Unkar Plutt is a minor antagonist in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and a flashback character in Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. At the first glance, he may looked like a mere abusive and contumelious slave-driver for scavengers that worked for him includes Rey, but upon seeing her with the lost BB-8, it is finally revealed that he was loyal to/the follower of First Order, making him an indirect ally for Kylo Ren and First Order.
He is played by Simon Pegg, who later voiced SkekSil the Chamberlain in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
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, knowing that BB-8 is classified, tells Plutt the droid is not for sale and saves the droid. Enraged, Plutt, who is working for the First Order, calls up his thugs and sends them after Rey and BB-8.
Plutt's goons manage to capture BB-8 and overpower Rey, but she fights them off and 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!"
When Rey uncovers the truth about her past, it is revealed that Plutt stole her away as a child when her family abandoned her and treated her like a slave ever since.
So far, Plutt's fate is unknown, though the novelization and a deleted scene of the film revealed that he and his thug met Rey again at Maz Kanata's castle as she tries to cope with visions that she just received after touch Anakin's light saber. 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 resulting Chewbacca stand up for her. Furious with the Wookie's interference, Plutt unwisely aggravates by poking at his wounded shoulder, resulting Chewbacca ripped his arm off. This explained why Rey ran off after seeing the visions from Anakin's lightsaber. Once again, it's unclear whether Unkar survived or not, as he could have bled to death unless he was healed by some patron or perhaps he resigned to his plans and got back to Jakku without Rey, his ship and his arm. In either way, however, the slavedriver have bought some time for First Order stormtroopers to showed up and allowed Kylo Ren kidnapped her.
Trivia
- Plutt's misfortune in form of having his arm ripped of by Chewie in the novelization of The Force Awakens is similar with Cornelius Evazan back in A New Hope film, as both are threatened to harm the main protagonist and foolishly ignored his/her allies' threat resulting in them suffer injuries (Evazan threatened Luke and ignores Ben aka. Obi Wan Kenobi's warning and made a mistake by pointed his gun on him which wind up resulting the Jedi slashed him while Plutt attacks Rey and foolishly taunt Chewie back by poke his wound shoulder when the Wookie defended her, resulting the angered Wookie tear 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 initially announced to be reprising his role as Unkar Plutt on Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, but this turned out to be false, as Unkar is never seen nor mentioned in such 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 exactly 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.
