The Fate of Jabba the Hutt

Jabba the Hutt is one of the most popular villains of the Star Wars universe. His most famous appearance is in the beginning of Episode VI, Return of the Jedi. He is the major crime lord of the planet Tatooine. For those of you who haven'r watched the Star Wars series (specifically episode 6), I advise you to watch it before you continue reading this post. 

Episode VI was filmed in a time before CGI was possible, so the creatures that appear in the movie are either costumed actors or puppets. This includes Jabba.

I also advise you  to watch: From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, 
for those of you who are interested in the construction of these creatures.

What interested me after the film was the fate of these puppets, specifically the fate of Jabba the Hutt.

Last month, I finally achieved one of my lifelong goals and attended a Start Wars Celebration. Among various activities, I also happened to learned the fate of Jabba. 

Whilst having a chat with Toby Philpott (one of the puppeteers inside Jabba) and later with John Coppinger (who built Jabba), one of the questions I asked was the fate of the puppet. I was sad to find out that after the shooting was done, the puppet was stored in a warehouse for a while. About a year later, the puppet was thrown away to the trash. John Coppinger who discovered Jabba in a trash container managed to save his tail (which was sold in an auction earlier this year). He told me that someone else took Jabba's radio operated eyes.

Its sad, learning that something that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours to make was eventually discarded to the trash. I wish that they donated Jabba to a museum where it would probably attract thousands of fans every year...

Yet, it was an honor meeting the John Coppinger and Toby Philpott and learning about their experiences designing and operating Jabba the Hutt.



Above, Toby Philpott and John Coppinger behind a small model of Jabba.