Garven Dreis

Garven Dreis, who hailed from the Inner Rim planet of Virujansi, spent his youth flying through the complex borecrawler caves and learning every aspect of his family's farm. During the Clone Wars, a three-year conflict (22 BBY to 19 BBY) between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist Alliance, Dreis was drafted into the Rarefied Air Cavalry to defend Virujansi against Separatist droid infiltrators. At that time, "Dave" Dreis was a young man who had recently transitioned from flying T-16 skyhoppers to Z-95 Headhunters, but he was considered Virujansi's most skilled and well-liked pilot—second only to the Republic's "Hero With No Fear," Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

When Skywalker came to Virujansi in a Delta-7 interceptor to command the defense against the Separatists, Dreis led the Republic hero on his first flight through the caverns, staying to the left and within a meter of Dreis for two minutes. Dreis wondered how long Skywalker could maintain the pace, but the Jedi suddenly executed a snap-roll with his interceptor and took the lead. Dreis struggled to keep up, and Skywalker's grin back at base showed that he had noticed Dreis' surprise. The Rarefied Air Cavalry and the Republic Navy eventually liberated Virujansi, and Dreis greatly admired Anakin Skywalker for the rest of his life.

After the rise of the Galactic Empire following the end of the Clone Wars, Dreis stayed on Virujansi and witnessed several Imperial atrocities: his own fields and village were burned by the Empire, and TIE fighters destroyed transports with little justification, leaving helpless passengers stranded in space with their mouths open in despair. Dreis eventually decided to resist the Empire and joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic, becoming a starfighter pilot. He fought in numerous campaigns, flying X-wings, Y-wings, and R-22 Spearheads, and he outlived hundreds of pilots who died fighting the Empire, recruiting many of them and sending them to their deaths.

Dreis also helped recruit new pilots for other squadrons, such as Ryle Torsyn of Gold Squadron. In addition to flying the T-65, Dreis had over a thousand hours of experience in an Incom skyhopper, which had similar controls to the X-wing. He was once stationed at the Alliance base on Dantooine, where he commanded Dantooine Squadron. On Dantooine, Dreis flew many missions with Theron Nett, a former smuggler from Ord Mantell, as his wingman, and he was joined by Davish Krail of Gold Squadron, an old friend. The Rebels had to abandon the base in 0 BBY after Torsyn found a hidden Imperial tracking device, and all personnel moved to the Great Temple on the moon Yavin 4.

On Yavin 4, Red Squadron was quickly formed from pilots from Dantooine Squadron, the Tierfon Yellow Aces, and the Griffon Flight Wing. Dreis was assigned to lead the new squadron, flying the lead X-wing starfighter with the call sign "Red 1" or "Red Leader." Most of the pilots in his squadron had been trained by Dreis, who, along with his pilots, was responsible for protecting Alliance High Command. When commanding Red Squadron—or "Red Boys," as he called them—he acted almost like a father and was well respected. His squadron also called him "Boss" or "Chief," but the younger pilots didn't know his real name.

Soon after Princess Leia Organa gave the plans for the Empire's planet-destroying Death Star battle station to General Jan Dodonna of Alliance High Command on Yavin 4, preparations began for a decisive strike to destroy the superweapon. Luke Skywalker, the son of Dreis' former Clone Wars comrade Anakin Skywalker, accompanied Organa.

Luke Skywalker used a flight simulator, and Biggs Darklighter, "Red Three," presented his results to Dreis and Commander Vanden Willard. Red Leader approached Skywalker, who was with Darklighter and Princess Organa, and said he was impressed that Skywalker had only been shot down twice despite facing an entire starfleet. He then accepted him into Red Squadron with the call sign "Red Five."

After leaving Organa, Red Leader and his men attended Dodonna's briefing in the Rebel base a few minutes later. The plan was to attack the huge weapon with snubfighters and fire proton torpedoes down a two-meter-wide thermal exhaust port at the end of the long, narrow meridian trench. The torpedoes would then travel down the port, causing a chain reaction that would destroy the Death Star's main reactor and the entire station.

Gold Squadron would attempt to make the crucial shot while Red Squadron provided cover, holding off any Imperial resistance. Blue and Green Squadrons would attack the Death Star superlaser to distract the Imperials from the exhaust port strikes. Making the situation more urgent, the Death Star had entered the Yavin system and was moving toward the fourth moon. After the briefing, the pilots began their final preparations, with Red Leader telling Skywalker and Darklighter to put on their flight suits and meet him in the Great Temple's hangar.

As Red Leader walked through the hangar with his helmet and [gloves](/article/glove-legends] in hand, he saw anxiety and fear among the pilots, but no panic or despair. Reminded of his Clone Wars missions on Virujansi with Anakin Skywalker by the name of the squadron's new member, Luke Skywalker, Dreis approached the young man, who was with Biggs Darklighter beside his new X-wing. Even after the simulator run, Dreis wasn't sure if Skywalker was ready. However, Darklighter, a childhood friend of Skywalker, vouched for his skills, claiming that Skywalker was the best bush pilot in the Outer Rim Territories. Skywalker's name led Dreis to realize that he had met the boy's father, Anakin, which he saw as a good sign.

Dreis said he believed the young Skywalker would be a good pilot and that the galaxy would improve when he, as a son of the original Jedi Knights, returned to action. As they looked at the youth's new ship, Dreis patted Luke Skywalker on the back and assured him that skyhoppers and T-65 X-wings were similar to operate, except for the different payloads. With a fierce smile, Dreis left Skywalker and Darklighter and hurried to his own ship, leaving Skywalker with many unanswered questions.

As Luke Skywalker entered his craft, he saw Red Leader signaling to his ground crew from the seat of his X-wing, which also carried Dreis' astromech droid, R5-K6. Red Squadron, signaled by Dreis via comm-unit for liftoff, launched from Yavin 4's hidden fortress along with Gold Leader Jon "Dutch" Vander's Y-wing Gold Squadron. The Rebel ships slowly formed attack formations and circled the gas giant Yavin Prime as the Death Star came into view.

With only about fifteen minutes before the Rebel moon would be in range of the battlestation, Red Leader lowered his glare visor, adjusted his targeting computer, and told his pilots to adjust their selectors and report in. Looking at the approaching Death Star, he remembered the suffering and injustice caused by the Empire, noted that they were approaching the battlestation at 1.3 parsecs, and declared that it was a do-or-die situation. When Red Leader saw that Wedge Antilles, "Red Two," had strayed from the group, he told him to tighten formation. Antilles said there was a problem with his targeting computer, and Dreis told him to be careful. After his entire squadron reported in, Dreis told them to lock S-foils in attack position and begin their assault.

As Red Squadron flew through the station's magnetic field, Dreis told his men to lock down their control units and set their deflector shields to double front, and he scolded Antilles for unnecessary chatter. Leading the assault, Dreis ordered Red Squadron to keep their comm channels quiet until they reached the surface and accelerate to attack velocity. Soon after, Red Leader heard from Vander that Gold Squadron was moving to attack the Death Star's trench, and Dreis hoped that the Force would be with them.

To draw the station's defensive fire away from the Y-wings, Dreis and three other X-wing pilots, including his wingman, "Red Twelve" Puck Naeco, flew across the Death Star's axis. The rest of Red Squadron followed, causing Imperial laser cannons and turbolasers to open fire, starting the Battle of Yavin. Under heavy fire, Dreis told his men to stay low, and when Luke Skywalker's craft was hit during his nose dive attack, the veteran sternly told him to give himself more lead time.

Under Dreis' command, Red Squadron targeted the Death Star's deflection towers, with the squadron leader smoothly flying close to the station's superstructure through heavy flak and fire while telling Skywalker to destroy one of them, warning of heavy fire from the tower's right side. Red Squadron suffered its first loss when "Red Six" Jek Tono Porkins died after hitting a deflection tower. Soon after, they were contacted by Del Goren, who was at the Great Temple monitoring the battle with Rebel leaders including General Dodonna, Commander Willard, and Princess Organa. Goren told squadron leaders that enemy fighters were moving to intercept them.

When Skywalker protested, saying there were no enemy fighters on his scope, Dreis quickly told his men to check their visual scanning. The squadron leader was the first to see TIE/LN starfighters of Black Squadron entering the fight, engaging Red Squadron in dogfights.

Dreis congratulated "Red Four" John D. Branon for shooting down a TIE fighter, but then looked down toward his port side and warned about another TIE behind Branon. The Rebel was soon shot down far above and to one side of Red Leader, who remained calm and focused on the mission. Dreis told Antilles to tighten up and watch out for towers and told the X-wings to pull in. When he lost track of Skywalker, Red Leader, under pressure, asked Red Six to find Red Five. "Red Ten" Theron Nett said that Skywalker was in a heavy fire zone; he was being chased by a TIE fighter until Antilles rescued him.

The Gold Squadron trio, with Gold Leader Vander and Tiree as the wingmen of Dreis' old friend Davish Krail, began their trench run with just over five minutes left. Red Leader acknowledged the Y-wings' attack run, telling Red Squadron to provide cover, but the Y-wings were pursued inside the trench by Darth Vader, the Sith Lord, who arrived in his prototype TIE Advanced x1 with two TIE/LN wingmen.

Vader quickly defeated Vander, Tiree, and Krail. As Krail fell to the Death Star's surface, he told Red Leader that TIE fighters had come from the rear and there was no room to maneuver. Red Leader acknowledged the new Gold Leader, who apologized for Gold Squadron's failure and, saying that the mission was now Dreis' responsibility, said goodbye using his nickname, Dave.

Following the passing of his longtime comrade, Dreis directed his squadron to assemble; they had under 180 seconds before the Yavin IV moon was annihilated by the Death Star. Subsequently, he was given instructions from General Dodonna to hold back half of his pilots and initiate an assault on the trench. With just six pilots present at their designated meeting point, Dreis commanded Skywalker to take Darklighter and Antilles and remain behind, awaiting a signal to commence their own attack if his own attempt failed. After confirming his wingmen were correctly positioned and observing no sign of the TIE fighters in the trench, Dreis proceeded into the trench, accompanied by Theron Nett on his left and Puck Naeco guarding his right. As per the instructions from both Dodonna and Dreis, the wingmen maintained a safe distance, prepared to intercept any approaching TIE fighters.

Initially, the Rebels were taken aback by the absence of defensive fire. Dreis, suspecting a malfunction due to the intense signal interference within the trench, scrutinized his instruments and expressed uncertainty about whether they had indeed entered the correct trench. Abruptly, they encountered near misses from turbolaser fire, particularly from a tower situated at the trench's end. Dreis intended to summon his wingmen forward, but the firing ceased as quickly as it had started. Consequently, Dreis advised his wingmen to remain vigilant for Imperial fighters.

Predictably, Skywalker alerted Dreis' team to the approach of three TIE fighters, moving to intercept. Before the Imperials could begin harassing the leading half of Red Squadron, Dreis closed the distance and activated his targeting computer, aiming directly at the exhaust port. As they sped through the trench, Vader swiftly eliminated Naeco, while another Imperial pilot shot down Nett. The sacrifice made by Red Leader's wingmen afforded him the necessary time to launch his proton torpedoes at the exhaust port before ascending rapidly from the trench.

Dreis declared triumphantly that the torpedoes had been launched, and "Red Nine" Nozzo Naytaan celebrated the anticipated success as the Death Star's corridors reverberated from the massive explosion Dreis initiated within the trench. However, Dreis soon discerned that the torpedoes had merely struck the surface of the battle station, failing to penetrate the exhaust port. As TIE fighters persisted in their pursuit of Red Leader as he exited the trench, the news reverberated through the Rebels at the Great Temple. Princess Organa, though disheartened, expressed a defiant wish that Dreis' shot had at least unseated the presiding battlestation commander, Grand Moff Tarkin, from his feet. The blast shook numerous Death Star troopers and stormtroopers within the station's hallways.

Observed by Skywalker, Dreis was offered assistance, but the squadron leader reported the failure of his starboard engine—R5-K6's attempts to repair the damaged machinery were unsuccessful—and insisted that the remaining pilots should prepare for their own attack run. Pursued by the leading TIE craft, Red Leader resigned himself to his fate as his starfighter was engulfed in laser fire and plummeted, colliding with the battle station's surface. Unbeknownst to Dreis, the Imperial pilot who had downed him, Darth Vader, was once his comrade during the Clone Wars and the father of Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker.

Despite being targeted by Vader and with less than a minute remaining, Luke Skywalker opted to disregard the targeting computer that had failed Red Leader and, relying on the Force, delivered the shot that successfully obliterated the Death Star. With the Rebellion now secure, the Rebels who perished in the battle were the first to be honored with the Kenobi Medallion, awarded posthumously for their courageous sacrifice and displayed in the pilot's lounge at the Rebel base on Tierfon. A holographic memorial dedicated to the fallen pilots was also established at the Great Temple. The position vacated by Dreis' death was filled by Commander Arhul Narra of Renegade Flight, and leadership of the squadron eventually passed to Skywalker and Antilles—the only Red Squadron members to survive the Battle of Yavin—who transformed it into the renowned Rogue Squadron. Skywalker and Leia Organa later chronicled their recollections of the Battle of Yavin, including the contributions of the late Red Leader, in their personal journals.

Following the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY, Antilles frequently assumed leadership of Rogue Squadron. However, during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, in which the Rebellion destroyed the Death Star II, Rogue Squadron was temporarily renamed "Red Squadron" to commemorate those who had died at Yavin. Rebel pilot "Green Four" Nichos Panib, a noble hailing from Dreis' home planet, was stationed at Echo Base on Hoth before the battle there. Panib, who had been a close friend of Panib's mother's family, honored the fallen pilot by painting his helmet to resemble Dreis'.

Dreis, a fair-skinned Human male with brown hair and a resonant voice, displayed a weathered appearance by the time of the Battle of Yavin. Garven Dreis's resolve to oppose the Empire was fueled by a profound sense of injustice he had witnessed and endured. Although dedicated to the Alliance's cause, his past experiences served as a more immediate impetus for his actions than pure rebellious zeal. In contrast to his old ally Gold Leader Jon Vander, Garven Dreis exuded confidence and possessed a robust and imposing physique.

In anticipation of the Battle of Yavin, Dreis was intensely eager to engage, but he concealed this from his pilots. Red Leader maintained composure as he and his squadron attacked the Death Star and engaged TIE fighters in aerial combat. Despite feeling tense and apprehensive at the start of his trench run, perspiring heavily, Dreis was surprised by his own tranquility as he awaited the convergence of the two lines on his targeting computer, indicating the precise moment to strike the port. Concentrating on the small, abstract images on the display enabled him to disregard the hostile environment.

Red Leader was wary of Imperial eavesdropping on Rebel communications during battle. When "Gold Five" Davish Krail informed him of Gold Leader's death by using the latter's nickname, "Dutch," Red Leader considered the implications of the Empire learning of a squadron leader's demise. Acknowledging Krail's automatic promotion, Dreis promptly addressed Krail as "Gold Leader." Dreis initially proclaimed his successful launch of proton torpedoes as he pulled out of the Death Star trench, but his tone turned bitter upon realizing the warheads had merely impacted the station's surface. When he was shot down, Red Leader emitted a roar as he perished in flames.

Garven Dreis shared a long-standing friendship with Rebel pilot Davish Krail, known as "Pops," who referred to Dreis as "Dave" in his final moments at the Battle of Yavin—Dreis struggled to maintain composure upon Krail's death. While Krail enforced strict discipline among his own pilots, Dreis believed the intensity of combat was sufficient to correct his own pilots. Red Leader adopted a caring, almost fatherly approach to commanding his "Red Boys." Before their final engagement, Dreis forced a smile to reassure the Red Squadron newcomer, Luke Skywalker. The affable Dreis provided a stabilizing influence for his "boys," preventing them from risking their lives for him when he faced mortal danger at the Death Star.

As Red Squadron entered the Death Star's magnetic field, Dreis' calming voice eased Skywalker's anxiety. Dreis encouraged John D. Branon when the pilot shot down a TIE fighter and reported another approaching TIE, but the subsequent loss of the Rebel had little impact on the squadron leader, who remained focused on their mission. Dreis continued to protect his pilots, warning them of potential threats and expressing concern for the more impetuous Luke Skywalker in particular.

Like General Dodonna, the squadron commander admired his subordinate Wedge Antilles' adaptability and piloting skills, but he considered Antilles to lack experience. Both Dreis and Dodonna regarded Nozzo Naytaan as the squadron's most promising member, but they were wary of his recklessness. Dreis also mentored the younger Theron Nett, who served as his long-time wingman.

During his early years, Garven Dreis was recognized as one of Virujansi's most skilled fighter pilots, adept at navigating its caverns. He later became a respected and capable veteran pilot within the Rebellion. Throughout his service with Virujansi's Rarefied Air Cavalry and the Rebel Alliance, Dreis gained experience piloting T-16 skyhoppers, Z-95 Headhunters, X-wings, Y-wings, and R-22 Spearheads.

As the commander of the X-wing Red Squadron and a mentor to some of its members, Dreis possessed the ability to assess his pilots' condition and offer guidance during aerial engagements. General Dodonna trusted that the seasoned pilot, as the leader of the first flight's assault, would maintain composure despite facing heavy fire within the Death Star's narrow trenches. While Red and Gold Leaders were equally skilled and dedicated, the general, even considering the potential of Gold Squadron's Y-wings in executing the attack run, placed his confidence in Dreis. Red Leader was able to focus on his targeting computer's display while simultaneously maneuvering his craft through the canyon for his attack run.

Garven Dreis wore an orange flight suit with a white flak vest during the Battle of Yavin, piloting a T-65 X-wing starfighter equipped with his personal R5-series astromech droid, R5-K6. He also carried a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol and wore black gloves.

The Rebel's worn white flight helmet, which included a headset comm-unit, featured gold paint adorned with curving black lines and round red symbols. A red line ran along the helmet's reinforced midrib, and the forehead protectors on both sides were decorated with a cluster of black and grey stripes lined with irregular red patterns, representing pre-Rebellion squadron insignia. Each side of the helmet displayed a Rebel unit marking—a black circle with thin lines of the same color streaking through it—and was crested with numerous black-and-gold "V"-shaped symbols.

Created for George Lucas' May 1977 original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Garven Dreis was first visually depicted in the film and credited as "Red Leader," but the character made his first appearance in Alan Dean Foster's November 1976 novelization of the film, where he is named "Dave." Both Foster's novelization and the fifth issue of Roy Thomas' Star Wars comic adaptation, published by Marvel Comics on August 10, 1977, identify the film's Red Squadron as "Blue Squadron," and thus Dreis' character was also known as "Blue Leader." A New Hope's May 1974 rough draft names the pilot leading the starfighter attack on the Death Star Mace, and the second issue of Jonathan W. Rinzler's comic adaptation of the rough draft, published on October 2, 2013, elaborates on the attack, designating Mace as "Devil Leader."

Raymond L. Velasco's 1984 reference title A Guide to the Star Wars Universe established "Dave" as the character's first name and erroneously identified his nom de guerre as "Blue Leader" as well. However, the character was identified as "Garven Dreis" by the Premiere Limited set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game later in 1995, with the 1998 reference book Star Wars Encyclopedia clarifying that "Dave" was a nickname. 2009's Rebellion Era Campaign Guide, a Wizards of the Coast supplement to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook, misspells the name as "Garvin Dreis."

Initially designated "Blue Leader" as the leader of "Blue Squadron," Dreis' designation and squadron were changed to "Red Leader" and "Red Squadron" because the use of bluescreens for the X-wing models prevented them from being painted blue as originally planned. The climactic Death Star assault was inspired by documentaries and war films based on World War II, from which Lucas compiled a 16 mm eight-minute reel of dogfights for storyboard artist Joe Johnston and the Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects crew's reference in the making of Star Wars. Lucas himself drew inspiration from the reel while writing the end battle in the fourth draft of A New Hope in December 1975.

Red Leader's dialogue and actions in battle closely mirrored those of Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 film The Dam Busters and Wing Commander "Blue Leader" Roy Grant in the 1964 film 633 Squadron. Footage from The Dam Busters was intercut with footage of Drewe Henley as Garven Dreis in the rough cut that Lucas screened to his filmmaking friends in mid-February 1977, as the special effects were not yet complete. Initially, 20th Century Fox, the distributor of A New Hope, wanted to remove the entire battle sequence. However, efforts by ILM and film editors Richard Chew, Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, and George Lucas himself convinced Fox otherwise.

As with all Rebel pilots at the Battle of Yavin, the film's conceptual sketches, created by Joe Johnston for the fourth draft, depict the character wearing a helmet and breath mask that fully covered the head. The storyboards also show Y-wings leading the X-wings of "Blue Leader" on the initial approach to the Death Star's surface, whereas both the revised fourth draft and the film depict him and his X-wings diving down across the battlestation's axis while the Y-wings remain at high altitude. For Dreis' X-wing trench run, the boards present two of them leading at the front of the formation while another one is flying further back, while the film shows Dreis' starfighter in the lead, flanked by two other X-wings.

Another storyboard depicts an "R-2 unit" attempting to repair the pilot's X-wing after it was damaged by Vader's fire, but the board was crossed out; the scene is included in the 1976 novelization but not in the revised fourth draft, dated to January 1976. Later boards detail "Blue Leader" crashing into a tower on the Death Star but remaining semi-intact, before continuing to fly into the Death Star's surface and exploding. The scene initially features only an X-wing model, but the tower scene was changed to a point-of-view shot on December 22, with the combined crash being scheduled to take just under six and a half seconds of screentime. A process plate shows a close-up of "Red Leader" in his X-wing in the lead-up to the battle, with the cockpit exterior bearing kill markings of three TIE fighters and an airplane.

The revised fourth draft describes "Red Leader" as a burly and good-looking natural-born leader in his forties. Both it and the 1981 Star Wars radio drama attributes a warning to Biggs Darklighter about a tailing TIE during the dogfights to Red Leader, whereas both the film and its novelization attributes the line to Luke Skywalker instead.

The character was portrayed by the British actor Drewe Henley, who was mistakenly credited as "Drewe Hemley." The cockpit scenes were shot on Stage 8 at Elstree Studios for two weeks starting from June 28, 1976. Henley interpreted the character as an experienced one, so he decided to play Red Leader as a man who did not give away his excitement in his voice. Lucas wanted the character to convey more of a sense of excitement, however, leading the actor and director to come to a compromise—Red Leader would at first be more relaxed and confident, speaking like the actor John Wayne, and then as the battle progressed, would become more and more enthused.

Henley realized that his performance would be almost entirely in his voice. This was due to the fact that he would not be given the opportunity for much physical movement, since he was in a relatively small space for most of his scenes. Henley found it difficult to act in the "cockpit" scenes, for he was totally isolated from the rest of the actors and could not interact with them. Unlike many of the actors in A New Hope, Henley's performance was not dubbed over by another actor in post-production, performing with an American accent.

The performance would prove to be Henley's final one on film as he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder shortly after shooting had finished and decided to retire from acting. Henley would later reflect upon A New Hope as the most interesting film he had ever been involved with. Archive film of Henley as Red Leader that was not used in the 1977 film was held at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Ranch, including the line "Stay close, Red Five! Where are you going?"

The 1997 Special Edition release of A New Hope featured several scenes that had been cut from the original theatrical version of the film. Henley was pleased with the inclusion of the scene where he, as Red Leader, talks briefly with Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter, played by Mark Hamill and Garrick Hagon, respectively. Another take of the scene, in which Red Leader says he knew Anakin Skywalker in the middle of the sequence, was not used in any release of the film, but the line was featured and expanded upon in both Foster's A New Hope novelization and the Marvel Comics adaptation.

Dreis' helmet used in A New Hope was carried by the pilot Nichos Panib on Hoth in 1980's Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and by another pilot on the cruiser Home One in 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The film prop was also reused for the character Ina Rece and an unnamed female pilot in the 1995 video game Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire.

Among the discrepancies between Foster's 1976 novelization of the 1977 film A New Hope are variations in dialogue throughout the span of the entire story, which are not documented in this article. There are, however, several factual contradictions between the two sources.

In the film, Red Leader asks Red Six if he could see the missing Red Five, Luke Skywalker, after the death of Jek Porkins, who served as Red Six. While the 1976 novelization shows Dreis asking Red Two Wedge Antilles instead if he could see Red Five, Ryder Windham's 2004 junior novelization of A New Hope clarifies that Red Leader was under the strain of combat when directing a question to the fallen Red Six. The film also shows Luke Skywalker being chased by a TIE fighter in the same sequence, which contradicts the novel, in which Red Squadron pilots urge an unresponsive Skywalker to break off his pursuit of a target. This article assumes that Skywalker was being pursued, as shown in the film.

The novelization diverges from the film's narrative when Skywalker momentarily abandons his attack run, only to return. Dreis then urges him to remain nearby and cautions him about the intense enemy fire. Defying this advice, Red Five declares his intention to destroy a lateral stabilizer and succeeds, but requires Antilles' assistance to evade a TIE fighter. In contrast, the film depicts Antilles rescuing Skywalker from the pursuing TIE fighter after Dreis inquires about the missing Red Five. Consequently, this article does not incorporate the novel's version of this particular battle sequence.

Furthermore, the novelization of A New Hope presents certain events in a sequence that differs from the film's final cut. This article prioritizes the film's sequence. In the novel, Dreis instructs his pilots to lock their S-foils into attack position before they report in, whereas the film reverses this order. Additionally, the novel places Antilles' superfluous chatter after Dreis' command to maintain radio silence, again differing from the film. Similarly, Antilles' warning about heavy fire at twenty-three degrees occurs after John D. Branon's demise in the novel, while in the film, the warning immediately follows the commencement of fire from the Imperials upon Red Squadron.

Despite Garven Dreis addressing Gold Five Davish Krail as "Gold Leader" immediately before Krail's death in A New Hope, the 1981 radio drama features Dreis referring to him as "Gold Five," and the 1976 novelization refers to him as "Red Five." Similar to how the novelization renames Red Squadron as Blue Squadron, the film's Gold Squadron is referred to as Red Squadron, with corresponding adjustments to squadron call signs. This article considers both the radio drama and the novelization to be inaccurate, as the 2004 junior novelization of A New Hope clarifies that Dreis intentionally used the title "Gold Leader" when addressing Krail.

The sixth installment of the 1977 Marvel Comics Star Wars adaptation explicitly states that Vader killed Dreis immediately after he launched his proton torpedoes, rather than sometime after the Rebel reports his missed shots as depicted in the film. The comic's narrator speculates that it may be a blessing that the pilot would never learn that his payload narrowly missed its intended destination.

The February 1st, 1997 issue ½ of the Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic book series, co-authored by Michael A. Stackpole and Mike W. Barr, portrays Dreis welcoming pilots Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter, and Jek Porkins in the Great Temple hangar on Yavin 4. These pilots had just returned from a mission just in time for the Death Star assault, and Dreis then introduced them to their new squadron members: Luke Skywalker and his droid, R2-D2. Considering that both the Star Wars radio drama and the 1998 junior novel Star Wars Journal: The Fight for Justice establish that Dreis inducted Skywalker into Red Squadron after Darklighter introduced them, this article regards the X-Wing Rogue Squadron meeting as non-canonical within the Star Wars Legends continuity.

The April 2nd, 1997 fourth edition of the Star Wars: A New Hope - The Special Edition comic book series, illustrated by Eduardo Barreto, showcases a different design for Dreis' helmet. The red line along its central ridge is absent, and each side of the helmet's front features two black lines that flank a single red line, which includes red spokes near its bottom. Furthermore, the numerous "V"-shaped symbols adorning the helmet's sides are colored red instead of black and gold.

Within the Death Star Trench Run bonus stage of the 1998 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron video game, where Luke Skywalker leads Rogue Squadron in an assault on the Death Star, Skywalker delivers Dreis' line from A New Hope in response to Wedge Antilles' irrelevant chatter. Given that the level can be played separately from the game's main story, its events are considered non-canonical within the Star Wars Legends continuity.

Similarly, Dreis makes an appearance in his X-wing in both the 2001 video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, voiced by Bob Machray, and the 2006 video game Star Wars: Empire at War, as an integral part of the Red Squadron unit. As the unit appears outside of the games' main plotlines, Dreis' presence is considered non-canonical within the Star Wars Legends continuity.

Abel G. Peña provided further details regarding Dreis' encounter with Anakin Skywalker before his transformation into Darth Vader in the article "Vader Tech," featured in the 2005 magazine Vader: The Ultimate Guide. Jason Fry also contributed to this backstory as a co-author in the 2012 reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare. For this book, Fry crafted a war narrative presented as a missing page from Foster's novelization of A New Hope, expressing particular satisfaction with his depiction of Dreis' interaction with Anakin Skywalker and his friendship with Davish Krail.