Kaplan was a human male who served as a colonel in the First Order. In 34 ABY, Kaplan was posted in a control room in Hangar Six on board the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Finalizer when it traveled to the planet Jakku in order to try and recover a portion of the map showing the location of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
After the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was brought on board the Finalizer for questioning, he and the defecting First Order stormtrooper FN-2187 stole a TIE/sf space superiority fighter from Hangar Six in an attempt to escape. As the starfighter was still connected to its support cable, it was unable to leave the hangar after taking off, and Kaplan was alerted to the escape attempt by Petty Officer Thanisson. While Dameron attempted to disconnect the support cabling, FN-2187 blasted the main control room where Kaplan and Thanisson were positioned, killing them both. However, the TIE fighter sustained damage while escaping and crashed on Jakku.
Kaplan was stationed on board the Finalizer.
Kaplan was a human male who served in the military branch of the First Order during their conflict with the Resistance, an offshoot of the New Republic. In 34 ABY, Kaplan held the rank of colonel and was stationed on board the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Finalizer, where they were posted in the main control room for Hangar Six.
Kaplan was on board the Finalizer when it traveled to the planet Jakku in the Jakku system in search of the retired explorer Lor San Tekka, who held a piece of a map to the location of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. After the First Order deployed forces to San Tekka's home village of Tuanul, the explorer was killed and the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was captured; however, the map was spirited away by Dameron's astromech droid BB-8, whom the First Order failed to capture.
The control room Kaplan was stationed in was destroyed during FN-2187 and Poe Dameron's escape attempt.
Dameron was brought on board the Finalizer for interrogation, but as the hunt for BB-8 began, the pilot was freed by FN-2187, a stormtrooper hoping to defect from the First Order. The trooper brought Dameron into Hangar Six under the pretense of escorting the prisoner and then hurriedly boarded one of the TIE/sf space superiority fighters in Bay Two of the hangar. When the pair attempted to take off, they discovered the starfighter's support cabling was still attached, preventing their escape and drawing the attention of Petty Officer Thanisson in the control room.
Thanisson immediately reported the unsanctioned departure to Kaplan, who ordered that the TIE be stopped from escaping while General Armitage Hux, head of the First Order's military, be alerted. Squads of stormtroopers carrying F-11D blaster rifles and FWMB-10 repeating blasters then attempted to shoot down the starfighter, but were unsuccessful as FN-2187 used the vehicle's Lb-14 dual heavy laser turret to blast many of them. The trooper then turned the turret on the control room, shattering the windows in an explosion that threw Thanisson from his seat. Kaplan and the other officers present tried to cower away from the blast, but both the colonel and Thanisson were killed. Once Dameron managed to disconnect the support cabling, the fighter escaped from the Finalizer and headed for Jakku, but was shot down by the battlecruiser en route and crashed on the planet's surface.
Kaplan was fair-skinned and gray-eyed. They shared their surname with a famous warlord of the Galactic Empire whose name First Order colonels wore on commemorative bands. Kaplan spoke Galactic Basic Standard with an aristocratic accent.
Kaplan wore a teal First Order military uniform including a cap.
Kaplan was portrayed by Pip Torrens in the 2015 sequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. They were identified in the credits. Kaplan shares their name with Michael Kaplan, the film's costume designer. The character also appeared in the novelization of the film written by Alan Dean Foster and released in conjunction with the film, in which their single line of dialogue is slightly altered.