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Ensel

The Ensel were a sentient species originating from the planet Enselon. An example of an Ensel is the Jedi, Alta Ranga.

Biology and appearance

A notable characteristic of this bipedal species was their skin, which presented in shades of blue, pink, and tan. They also had noticeably large craniums.

Society and culture

The home world of this species was the planet Enselon.

Species in the galaxy

By the year 22 BBY, an Ensel named Alta Ranga had risen to the rank of Jedi Master within the Jedi Order. She served as a member of Mace Windu's Jedi assault team during the First Battle of Geonosis.

Behind the scenes

George Lucas observing various potential designs for Dexter Jettster, including what would become the Ensel.

The original concept for this species came from a maquette bust created by John Knoll and his team. It was one of twenty-four potential designs for the character Dexter Jettster presented to George Lucas for consideration. Ultimately, Lucas chose to combine two other head sculpts to form the Besalisk species. However, some of the unused maquettes were repurposed as additional alien Jedi in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, including the Vurk Coleman Trebor, the Ongree Pablo-Jill, and various busts of famous and infamous Jedi displayed in the Jedi Archives, such as Chon Actrion.

The full body Ensel maquette recycled from the rejected head sculpt.

The Ensel was among the maquettes selected for further development. A full-body maquette was commissioned, along with a concept design by Dermot Power specifically for the Ensel Jedi Master, Alta Ranga. Although the design did not appear in the film, and there is no evidence of a CGI model for Alta Ranga being created, the character was later featured and expanded upon in supplementary media for Attack of the Clones. Leland Chee confirmed that Alta Ranga was present at, and survived, the First Battle of Geonosis, though her presence was not shown onscreen.

Sources

  • The Art of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (First appearance)
  • Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones DVD — Featurette: " From Puppets to Pixels "
  • Jedi Casualties: Battle of Geonosis on Keeper of the Holocron — Leland Chee's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
  • Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop
  • The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
  • The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia , Vol. III, p. 78 ("Ranga, Alta")

Notes and references

External Links

Appearances

This article uses content from Wookiepedia, under CC-BY-SA 3.0.