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The title of this article is conjectural.

Although this article is based on official information from the Star Wars Legends continuity, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

A pasty-skinned male Twi'lek was part of the Ryloth Senatorial Delegation led by Senator Orn Free Taa in the last years of Finis Valorum's Chancellorship.[1] In 32 BBY,[2] that male Twi'lek was still serving under Taa when the remote world of Naboo was blockaded by the droid army of the Trade Federation, an event that led to the removal of Valorum and his being replaced by Palpatine of Naboo.[3] A white-skinned Twi'lek with red eyes, he wore a satiny brown robe and a dark, patterned vest with puffed sleeves when he sat at the Senate.[1]

Behind the scenes[]

"My part in the scene was a cut away from Queen Amidala when she proposed the vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum. It was originally my character that called for the vote with me screaming "Vote Now!" at the rest of the Senate."
―Alan Ruscoe[4]

A pasty-skinned senatorial aide played by Alan Ruscoe was going to appear in Orn Free Taa's pod during the Senate scene of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. That scene, however, was left on the cutting room's floor.[5] Ruscoe's part was a cut away from Queen Padmé Amidala when she proposed the vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, with his character screaming "Vote Now!" at the rest of the assembly. According to the actor, the character he portrayed was originally intended to be Bib Fortuna, the Twi'lek majordomo from the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.[4]

Ruscoe's claim is backed up by an early piece of concept art drawn by Terryl Whitlatch in 1997, which showed a senator named Bib Fortuna alongside Orn Free Taa and Passel Argente. However, the official Databank on StarWars.com offered a different explanation. According to the Databank, the character played by Ruscoe was only nicknamed "Bib Fortuna" by the production because of his resemblance with the majordomo from Return of the Jedi, but was never meant to be the same character.[5] Two pictures of Ruscoe as a Twi'lek appeared in Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide, an interactive CD-ROM that was released the same year as the movie, in which he was referred to as "a Twi'lek senator."[3]

Wood Fortuna closeup

Matthew Wood as Bib Fortuna

While the pallid Twi'lek aide did not appear on screen, the real Fortuna did make a cameo appearance elsewhere in The Phantom Menace, portayed by Supervising Sound Editor Matthew Wood with a costume and make-up different from those worn by Ruscoe.[3] While the sixth issue of Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection correctly identified Wood as the actor who portrayed Fortuna in The Phantom Menace, it also used a picture of the pasty-skinned aide.[6] One of the cards featuring Fortuna in the digital card game Star Wars: Force Collection also made the same mistake.[7]

The "Twi'lek" entry of the StarWars.com Encyclopedia, the former official Star Wars information database, also used a picture of Alan Ruscoe in Twi'lek costume composited with pictures of Ayy Vida and Aayla Secura.[8]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

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