JJ Abrams' new Star Wars movie is still a few months away, yet already seems to looms on the horizon.
Despite the arrival of the first trailer late last year, concrete facts about The Force Awakens are in meagre supply. We know Luke, Han and Leia are back - and that their progeny are likely to appear too. But Abrams is too canny a filmmaker to reduce the most beloved franchise in science fiction (sorry Star Trek!) to Family Fortunes in space.
If his Trek reboots are any guide, Abrams will be keen to keep fans onside by including other favourites from earlier instalments. It's probable the director will include relatively obscure aliens and humans from the annals alongside the better known. Who will make the cut? For now, only the director and an elite cabal of insiders can answer that question. However, it's fun to speculate – so here is our countdown of the Star Wars characters that ought be brought back from deep space purgatory.
1. IG-88 Assassin Droid
One of the best things about The Empire Strikes Back was how it hinted at a living, breathing universe beyond the boundaries of the Imperials vs Rebels cage-fight. A scene that lingers in the memory, though a re-watching confirms it was over in a blink, was the Empire's deployment of bounty hunters to track the Millennium Falcon.
In the end, the big cash prize went to Boba Fett but, frankly, after his appearance as an adorable tyke in Attack of the Clones, we're all Fett-ed out. Instead, we're crossing fingers, mandibles, tentacles and other random limb-like appendages that super-slinky assassin droid IG-88 gets to take a bow in Episode VII.
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2. Malakili
In Star Wars, even the tiniest bit-players come with an exhaustive backstory. To most, Malakili will be better known as the 'Rancor Keeper' – the tubby, shirtless chap in tears after Luke dispatches Jabba the Hutt's in-house kaiju via the ancient Jedi trick of arranging for a portcullis to fall on him.
As followers of the Star Wars novels and comic books will tell you, Malakili came to terms with his loss, took early retirement from Jabba's palace of horrors (with the boss strangled by Princess Leia, business got a little slow) and opened a restaurant in Mos Eisley. Sounds like the perfect backdrop for a Luke/Han reunion dinner.
3. R5-D4
Like that guy who played drums in The Beatles only to be replaced by Ringo Starr 10 seconds before it all kicked off, what a future R5-D4 might have had. If only his pesky internal motor hadn't blown as he was led away by Uncle Owen in Episode IV, HE could have been Luke Skywalker's glorious sidekick, rather than the bleep-crazy, temperamental R2-D2.
Granted, Luke would then never have received Leia's encoded distress call and might well have seen out his days as an unfulfilled Bantha farmer - on the happier side, he'd still be the owner of his original arm and would not have Darth Vader-related daddy issues. Sounds a reasonable trade-off.
4. Imperial Probe Droid
Star Wars has given cinema some of its greatest ever robots - with the hard-to-ignore exception of the endlessly irritating R2-D2/C-3PO double act (seriously 3PO, enough with the grousing). Among the more memorable was the vaguely octopi probe which blew the Rebel Alliance's cover on Hoth.
Officially the 'Viper Probe Droid', this creepy mechanical monster drifted in an unsettling fashion and had a scary red gaze. Plus, the encoded signal it transmitted to the Empire - a distorted 'nee-nee-naa-naa' - sounded like an early Prodigy single, so it can claim credit for inventing techno music as well.
5. The Mos Eisley Cantina Band
Story-wise, there is absolutely no reason anyone would ever wish to see the bug-eyed ensemble tooting on their space-saxophones ever again. But come on! Who doesn't want to hear THAT theme tune on the big screen one last time... or for 10 hours, if you want to make use of the video above.
6. Bib Fortuna
One of the weirder Jabba lackeys from Return of the Jedi (and that is quite a statement), Fortuna was the Hutt's tentacle-headed consigliere. To be sure, Jedi was the point at which it finally became clear George Lucas was less interested in spinning an epic yarn than in flogging tie-in tat. Nonetheless, Fortuna was a truly nightmarish creation, with bristling teeth and glowering, bloodshot eyes. Bringing him back would encourage audiences to reconnect with their freaked-out younger selves of 30 years ago.
7. Lobot
An early cheerleader for Bluetooth headsets and trusted adviser to Lando Calrissian, Lobot kept schtum throughout Empire Strikes Back (plugged into Cloud City's computer consciousness, what need had he for idle jibber-jabber?). It would be a hoot to see him again.
Which obscure Star Wars characters would you like to see make a comeback? Leave your comments below!
