Aftab Ackbar, a Mon Calamari male, hailed from the planet of Mon Cala. During 34 ABY, some members of the Resistance journeyed to Mon Cala, partly to pay tribute to Aftab's father, Admiral Gial Ackbar, who had been killed not long before in the struggle against the First Order. The Resistance's General Leia Organa spearheaded the mission, with the primary intention of requesting starships and pilots. Because of her connection with Ackbar, he accompanied her during discussions with King Ech-Char. Following the initial day of negotiations, the Resistance members faced an assault from several Quarren.
The Quarren asserted that they were, in fact, the wronged party. To settle the dispute, Rey of the Resistance engaged their leader, Chadkol Gee, in the Ancient Rite of Challenge. When Rey received assistance that violated the rite's rules, Ackbar assisted in escorting them away, as their punishment was banishment. However, a saboteur made an attempt to assassinate the group. After surviving this attempt, Ech-Char was convinced to provide ships to the cause against the First Order.
Born on the planet Mon Cala in 16 ABY, Aftab Ackbar was a Mon Calamari male. He was born to the renowned rebel leader Gial Ackbar, although Gial only saw his son once after his spawning, due to his recruitment by Resistance leader General Leia Organa, who formed the group in an effort to oppose the First Order. During his father's time away, Aftab made a study of all of his battles and victories. Eventually, after his father had been with the Resistance for a short period, Aftab pleaded with him to retire once more. At some point, Aftab became acquainted with Organa.
In the year 34 ABY, Rey, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and Rose Tico, all members of the Resistance, embarked on a mission to Mon Cala. Their goal was to honor Admiral Gial Ackbar, who had recently died during the Battle of Oetchi. Organa, who had a previous connection with Aftab, planned to meet him on Mon Cala. However, to her and her group's astonishment, they were met with weapons pointed at them by several Quarren and Mon Calamari as soon as their light freighter, the Millennium Falcon, landed.
As the situation grew more tense, Aftab intervened, declaring Organa to be a war hero who deserved respect. He threatened to have the instigators fed to many-teethed fish if they continued to act aggressively towards the Resistance members. Chadkol Gee, the Quarren who had been arguing with them, informed Aftab that he was out of his depth and that his father's status as a war hero did not automatically make him one as well. Ackbar responded in kind, stating that his ancestors being traitors did not necessarily mean he would be one too.
Following this exchange, the Quarren departed, allowing Ackbar to welcome General Organa. Ackbar expressed his happiness at seeing her but cautioned that many others on Mon Cala would not share his sentiment. Organa explained that her purpose was to honor Ackbar's father. The two swam to the Mourning Shrines of Mon Cala, where tributes to Mon Calamari were displayed, including one dedicated to Gial Ackbar. Organa used a helmet that allowed her to breathe underwater during their swim. Organa remarked that Gial would have been proud of his son. Aftab felt that his father's attention had been elsewhere, as he had only seen him once since his spawning. He also mentioned to Organa that he had heard she was with Gial when he passed away, which Organa confirmed. She told Ackbar that his father had remained a hero until the very end and that she regretted not being able to return his body to his home.
Organa revealed that her true reason for visiting Mon Cala was to request starships and pilots from the Mon Calamari people. Ackbar warned that King of Mon Cala Ech-Char might not provide all the resources Organa hoped for. Organa insisted that, despite the upcoming meeting with politicians, she knew how to handle them. Organa presented her case to the king while Ackbar observed, but she was quickly rebuffed by Chadkol Gee, who claimed that the Mon Calamari and Quarren had suffered under her father, Darth Vader, and that they had already contributed everything to her cause. Although Ech-Char did not dismiss Organa's request as Gee had, he acknowledged that she was asking a great deal from a people still healing from old wounds. He adjourned the meeting until the following day.
Shortly after, the Resistance representatives were attacked by Quarren. Tico, Rey, and Chewbacca defeated several in close combat, but they, along with C-3PO, were captured and confined in pods. Ackbar and Organa were with Ech-Char when the pods were brought in. After Ech-Char accused Organa's people of going too far, Ackbar accused Ri of involvement in the attack on Organa's companions, arguing that it was too coincidental that an angry mob of his supporters had gathered where the guests' ship was docked. He also stated that, despite his advocacy for peace, he associated with violent individuals.
Ri approached Ackbar and reminded him that even his father had shown respect to Ri. Ackbar countered that his father had died fighting the First Order, so he doubted that he would respect someone who simply hid from the threat. Organa ended the argument, pointing out that their infighting was precisely what the First Order wanted. Gee suggested resolving the debate through the Ancient Rite of Challenge, which C-3PO explained was a fight to the death. Gee's personal security droid, an AQ-series battle droid, would fight on his behalf, a relic from the Battle of Mon Cala during the Clone Wars, fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Rey was only able to defeat the droid with Rose Tico's help. Ech-Char exiled the visitors, as required by law for those who interfered in combat between two opponents. Ackbar went to see Organa and the others off in their shuttle and apologized for the need to avoid the streets, where safety could not be guaranteed. Organa assured him that it was not his fault and told him that his father would have been proud of who he had become. Ackbar insisted that his father would not have been outmaneuvered by the likes of Ri or Gee as he had been. As Organa and the others prepared to depart, a Quarren secretly placed a crate on the shuttle, causing an explosion that destroyed it.
A nearby Mon Calamari cried out, unable to bear the apparent loss of Ackbar. However, Rey used the Force to levitate several crates to keep them safe. While Chewbacca, C-3PO, and Ackbar remained with Organa, Rey and Tico pursued the Quarren saboteur. The former group returned to King Ech-Char, where Ackbar demanded that Organa be treated with respect. Organa convinced Ech-Char to provide ships to the Resistance, with Ackbar standing by her side. Above Mon Cala, Resistance and Mon Calamari ships faced a large armada of Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, with Ackbar commanding an MC95 Star Cruiser. Ackbar then jumped to hyperspace in his Star Cruiser to avoid catastrophic losses.
Ackbar provided the Resistance with several starships. He personally joined the movement to honor his father's legacy. His recruitment was part of the Resistance's efforts to attract more Mon Calamari to their cause, as well as due to his family's history with rebel efforts. Organa quickly briefed him after he joined, and she was pleased with his progress. In 35 ABY, Ackbar was stationed at the Resistance base on the moon of Ajan Kloss. When the Millennium Falcon returned from a mission, he was standing nearby with a datapad in his hand, conversing with a dark-skinned human. After the human departed, Commander Poe Dameron asked Ackbar to have the astromech droid R2-D2 reconditioned and his data transferred, which the Mon Calamari confirmed.
Later that night, he attended a meeting where intelligence from the mission was discussed. When Dameron revealed that Darth Sidious had returned, Ackbar insisted that it was impossible because the Emperor was dead, citing the second Death Star as the location. Ackbar later wrung his hands when the intel revealed that the Sith had been amassing an unstoppable fleet, exclaiming that his father had warned of such a catastrophe.
Ackbar was among the select few allowed near Leia Organa's bed after her death, mourning her as the Resistance paid their respects. He then stood behind General Lando Calrissian during the briefing before the Battle of Exegol. Their plan was to destroy the navigation tower required by the Xyston-class Star Destroyers of the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order, for takeoff, allowing their cannons and main reactors to be easily disabled. Although Ackbar supported Captain Beaumont Kin's suggestion of using Holdo maneuvers, the idea was rejected by former stormtrooper Finn.
The Resistance traveled to Exegol, following a path to the Unknown Regions provided by Rey, with Ackbar expressing amazement at the size of the fleet. During the battle, Ackbar piloted a Y-wing starfighter and provided covering fire for the ground team. When Dameron wondered aloud if any reinforcements would arrive, Ackbar asked him what they should do. Dameron replied that they would have to attack the Sith Star Destroyers themselves. Eventually, reinforcements arrived, leading to the destruction of the Sith Eternal and Sidious's death.
Aftab Ackbar deeply admired his father, Gial, and urged him to retire after a brief period with the Resistance. Gial's death caused Aftab great personal sorrow, and he committed himself to upholding his father's legacy. His voice often sounded anxious, except when the reinforcements arrived at Exegol.
Ackbar was a Mon Calamari male with brown eyes. His bulbous eyes provided him with a 180-degree field of vision.
Ackbar wore a flight suit that included a life support unit and flight harness, along with boots customized for his webbed feet. He piloted a Y-wing.
Aftab Ackbar was created for the December 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. He was voiced by Chris Terrio, the film's screenwriter, and portrayed in costume by Tom Wilton. The character was first mentioned in the 2019 junior novel Spark of the Resistance, by Justina Ireland, and first pictured on the cover of Allegiance 1, illustrated by Marco Checchetto, although the Mon Calamari did not appear in the comic itself. The character on the cover of Allegiance 1 was identified as Aftab Ackbar in Allegiance 2, written by Ethan Sacks, illustrated by Luke Ross, and published on October 16, 2019.
During the early stages of making The Rise of Skywalker, director J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Chris Terrio discussed Admiral Ackbar's death and considered whether the character could have had a child, leading to the creation of Aftab Ackbar. Terrio was initially intended only as a temporary voice for Ackbar, but Abrams decided to keep him. In development, Aftab was nicknamed "Minibar." He originated in an October 2017 version of the story where he was planned to appear on the planet that became Pasaana.
Merchandise released before The Rise of Skywalker's release indicated that Ackbar held the rank of general. This contradicts the film's credits and associated media, which list him as a colonel. The 2021 twelfth issue of De Agostini's Star Wars Starships & Vehicles magazine mistakenly refers to him as "Aftat."
Ian Doescher's non-canon adaptation of the film, William Shakespeare's The Merry Rise of Skywalker: Star Wars Part the Ninth, modifies Ackbar's line about the Emperor to include "He fell within the last war with a zap," a rhyming reference to his father's famous line, "It's a trap!"
In the non-canon video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga released in 2022, Aftab Ackbar is a playable character who can be unlocked by completing the Scramble Run course in Ajan Kloss space.