Ody Mandrell was a male Er'Kit who hailed from the planet of Tatooine, home to the famed Boonta Eve Classic podrace. Mandrell eventually joined the sport of podracing, and acquired a team of pit droids that would go on to set podracing records while in his possession. During a Boonta race that took place during the Invasion of Naboo, which happened during the last decades of the Galactic Republic, one of Mandrell's droids was sucked into one of the engine turbines on Mandrell's podracer. Although the droid survived, the vehicle was damaged, forcing Mandrell to retire from the race.
A male Er'Kit from the desert planet of Tatooine, Ody Mandrell was excited enough by the local sport of podracing to join up and become a podracer pilot himself. Looking for fast-paced thrills, Mandrell acquired a large red colored podracer with round engines, along with three pit droids with similar colors. Together, the team set out into the world of podracing, where the droids became infamous for breaking several podracing records. However, the droids were not always the friendliest of peers. During the final decades of the Galactic Republic, the peaceful planet of Naboo was invaded, which was a major galactic event. Simultaneously, and unbothered by this occurrence, the annual Boonta Eve Classic podrace returned to Tatooine for another run. Mandrell was able to earn a spot in the race, and started near the back of the starting grid.
Ody Mandrell, disappointed at his loss
Mandrell was given a warm welcome by the race's Troig commentators, Fode and Beed, who also announced the presence of his pit droid crew. However, before the race even began, Mandrell's droids were involved with a small skirmish amongst themselves. Before the race, a flag bearer held Mandrell's flag, marching across the arena in front of the podracers with other flag bearers. Eventually, the race's host, Jabba the Hutt, arrived to start off the race. The Er'Kit raced his way to the middle of the pack, and stayed near the front, avoiding many obstacles along the way, including the race's favored contestant, Sebulba, who was playing very aggressively. Complications arose, though, forcing Mandrell to make a pit-stop at the beginning of the second lap. One of his Pit Droids, frustrated with one of the others, tried to approach his counterpart, inadvertently walking in front of one Mandrell's large, active engines. The droid was sucked in through the intake, and was shot out the other side, completely intact and operational. However, the engine was completely shot after the incident, leaving Mandrell to mourn his loss from his cockpit.
A thrill seeking Er'Kit in over his head, Ody Mandrell respected his audience enough to return their cheers of adoration with a cheerful smile and a wave of his hand, although when it came to his Pit Droids, he could be ill-tempered and demanding. During his pit-stop, he became fairly demanding and impatient as his droids hustled to accomplish their work. However, when his engine was destroyed by one of the droids, Mandrell could only sigh in exasperation as his chances of winning the race were dodged.
Mandrell stood at 1.63 meters, atop long skinny legs. Mandrell had predominantly blue skin, with a mauve-like color going down the center of his elongated forehead, while the left and right sides of the stripes surrounded by a shade of yellow. A similar pattern adorned his arms. His face and the front of his neck and torso were a very pale blue color.
Concept art by Jay Shuster
Ody Mandrell was created for the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, which was directed by George Lucas. Mandrell was designed by several concept artists, and the character was eventually established by a sculpted figure based on art by Terryl Whitlatch and Jay Shuster. Mandrell was ultimately portrayed as a wholly computer generated character, who was voiced by Matthew Wood. Mandrell's final design differed greatly from the maquette, most notably being in that the sculpt and the computer model had very different looking legs. While the sculpt gave Mandrell thick legs with more Human like feet, the full computer model had thin, long legs with flat round feet. Although Mandrell's legs couldn't be seen in the film, an action figure released by Hasbro during the film's original run depicted the way Mandrell's legs looked, based on the computer model.
However, there were actually two different models created for the character. In addition to the detailed model used for close up shots and what the toy was based on, there was a low resolution model used for distance shots, where the more detailed model wasn't needed. Close ups of the low resolution face received heavy exposure due to the image being used on official merchandise and the original Star Wars Databank. The low resolution model appeared on the packaging of the original action figure, and in the tie-in video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer.
In the 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Ody Mandrell and his podracer appear during the Boonta Eve Classic depicted in The Phantom Menace. Players can later encounter Ody Mandrell in the city of Mos Espa, where he tasks the player with finding his unpaid Pit Droids.
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