Melas was a Sarkan whose body was not formed in a typical way. Because of his outgoing and friendly nature, which the reserved Sarkans found offensive, he was banished from his home planet of Sarka. However, he managed to secretly take a large quantity of smuggled metals and jewels with him. This allowed him to journey from planet to planet, observing different cultures and encountering many fascinating individuals. Melas was a customer at Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina on Tatooine not long before the Battle of Yavin took place.
Melas originated from the world of Sarka. He was born with physical abnormalities, which caused a decline in status for both himself and his family. Consequently, Melas spent his early life as an outsider. However, his unusual appearance was not the primary reason he was ostracized by his fellow Sarkans.
The people of Sarka generally looked down on those from other planets, considering them to be uncivilized. Melas, however, enjoyed spending time with aliens and Humans. He disregarded the formal greeting procedures that his government required. His sociable and outgoing behavior was deemed unacceptable, leading to his exile from his homeworld.
Exile did not present a major obstacle for Melas. Sarka possessed abundant resources of valuable metals and gemstones, and he managed to smuggle a significant amount of wealth off-world when he was forced to depart. Using these resources, Melas traveled extensively, exploring diverse landscapes and interacting with a wide array of interesting beings. His greatest desire was to encounter as many different species as possible.
Approximately a year prior to the Battle of Yavin, Melas was featured in an advertisement by Star Tours promoting Tatooine. The advertisement showed him as a patron of Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in the Mos Eisley spaceport. In 0 BBY, this Sarkan, known for his thirst, was present in the cantina. He was seated in a booth to the left of the entrance, adjacent to another booth occupied by Chachi and Ohwun De Maal, a Duros couple.
Melas was consistently seen as a disruptive influence by the protocol-obsessed Sarkans, owing to his curiosity about other aliens and his sociable nature. Despite his affluence, his status as an expatriate from Sarka did affect him to some degree. He occasionally felt nostalgic for his home planet, often describing its rich jungles, mountains adorned with jewels, and stunning cave-cities with a poignant eloquence that contrasted with his usual optimism. However, his deep curiosity about the unknown easily overshadowed his moments of sadness.
Melas, characterized by his broad snout and mottled gray skin, was born with physical differences. He stood at 1.7 meters tall, making him unusually short for his species. He also possessed short, thick claws and striking blue eyes that attracted unwanted attention.
Melas typically wore robes colored red and tan, along with a red turban. Throughout his travels, he developed a liking for smoking an Esoomian gruu pipe to sharpen his senses. It was rare to see him without this sweet-smelling device in his scaly hands. Melas also carried a concealed hold-out blaster and a credit voucher worth 220,000 credits. His financial accounts held a total of 2 million credits.
Melas made his first appearance in the 1997 Special Edition of the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. The character was created by modifying the puppet that was originally used for Ketwol, a Pacithhip prospector. The design of Ketwol was done by Howie Weed, the head creature maker for the Special Editions.
John Knoll, the effects supervisor, realized that the back of the original puppet's head resembled a completely different creature. By concealing Ketwol's trunk and tusks with a turban, using the back of Ketwol's head as Melas' face, and giving the puppet new clothing, a new character was born. Melas was filmed and incorporated into the cantina scene, replacing Arleil Schous, a Defel whose generic canine mask had long been a source of dissatisfaction for George Lucas, the writer and director of A New Hope.
The name of the Melas character was first revealed in the Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition, a supplement for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games. The text was authored by George R. Strayton, Paul Sudlow, and Eric S. Trautmann, and it was released on October 1, 1997.
In the 2003 Ultimate Alien Anthology, a revised and expanded version of the Alien Anthology sourcebook for Star Wars Roleplaying Game by Wizards of the Coast, Melas was listed as an example of a Sarkan name.