Ziro Desilijic Tiure

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Ziro Desilijic Tiure was a Hutt crime lord and one of Jabba Desilijic Tiure's uncles. He was a brother of Zorba the Hutt. After he helped Count Dooku in a Separatist plot to kidnap his own nephew and son of Jabba, Rotta, he was arrested and taken to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. He was later rescued by the bounty hunter Cad Bane and his team.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Behind the scenes 3 Appearances 4 Sources 5 Notes and references

Biography

Starting out as a loan shark on Sleheyron, Ziro moved to Coruscant to pursue a bigger career. He did, however, adopt the tattoos, headdress and jewels of wealthy Sleheyroni Hutts. He eventually became a vigo of the criminal organization Black Sun, and had a tattoo of its symbol. He used a rundown tower that used to belong to the Lantillian Spacers' Brotherhood as his personal base. The tower was transformed into a gaudy-looking pleasure palace.^[1]

During the Clone Wars, Ziro ordered the murder of fellow Black Sun vigos, though his IG-86 assassin droid, KRONOS-327, failed in this task. Shortly after KRONOS-327 reported his failure, Ziro was approached by Senator Padmé Amidala at his palace on Coruscant, when she tried to reopen communications with the Hutts, as they believed that the Jedi had abducted Jabba's son, Rotta.

In reality, Ziro had struck a deal with Count Dooku to kidnap the child as part of a plot against his nephew. When the Jedi sent to retrieve Rotta died, the Order would have no choice but to bring Jabba to justice and Ziro would gain control of the Hutt empire. He attempted to dispose of Amidala, but was ultimately apprehended by Republic troops led by C-3PO and put into custody. Via holocomm, he was forced to confess to his nephew of his part in his grandnephew's kidnapping. Furious at his Uncle's treachery, Jabba vowed to have him punished severely.^[2]

During a raid on the Galactic Senate, bounty hunter Cad Bane commanded Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to release Ziro, who was being held in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. The Hutt was released via Palpatine's orders to save several the Senators' lives, whom Bane and his team had captured as ransom for Ziro's escape. After Ziro was picked up by 3D, Bane demanded payment, claiming he "didn't work for free."^[3]

Later, when the Jedi Council was seeking information on the Nightsisters after the attack on the Sedawan, Ziro was held captive in his own palace by Asajj Ventress. He was rescued by two Jedi, but was also confronted by Ros Lai at the same time, whom Ziro owed a debt. The Jedi agreed to cover Ziro's debt and give Ros Lai transport off Coruscant in exchange for a data chip containing intercepted Nightsister transmissions.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Ziro the Hutt was voiced by Corey Burton in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film^[2] and television series.^[5]

Ziro was originally going to speak Huttese into a microphone which would translate his speech into English, but this idea was dropped because the producers felt that younger audiences wouldn't be able to understand what the translator was. Later, George Lucas stepped in and specifically asked for Ziro to sound like Truman Capote. The character was a favorite of the production team, and they planned to have him return in the TV series.^[6]

Dave Filoni says the topic of Ziro's sexuality is ambiguous, as Hutts are hermaphrodites.^[7]

Appearances

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars novel (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars junior novelization
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Hostage Crisis"
• The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part 1)

Sources

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Galactic Photobook
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars Official Movie Storybook
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Clone Wars Campaign Guide (First identified as Desilijic Tiure)

Notes and references