After the formation of the Galactic Empire, Janu Godalhi became leader of a group of rebels who opposed the Empire on Teth. He worked closely with Alliance to Restore the Republic members Bail Organa and later Mon Mothma.
Janu Godalhi was a human male who worked as an lawyer and security expert. At some point prior to the Clone Wars, he worked with Jedi Master Plo Koon to rid the Wild Space planet Teth of a group of pirates, which also ended up driving the last Hutts from the world as well.
During the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems in 19 BBY, Godalhi attended a performance of the opera Squid Lake at the Galaxies Opera House in the Uscru District of the planet Coruscant. While at the opera, he walked through a corridor behind the floor level seating.
Not long after the performance, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine issued Order 66 and declared the Jedi Order traitors, leading to the execution of many Jedi including Koon. Godalhi never believed Palpatine's claims about the Jedi, and following the Republic's transition into the Galactic Empire, Godalhi became the of the two rebel groups active on Teth who were opposing the Empire. He worked closely with Bail Organa and later Mon Mothma, members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and continued to hinder the Empire. He shared his surname with radio DJ Palob Godalhi.
Godalhi was an energetic individual with light skin and brown hair.
Janu Godalhi was portrayed in a cameo by Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo in the prequel trilogy film Revenge of the Sith, which was released on May 19, 2005. Despite only being fleetingly visible in the film, Hidalgo had to wear contact lenses for the role as director George Lucas did not want any eyeglasses to appear.
Hidlago was filmed as Godalhi on November 17, 2004 at Industrial Light & Magic in two different shots starting at 3pm. In the first shot, Hidlago was stood in the hallway outside the theater auditorium with ILM staff members , , and David Gray. The group talked before heading through a doorway to take their seats; however, this shot was not used in the final cut of the film. Hidalgo's solo shot, which did make it into the film, was the final shot of the day. He was filmed walking a slightly curving line marked by three masking tape crosses on the floor. While walking away from camera he looked over his left shoulder to glance at the performance, while walking toward camera he had to glance over his right shoulder.
In the current Star Wars canon, the character was first identified in an episode of The Star Wars Show released on YouTube on July 6, 2016. The name originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was created by users Adrick Tolliver, "gohan316427," and "General Tarfful" in an entry for the What's The Story? feature of StarWars.com that was published to the Databank on August 12, 2005. The entry established Janu Godalhi to be the father of Palob Godalhi, a pre-existing character from the 1998 novel Rebel Dawn by A. C. Crispin.
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia