The iconic character you didn’t know died in Rise of Skywalker

Nien Nunb has been a vital member of the Resistance team since, well, the Resistance team was still calling itself the Rebel Alliance. A former arms dealer and smuggler, the sort-of-fish-faced Nien first appeared in the galaxy far, far away in Return of the Jedi, and was riding co-pilot with Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) when he flew the Millennium Falcon into the belly of the beast and destroyed the second Death Star. 

If you’re among those who didn’t come to the Star Wars galaxy until the 2015 release of The Force Awakens, then you know Nien for his frequent appearances at the side of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), as he was one of her most trusted pilots and advisors. He traveled to the Resistance base on D’Qar and helped stop the First Order from destroying it in The Force Awakens, emerging as one of only a few X-wing pilots who survived the battle. In The Last Jedi, Nien piloted a ski-speeder alongside Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), and the gang during the harrowing stand against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his First Order forces on Crait. Nien ultimately had to duck out of the ensuing fight when things grew too intense, but following Luke Skywalker’s death and Kylo’s retreat, he was seen escaping Crait with his fellow Resistance members.

Written by: Looper