The INSANE Diet That Turned This Species Wrinkly And Gray
So I think it's safe to assume by now that pretty much every Star Wars fan has the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith engraved in their memories. It was such a turning point in the entire saga, ending with the beginning of the Empire and annihilation of the Jedi. However, there was a species introduced, very briefly, which would become a very important part of the animated series Rebels, who have quite an interesting reason for looking like they do.
Cast your minds back Revenge of the Sith, the scene where Obi-Wan lands on the planet Utapau in search of General Grievous. When he lands on one of the subterranean cities, he is greeted by a very tall, gray, and wrinkled humanoid dressed in fancy red. At first, the being tells Obi-Wan there's no war here "unless you brought it with you," but quickly confirms Grievous is indeed there with thousands of battle droids. This then leads to Obi-Wan staying on the planet, defeating the General, and believing he had ended the war... We all know what happened next.
Going back to this new species introduced, though, there is a backstory for them. The reason they look the way they do is actually down to their diet, which is kind of a crazy reason. The humanoid beings are known as Pau'ans, and the one who greets Kenobi is named Tion Medon. He is the Master of Port Administration for Pau City and has been for more than 200 years. It seemed strange at first, his quick turnaround in giving Obi-Wan the information he was after. However, prior to Kenobi's arrival, Medon had just watched in horror as his committee members were killed in front of him by MagnaGuards.
The species are described as gaunt, long-limbed humanoids, and they dwelled in sinkholes on the planet Utapau. Due to their long lifespan, they also went by a different name - the Ancients. In canon, there have also been Pau'ans, like Gen Tri, who did not refer to themselves as he or she, but rather they or them.
At one point in their history, they did live on the planets surface with another species (known as Utai) living in tunnels and caverns. Due to severe winds, however, they eventually left the surface to descend below, causing the two societies to merge. Both would then begin creating sinkhole cities within the planet itself. By the time we get to meet Tion Medon, the Pau'ans had been underground for so long. They actually preferred darkness over the sunlight.
Them and the Utai were not the species to dwell on the planet Utapau. It was also home to the Sugi and Amani, along with the beastly varactyls, which they would later tame as mounts. This is the creature we also see Obi-Wan riding when he is shot down following Order 66 being given.
Despite their fairly menacing look (shallow red eyes, lined wrinkles and grey skin), they are described as a very peaceful and amicable species. The canonical reason given for their look is down to the aforementioned lack of good old Vitamin D and their specific raw meat diet. Thanks to the two rows of razor sharp teeth in their mouths, nothing would have really been inedible, but the Pau'uns apparently stuck to eating raw meat only, and this, coupled with living in constant darkness, are the reasons for their look.
Even though they received such a small amount of screentime, the design concept would show up again in the Star Wars universe, but this time in animation. For fans of Rebels, who also remember the Pau'ans, they may have noticed both they and the Grand Inquisitor bare a striking resemblance to each other. This is because he is also a part of this species. Funny to imagine him chewing down on a piece of raw steak in between chasing the main characters of the show.
Interestingly, the Grand Inquisitor's backstory is that, during the Clone Wars, he actually served the Jedi Order as a Jedi Temple Guard. Unfortunately, he would later fall to the dark side of the Force and become the leader of the Empire's Inquisitorius. Following this and the rise of the Empire, many Pau'ans would flee Utapau and seek refuge elsewhere as it fell into the Empire's control.
The fact that the Grand Inquisitor was based on the Pau'ans highlights a recurring theme within the Star Wars universe, whereby seemingly random characters or species introduced throughout the films show up years later in other related media. These serve as nice little Easter eggs for fans to spot throughout the saga.
Well, there you have it, a little backstory on the species which helped bring an end to the Clone Wars, whilst simultaneously helping to form the Empire.
Until next time!
Source(s): Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary