Bistan was a male Iakaru soldier who served as a corporal in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. He participated in the Battle of Scarif, as door-gunner for an Alliance U-wing.
Bistan at the Yavin 4 Rebel base
Bistan joined the Rebel Alliance approximately six months prior to the Battle of Scarif. He aided a team of Rebel Alliance Special Forces who had infiltrated his homeworld of Iakar to steal medical supplies, by fending off their Imperial pursuers with accurately-thrown spears and rocks. Bistan proved to be such a skilled marksman under fire that he was invited by the SpecForce commandos to join the rebellion.
Bistan was present on Yavin 4 when Jyn Erso shared information about her father's sabotage to the Death Star, with the Rebel Alliance. Once Jyn's speech was over, Bistan was among the rebels who cheered. The Alliance feared extreme casualties, however, and did not support sending rebel forces on a mission to Scarif to help steal the Death Star plans. Despite his excitement, Bistan did not defy orders.
Nevertheless, Bistan and many others were later sent to Scarif as reinforcements, after Admiral Raddus had departed to join the unsanctioned operation begun by Rogue One. Bistan served as the gunner of a Blue Squadron U-wing piloted by Laren Joma, and opened fire on an All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport immediately upon arrival, using the ship's door-mounted "Roba" M-45 repeating ion blaster. His salvos eventually weakened and pierced one of the walker's legs, causing the entire walker to collapse. Later during the battle, however, one of the U-Wing's engines was struck by a laser, causing the ship to crash into the ground and explode, killing Bistan and the rest of the crew.
Bistan was often called "space monkey" by Laren Joma.
Described as a fierce warrior, Bistan was a short, light-skinned Iakaru, covered in black hair, with orange eyes. Like other Iakaru, Bistan possessed exceptional spatial awareness and quick reflexes, as well as keen eyesight and accurate depth perception. He served as a door gunner on a UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft. While manning his weapon, Bistan used minimal safety restraints, and relied more so upon his agility and innate sense of balance to stay aboard. Even though he wanted to ensure the freedom of fellow Iakaru, he really fought for the action and thrill of combat. Bistan was popular among fellow rebels, due to his unending gregarious energy, though his personnel file did list multiple incidents of insubordination.
Bistan is a character portrayed by Nick Kellington in the anthology film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. His name and race were revealed by Pablo Hidalgo on The Star Wars Show on July 20, 2016.
The character was known as "space monkey" to the crew. Like the character Chewbacca, actor Nick Kellington's eyes were visible through the suit instead of lenses. According to Neal Scanlan, the creature effects supervisor for Rogue One, the sight of a real person's eyes contributed to the appeal of Bistan's character, along with the "space monkey" design that director Gareth Edwards immediately liked for its amusing and playful quality.