Unkar Plutt is a minor antagonist in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and a flashback character in Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. He is an abusive and contumelious slave-driver for scavengers that work for him, including Rey.
He was portrayed by Simon Pegg, who later voiced SkekSil the Chamberlain in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and King James in America: The Motion Picture.
Biography
Unkar Plutt is a greedy and acquisitive junk boss who runs Nima Outpost with no sense of duty to his workers and customers. He is first shown when Rey goes to his counter and gives him metal pieces. Plutt tells her they are worth one quarter portion and gives it to her.
When Rey gives him more pieces, he tells her they are worth one half portion and when she brings him BB-8, he decides to pay for him for the price of 60 portions. Rey hesitates, but then tells Plutt the droid is not for sale, going away with the droid. Enraged, Plutt, who knows that the First Order is looking for BB-8, calls up his thugs and sends them after Rey and BB-8.
Plutt's goons try to capture BB-8 and overpower Rey, but she fights them off and defeats them. She later escapes with rogue stormtrooper Finn. The two friends and BB-8 manage to escape on the Millennium Falcon, which Plutt had stolen. As soon as the junk boss notices this, he yells in rage, "HEY! THAT'S MINE!"
In the finished cut of the film, the theft of the Falcon is his last scene. However, the novelization and a deleted scene of the film, it is revealed that Plutt met Rey again at Maz Kanata's castle as she tries to cope with visions that she just received after touch Anakin's lightsaber. He caused commotion by physically attacking Rey and attempt to abduct her and BB-8. Rey tries to shoot him with the blaster Han gave her, but she has not taken the safety off, and is quickly disarmed by Plutt. The commotion resulted in Chewbacca stand up for her. Furious with the Wookiee’s interference, Plutt unwisely aggravates Chewie by poking at his wounded shoulder, resulting in Chewbacca ripping his arm off. Plutt is not seen again after this scene, so it is unclear if he was healed by some patron, and also if he resigned to his plans and got back to Jakku without Rey, his ship and his arm.
In The Rise of Skywalker, When Rey uncovers the truth about her past, it is revealed that her family abandoned and sold her to Plutt to hide her from her grandfather, Emperor Palpatine.
Trivia
- Plutt's misfortune in form of having his arm ripped of by Chewie in the novelization and deleted scene of The Force Awakens is similar with what happens to Cornelius Evazan or Ponda Baba in A New Hope film, as both threaten to harm the protagonist and foolishly ignored his/her allies, resulting in them suffering injuries (Evazan threatens Luke and ignores Ben aka. Obi Wan Kenobi's warning besides making the mistake of pointing his gun to the Jedi, which results in Obi-Wan slashing him. Similary, Plutt attacks Rey and foolishly taunts Chewie back by poking his wounded shoulder after the Wookie defended her, resulting in the angered Wookie tearing his arm off).
- It's possible, however, that the scene was deleted to not make Chewbacca look like a deranged beast who would go to such extremes if taunted, aside that children on the audience could have felt traumatized upon seeing Chewie ripping off Unkar's arm.
- Simon Pegg was announced to be reprising his role as Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but this ended up not happening and the character is never seen nor mentioned in the film.
- Following the revelation in The Rise of Skywalker that Rey's parents left Rey to protect her from her grandfather Emperor Palpatine, it's unknown why Rey's parents chose to leave her at Unkar Plutt's care given his abusive and wrathful demeanor (aside that the novelization of The Force Awakens hints that Plutt lusts for her), but it's likely that either they didn't know about Plutt's nature or that they were left with no other options.
