The Mandalorian & Grogu kicks off Star Wars’ return to cinemas on May 22, and it’ll likely have casual moviegoers wondering who that metal hat-wearing bounty hunter is that’s pursuing Din Djarin and the little fella we still love to call Baby Yoda. His name is Embo, and he’s already got quite the history in the Star Wars universe.
While The Mandalorian & Grogu isn’t the beginning of a new Star Wars era, it marks the first big-screen project exploring the long 30-year gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. And sure, a bunch of Star Wars TV shows — as well as books, comics, and games — have expanded on the period. Still, there are more stories to be told in that space, and Jon Favreau’s theatrical follow-up to The Mandalorian Season 3 is aiming to tell an old-fashioned Star Wars adventure.
Embo’s homeworld, species, skills, and equipment explained
Embo is a Kyuzo male bounty hunter. The Kyuzo are a humanoid species native to the planet of Phatrong, located in the Outer Rim of the galaxy. They’re known for their fast reflexes and resilience, which makes them notable fighters with a strong sense of honor.
Based on his previous appearances, Embo is a stoic figure who rarely loses track of his prey. When he speaks, he does so in his native language. He’s tall, intimidating, and remarkably focused on the job, yet he’s shown remorse at times. When it comes to his most defining skills, his acrobatics and overall agility come to mind. Even unarmed, he was a formidable opponent who even gave Jedi Knights trouble during the Clone Wars.
Another defining aspect of Embo is his preference for traditional weaponry over blasters and other weapons. His primary weapon – at least in past appearances – is a wide bowcaster.
More surprising is his metallic hat, which can be used as a shield and like a (deadly) frisbee (much like Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat). He also had a pet anooba (a canine-like mammal) named Marrok, but the companion we’ve seen in The Mandalorian & Grogu’s trailers is likely a different one (unless Marrok’s passing before the Battle of Jakku – as revealed in the Aftermath: Empire’s End novel – is retconned).
Embo’s history during the Clone Wars and the Imperial era
Embo’s on-screen presence is (so far) limited to the second Clone Wars animated show, with his debut happening in Season 2 Episode 17 ‘Bounty Hunters’, which happened on the colorful world of Felucia. There, he and other bounty hunters – alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano – protected a village from a gang of pirates. During the ensuing battle, Embo was heavily wounded.
His freelancing days during the Clone Wars also included brief scuffles with clone troopers, clone commandos – including Clone Force 99 (aka The Bad Batch) – and other bounty hunters.
Working for various crime syndicates, corporations, and even Count Dooku, he often crossed paths with the Jedi and Naboo senator Padmé Amidala. On Scipio, he managed to fight off even Anakin Skywalker himself, walked away, and informed Darth Sidious of the success of his mission to scare Baron Rush Clovis into leaving the InterGalactic Banking Clan’s vault world.
Near the end of the Clone Wars, Embo also worked with Boba Fett’s team. At some point, the former Sith assassin Asajj Ventress hired them to help with the rescue of Quinlan Vos, the Jedi Master she fell in love with. The mission was a failure, but the team survived an encounter with Count Dooku (aka Darth Tyranus), an impressive feat by all accounts.
Embo’s activities during the Imperial era are mostly unknown. He reappeared after the Battle of Endor to collect a bounty on Lando Calrissian, but the resourceful New Republic general managed to capture him.
Somehow, he regained his freedom and traveled to Jakku, during the big final showdown between the Empire and the New Republic, to capture Zabrak bounty hunter Jas Emari, who’d been working for the Republic for some time. Embo and the rest of the team eventually turned against Mercurial Swift, the bounty hunter who recruited them, in exchange for full pardons from the New Republic.
Embo after the Battle of Jakku
As promised, Embo and the rest of Jas Emari’s crew were pardoned with the help of Sinjir Rath Velus, Jas’ good friend and an ex-Imperial who became Chancellor Mon Mothma’s adviser. For a few more years, Embo worked for the New Republic along with Emari and her team, likely targeting the Imperial remnants as the new galactic government was firmly established.
By 9 ABY (after the Battle of Yavin), however, Embo ran out of New Republic funding and retired from bounty hunting, at least for a while, settling on Felucia as a farmer. By the time The Mandalorian & Grogu begins, it seems he’s returned to the old profession, hired by Imperial warlords or the Hutts to take care of Din Djarin and Grogu.
Will that be his final mistake? We’re about to find out…