. He reappeared during the Galactic Civil War where he served as a pain in the side to rebel freedom fighter, Ezra Bridger, and the crew of the Ghost in Star Wars: Rebels. Hondo ultimately aided them in several scrapes, including the aforementioned Battle of Lothal.

We all assumed that, certainly, by the rise of the First Order, Hondo should most definitely have been dead—but lo and behold, the old rascal survived yet again. The novel, Pirates Price, gives us some clues on just how he turned up on Batuu with a new smuggling—er, import and export—company called Ohnaka Shipping Solutions. Oh, and his newest business partner just happens to be Chewbacca.

You can guess where this is going. The Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction surrounds the story of you being Hondo’s latest hires—and he thinks you’re just the right kind of scum to crew the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. There better not be a scratch on her—not a scratch! If you do too good or too bad on your run, you may draw the attention of bounty hunters and other figures of ill-repute in the outpost (thanks to MagicBand technology).

Who is Dok-Ondar, and why is his merchandise important?

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Dok-Ondar is an even newer addition to the Star Wars canon. He was first mentioned in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and his inclusion in the story was specifically done with Galaxy’s Edge in mind. He is a venerable Ithorian who keeps “the most notorious” antiquities shop in the galaxy. His shop in the Black Spire Outpost is home to the rarest artifacts and curiosities available on the fringe market. His shop will be one of the major merchandise locations in Galaxy’s Edge, and the cast members serving as Ondar’s assistants will interact with him (in animatronic form) whenever guest purchases are made.

The thing fans are most excited about in Dok-Ondar’s shop is his collection of Jedi and Sith relics. We already know that it will be possible to purchase Jedi and Sith holocrons. For the unfamiliar, holocrons were crucial stores of knowledge in the Jedi and Sith orders. More than just computers, they contained all the knowledge and essence of a Jedi Master or Sith Lord. A Jedi and a Sith holocron featured prominently in Star Wars: Rebels in the ongoing saga surrounding Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus (a survivor of Order 66), and Darth Maul. They are extremely significant artifacts that are difficult to find and hold extraordinary power.

Image: Disney

Visitors will also be able to purchase kyber crystals (the things that give lightsabers their color and power), Jedi and Sith tomes, statues of famous Force users, and “legacy” lightsabers. The statues are especially interesting, since rumors have long been circulating that Disney may eventually tell the stories of the Old Republic—the forerunners of the Jedi and Sith, including Darth Bane (founder of the Sith Rule of Two) and Exar Kun (a powerful Sith leader) who have already been hinted at in the new canon. We still have to wait and see if these rumors come to fruition, but fans of the Knights of the Old Republic game series and the Old Republic comics and video games will be very excited about Dok-Ondar’s ever changing inventory of antiquities.