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Dyer

This article is about the Imperial officer. You may be looking for the clone trooper.

Dyer

Died	4 ABY, Forest moon of Endor^[1]
Physical description
Species	Human^[1]
Gender	Male^[1]
Hair color	Brown^[1]
Eye color	Brown^[1]
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Rebellion era^[1]
Affiliation	Galactic Empire^[1] Imperial Army^[1] Stormtrooper Corps^[2]

[Source]

"Freeze!"

―Dyer, to Han Solo^[src]

Dyer was a Human male stormtrooper officer who held the rank of colonel in the Imperial Army. Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, who oversaw the construction of the second Death Star, gave Dyer the responsibility of protecting the shield generator bunker on Endor, which generated a shield for the unfinished orbiting Death Star. The bunker was constructed with the guidance of both Dyer and Jerjerrod. In 4 ABY, hoping to destroy the bunker, a group of Rebels infiltrated it and ambushed the Imperial troops stationed there. Dyer then ordered his men to enter the base and capture the intruders. Dyer confronted Rebel General Han Solo, who threw a toolbox filled with explosive charges at the Colonel, causing Dyer to fall to his death over a catwalk railing.

1 Biography
2 Personality and traits
3 Behind the scenes
4 Appearances
5 Sources
6 Notes and references
7 External links
- 7.1 In other languages

BiographyEdit

Dyer, a Human male, was a Force attuned stormtrooper officer, commissioned as a colonel in the Imperial Army.^[2] In 4 ABY, Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, an Imperial militant who oversaw the construction of the second Death Star, gave Dyer and his aide, Lieutenant Grond,^[3] the responsibility of defending the Endor shield generator bunker,^[2] which was located on the moon of Endor. While the bunker protected the orbiting Death Star by supplying a shield for the massive battlestation,^[1] Dyer served alongside various other Imperial officers and stormtroopers who were also assigned to protect the bunker. Jerjerrod worked closely with Dyer and his squad while constructing the base. The Colonel was ordered to have a legion of Emperor Palpatine's best troops in reserve, if the bunker was to be attacked.^[4]

In 4 ABY, when a group of Rebel Alliance members infiltrated the bunker to destroy the shield generator—which would allow the Rebels' orbiting fleet to attack the Death Star itself—Dyer ordered his men to enter the base and stop the intruders.^[1] After the Rebel group ambushed the stationed Imperial officers inside the bunker, Dyer confronted the Rebel General Han Solo, pointing a blaster pistol at him and ordering the Rebel General to freeze. However, Solo threw a toolbox full of explosive charges at Dyer, which caused the Colonel to fall over the railing of a catwalk and into a generator room below.^[1] The impact killed Dyer, and after his death, Lieutenant Renz took over Dyer's post.^[5]

Personality and traitsEdit

Dyer was described as a natural leader, who remained loyal to Jerjerrod.^[6] Showing disciplinary actions, Dyer confronted those who opposed the Galactic Empire.^[2]

Behind the scenesEdit

"I had the opportunity to play a very minor part in the film as an Imperial officer. In the Endor power station, who jumps out from behind a wall, at the power station, and holds a gun on Han Solo then gets hit with a toolbox and then falling into a generator room below. And my big line was 'Freeze!'"

―Ben Burtt discussing his role^[src]

Dyer first appeared as an unnamed Imperial officer in George Lucas' 1983 film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Ben Burtt, the sound designer for the film, was given a small role during production, though his brief cameo was uncredited.^[1] Concept art for Dyer appeared in the The Art of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. His character was unnamed and shown only as an Imperial officer pointing a blaster pistol at Han Solo.^[7] Galaxy Guide 5 mentioned him as the Imperial officer helping Moff Jerjerrod with securing the shield generator bunker on Endor.^[4] His name wasn't established until the release of the 1998 Star Wars Encyclopedia.^[6] The following year, the Star Wars Customizable Card Game set Endor Limited was released, and Dyer's character was further established. His card identified him as "Colonel Dyer,"^[2] and his role as the Imperial officer was expanded with two other cards from the set.^[3]^[5]

While Dyer wasn't featured in either the novelization or junior novelization of Return of the Jedi, his brief one line dialogue was spoken by Renz in the Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi PhotoComic.^[8]

The character of Dyer was not created in the original revised third draft of Return of the Jedi's screenplay and in The Annotated Screenplays. In the script, both Dyer and Renz's lines were merged and the person who shouts "Freeze! You Rebel Scum" is identified simply as "Commander."^[9] Although, in Screenplays, Dyer was identified as "Imperial officer," while Renz was named "Commander."^[10] Dyer appeared briefly in the radio adaptation for Return of the Jedi, and like the film, his character only spoke the word "Freeze!"^[11] In 2004, the documentary Empire of Dreams, which shows the production of the original trilogy, interviewed Burtt about his sound design for the three films, as well as his brief scene in Return of the Jedi.^[12] In the 2004 DVD release of Return of the Jedi, Burtt also commented about his cameo as Dyer in the audio commentary.^[13]

The scream Dyer makes when he is knocked off the catwalk is meant to be an attempt at replicating the Wilhelm scream, which Burtt, in his role as sound designer, has attempted to include in all the films he has worked on.^[13]