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Nute Gunray
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Nute Gunray is a fictional character and supporting villain from the Star Wars universe, played by Silas Carson in the films and comedian Tom Kenny in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Aside from Darth Sidious, he is the only villain to appear in all three films of the prequel trilogy.
ay is a Neimoidian, an amphibian-faced humanoid with snake-like eyes, and an enemy of the Galactic Republic. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Gunray and his organization, the Trade Federation, appear to be the movie's primary villains, but it is made clear early on to the audience that the real antagonist is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid).
i>Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Gunray blockades the planet Naboo from trade routes.
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Encyclopedia
Nute Gunray is a fictional character and supporting villain from the Star Wars universe, played by Silas Carson in the films and comedian Tom Kenny in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Aside from Darth Sidious, he is the only villain to appear in all three films of the prequel trilogy.
Character overview
Gunray is a Neimoidian, an amphibian-faced humanoid with snake-like eyes, and an enemy of the Galactic Republic. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Gunray and his organization, the Trade Federation, appear to be the movie's primary villains, but it is made clear early on to the audience that the real antagonist is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid).
Appearances
Prequel trilogy
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Gunray blockades the planet Naboo from trade routes. After a failed attempt to kill the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), Gunray meets with Naboo's Queen, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), and feigns ignorance. Gunray orders the droid OOM-9 to find the Jedi, but the droid fails.
Gunray's forces eventually take Theed, the capital city of Naboo, with only the native Gungans eluding him. The invasion sets in motion the events which bring Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to power and lead to the Battle of Naboo.
At the end of the film, with his forces destroyed, Gunray and Haako are arrested and sent back to Coruscant to stand trial for their crimes.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, it is revealed that after four trials in the Republic Supreme Court, Gunray still maintains control over the Trade Federation. His quest for power and revenge brings him to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems. They plan to combine the Trade Federation's droid armies with those of the Techno Union in order to strong-arm smaller star systems into supporting the Confederacy.
Gunray goes to Geonosis with Rune Haako and several other Separatists to oversee the production of a new droid army. There, Gunray finally gets his chance at revenge when Padmé and the teenaged Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are captured by the Geonosians while trying to rescue the captive Obi-Wan Kenobi. Along with Dooku, Jango Fett, Jango's son Boba (Daniel Logan), and Poggle the Lesser, Gunray and Haako sit back in a private viewing to watch the former queen and the two Jedi be sentenced to death in the Geonosian execution arena.
When Yoda (Frank Oz) arrives with an army of clone troopers, Gunray and Haako scurry aboard their shuttle and fly from the battle.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Gunray finds himself at odds with the droid army leader General Grievous (Matthew Wood). Both Dooku and Grievous are eventually killed, leaving the Confederacy floundering. Sidious contacts Gunray and the other Separatist leaders in their new hidden base on Mustafar and orders them to await Sidious' new apprentice, Darth Vader, who arrives under the pretense of negotiating for peace. Gunray welcomes Vader — only to realize that the young Sith Lord is in fact Anakin Skywalker, and has come to tie up Sidious' loose ends by killing them all. After a brief fight, Gunray and his fellow council members are slaughtered.
Deleted scenes
In deleted scene from Attack of the Clones in which Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala are put on trial by the Geonosians, Gunray watches from the side. When the trial goes on too long he shouts to Poggle the Lesser, "Get on with it, carry out the sentence, I want to see her die!" Poggle the Lesser quickly wraps up the trial and orders his guards to take them to the execution arena.
A scene cut from Revenge of the Sith shows Gunray and Haako hiding under a table as Vader slaughters the Separatist Council. Haako panics and tries to escape, but is quickly killed by Vader, as seen in the film. Gunray stays hidden. As Vader kills the others, Gunray quickly gets out from under the table and activates the control panel for the doors to open, ushering in destroyer droids, which open fire on Vader. Gunray watches as the smoke clears and Vader is gone. Vader then drops down from the roof and destroys the droids, jumping over to Gunray.
Expanded Universe
Novels
Cloak of Deception
In the novel Cloak of Deception, Gunray and his associates visit the Baktoid factories to acquire even more powerful weapons, including destroyer droids. The book depicts Gunray's rise to Viceroy of the entire Trade Federation, and the events which lead up to the blockade of Naboo in Episode I.
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
The novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter depicts Darth Maul, at the behest of Darth Sidious, tracking and killing one of Gunray's associates. The incident terrifies Gunray, who realizes for the first time that he is dealing with a very dangerous man.
Labyrinth of Evil
In the novel Labyrinth of Evil, Gunray returns to his home on Cato Neimoidia to plunder what wealth he can, while being pursued by his old enemies Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Gunray escapes, but is later sent to the planet Utapau with the other Separatist leaders. When Grievous begins his attack on Coruscant, Gunray begins to think he has underestimated the cyborg general, and, for the first time during the war, he celebrates with his comrades.
Novelizations
The representation of Nute Gunray differs somewhat in the novelizations of the films. In The Phantom Menace novelization by Terry Brooks, he is portrayed as a great deal braver than his film counterpart, standing his ground when held at gunpoint by Queen Amidala, and even standing up to Sidious, who accuses Gunray of defying him. In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover, Gunray is described as treacherous, venal, and cowardly.
Video games
Nute Gunray appears in the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game on both the first and final levels. He also appears in the strategy game Galactic Battlegrounds giving OOM-9 his missions for the Trade Federation levels and the character is playable in the custom game section. Gunray also appears in the Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game, on the level 'Assassination on Mustafar', where he realizes Darth Sidious has betrayed him and dispatches security to kill Vader. The player (as Vader) must engage Gunray in a duel.
Other appearances
Costume
Nute Gunray, like his arch enemy Padmé Amidala, had a taste for fine clothing. In The Phantom Menace he wears a crimson robe and tri cornered head-dress, in Attack of the Clones he wears red robes and a slightly different head-dress. In Revenge of the Sith he wears an orange robe with a turban like head-dress.
Controversy
Following the release of "The Phantom Menace", some controversy arose over apparent racial stereotypes represented in the mannerisms and voices of Star Wars characters. While most of the complaints were focused on the Jar Jar Binks character as negatively portraying Jamaican Patois, complaints were also made concerning Nute Gunray and the Neimoidians negatively portraying Asian culture by associating what seem to be stereotypical Asian-English accents with the Neimoidian race, known for its greed, cowardice, and connection with the evil Trade Federation.
External links
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