Taym Dren-garen was a guard of the crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, spending time in the Hutt's Palace on the planet Tatooine in 4 ABY. In the palace, Dren-garen witnessed Jabba feed the dancer Oola to his rancor, Pateesa during a performance by the Max Rebo Band and was then present for the arrival of a disguised Princess Leia Organa and the Wookiee Chewbacca.

When the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker arrived to rescue Organa, Chewbacca, and the former smuggler Han Solo, Dren-garen stood behind Jabba's throne as the Hutt tried to feed Skywalker to the rancor, and then sentenced Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca to death at the Great Pit of Carkoon. Dren-garen then accompanied Jabba to the pit on the crime lord's sail barge, the Khetanna. At the pit, the prisoners freed themselves and Dren-garen was killed by Skywalker after shooting the Jedi in the hand.

Biography[]

Excitment at court[]

The Human Taym Dren-garen^[2] served in the criminal empire of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure as a guard.^[4] In 4 ABY,^[1] Dren-garen was present in the court room of Jabba's Palace on the desert planet Tatooine when the Hutt and his court watched a performance of the song "Jedi Rocks" by the Max Rebo Band.^[5] Dren-garen stood on the raised stage talking to a bald human during part of the performance, with Jabba demanding the song be repeated once it ended. As it was played for a second time, the enslaved dancer Oola^[5] refused Jabba's advanced, and so the crime lord dropped the dancer into the pit beneath the throne room where he kept his pet rancor,^[3] Pateesa.^[6]

With the song coming to an abrupt end, Dren-garen was among the courtiers who rushed forward to a grating looking down into the pit so that they could watch as Oola was devoured. As the excitement subsided, a commotion in the stairwell leading down to the court room drew the attention of the court, and Dren-garen and others wandered toward the door to see what was happening. The court member^[3] Doallyn^[5] was thrown back down the stairs after approaching as Princess Leia Organa,^[3] disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh,^[5] and the Wookiee Chewbacca entered. Dren-garen and the others moved back to make room for the pair in front of the thrown, where Organa presented Chewbacca as her prisoner and demanded the bounty for the Wookiee from Jabba. During negotiations, she threatened the court with a thermal detonator, causing many to cower, but ultimately came to an agreement with the Hutt, who had Chewbacca taken away as Dren-garen watched.^[3]

Unlucky shot[]

Organa and Chewbacca had arrived at the palace as part of a plot to rescue Han Solo, a former smuggler who Jabba held prisoner in a block of carbonite. Organa freed Solo from the block later that night, but both were then captured by Jabba. While Jabba and his court later slept, Solo, Organa, and Chewbacca's ally, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, arrived at the palace. Skywalker entered the throne room to confront Jabba, and after the Hutt awoke, Dren-garen and the^[3] guard Fozec^[5] emerged to stand behind the crime lord's throne. Skywalker demanded the release of Solo, but after the Jedi threatened Jabba with a blaster, he was dropped into the rancor pit. Dren-garen remained in place as others rushed forward to watch, although Skywalker slayed the rancor. The Jedi was then brought back up to the throne room alongside Solo and Chewbacca, and Dren-garen stood behind the Hutt as Jabba sentenced the prisoners to be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon, where they would be fed to the sarlacc that dwelt there.^[3]

Dren-garen was among the court members who accompanied Jabba to the pit on board the crime lord's sail barge,^[3] the Khetanna.^[5] Once there, the court watched from the barge as the Bantha-II cargo skiff hovered over the pit, but before they could be pushed in, the prisoners freed themselves and fought back. After Organa killed Jabba, Skywalker boarded the Khetanna and began dispatching the guards on the top deck with his lightsaber. Dren-garen emerged from a hatch leading to the lower decks and fired at Skywalker, hitting the Jedi's cybernetic right hand and burning off the synthskin.^[3] As Skywalker's hand had sensory wiring, the Jedi felt a stab of pain, but maintained his grip on his lightsaber^[4] and then bravely counterattacked,^[7] slashing Dren-garen with his lightsaber and killing the guard. Skywalker and his allies then destroyed the Khetanna and escaped from Tatooine.^[3]

Personality and traits[]

Dren-garen had light skin.^[3]

Equipment[]

Dren-garen wore a gray shirt under a light brown tunic and a dark brown tabard, with brown boots and a brown belt. The guard used a brown helmet with white antler-like decorations on the brow and a brown face covering. Dren-garenheld a spear while guarding Jabba's throne and used a DL-18 blaster pistol while on the Khetanna.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Taym Dren-garen appeared in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.^[3] The character was portrayed by stuntman Larry Holt, who also portrayed Sergeant Bruckman^[8] and acted as Harrison Ford's stunt double in the film.^[3] In the current Star Wars canon, the character was first identified in the 2023 "Jabba's Court Denizens" action figure pack released as part of the Hasbro Inc. Star Wars: The Vintage Collection.^[2] The name originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first used on a card for the character released as part of the 1998 "Jabba's Palace Limited" expansion to the Decipher, Inc. Star Wars Customizable Card Game.^[9]

In Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!, a 2015 adaptation of Return of the Jedi written by Tom Angleberger, a Snivvian guard is erroneously described as shooting Skywalker's hand instead of Taym Dren-garen,^[10] contradicting what is shown in the film.^[3]

Costume[]

The costumes of Taym Dren-garen and the other human guards at Jabba's Palace were designed to resemble "costume number 7," a guard disguise worn by Lando Calrissian, an ally of Skywalker, Organa, Solo, and Chewbacca, who is working undercover in the Hutt's court. Each costume had to be different, but similar enough to Calrissian's that he would not stand out in a crowd. The variant worn by Taym Dren-garen was the most similar to Calrissian's costume and was labeled "Lando variation X" or "costume number 7X." The main difference between the two costumes was the helmet. Inspired by medieval helmets, the variation X helmet had a antler-like face guard similar to Calrissian's that could be lowered before entering combat in a fashion similar to a medieval knight. While Calrissian's costume had this face guard lowered, Dren-garen's helmet had it raised above the face throughout the film.^[11]

The rest of the costume consisted of a baggy-sleeved "pirate shirt," a pair of patch-covered linen pants, and a linen-padded and -quilted tabard which was similar to items worn by various other guards at the palace. As the stuntmen playing the skiff guards preferred to wear black Adidas deck shoes while performing due to the footwear's stability, boot maker John Schrader created upper portions of leather wrapping with a sandal-like design that could be riveted onto the Adidas shoes. This allowed the stuntmen to use the footwear they were familiar with while still having it be decorated for the film.^[11]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization

Sources[]

• Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy
• Star Wars: The Vintage Collection (Pack: Jabba's Court Denizens) (backup link) (First identified as Taym Dren-garen)

Notes and references[]