A Trandoshan male named Gilas operated as a big game hunter. He belonged to a hunting guild under the leadership of Garnac, another Trandoshan, around 20 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). This guild sometimes captured sentient beings from across the galaxy to be used as prey on the moon Wasskah. The Trandoshans then hunted these captives without mercy. However, when the Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was captured, she organized a resistance with other captured individuals and fought back against their captors.
Gilas investigated a crashed starship that belonged to the Padawan's group. He later participated in the defense of Garnac's floating fortress. Despite briefly overpowering Tano and her allies, Gilas and the other hunters were surprised by the arrival of Wookiee soldiers who came to the aid of the captives. During the resulting battle, Gilas was killed by the Wookiee leader, General Tarfful. Ultimately, the Wookiees emerged victorious.
Gilas, a male Trandoshan, was a member of the hunting guild that was commanded by Garnac, another Trandoshan. The guild, based on the moon of Wasskah, engaged in the practice of kidnapping sentient beings and transporting them to Wasskah. Once there, these individuals were hunted by the guild as a form of sport.
In 20 BBY, Garnac's son Dar reached the age to participate in the guild's hunts. On the day of Dar's initiation, Gilas participated in a hunt that included new prey, among them the Togruta Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano. After Garnac endorsed the hunt, Gilas, along with the other Trandoshan hunters, armed himself and piloted a hover pod to Wasskah's Island Four alongside the hunter Ramy.
Later that evening, Gilas was present at Dar's induction ceremony at the guild's floating fortress base. Along with the other hunters, Gilas chanted Dar's name as the young Trandoshan's father welcomed him into the guild. However, Tano killed Dar the following day when he attempted to kill her and another stranded Jedi.
Several days later, Tano allied herself with two other Jedi younglings, O-Mer and Jinx. Together, they forced a Trandoshan drop ship to crash on Island Four's beach, thus freeing the only Wookiee prisoner, Chewbacca. The next day, Gilas and the other Trandoshans located the crashed freighter. While Gilas patrolled the area in a hover pod, it was discovered that the freighter pilots Clutch and Goron had been killed during the altercation. Gilas then returned to the floating fortress.
The next day, Tano's group of survivors captured the hunter Smug and compelled him to call for a hover pod to retrieve him. Upon the hover pod's arrival, Tano's group hijacked it and piloted it to the fortress to mount an attack. Their initial ambush resulted in the death of the hunter Lagon, prompting Ramy to request backup. Gilas, who was standing by with Ratter, quickly joined the battle.
Gilas and Ratter began firing on the attackers, but were forced to take cover when the Jedi used the Force to throw a hover pod at them. While Ratter engaged Chewbacca in hand-to-hand combat, Gilas attempted to shoot the Jedi attackers with his blaster pistol. Tano used the Force to disrupt his aim, forcing Gilas into a melee fight with her and Jinx. The Jedi overcame Gilas and pinned him to the ground. Meanwhile, O-Mer, who was piloting the stolen hover pod, was shot down by Garnac, disrupting the attacker's momentum. Gilas, now free, turned his blaster on the defeated O-Mer and Chewbacca.
With the Jedi team at their mercy, Garnac commended their efforts. However, before he could eliminate them, Wookiee reinforcements arrived, thanks to a transmitter Chewbacca had built earlier. The battle resumed, and Gilas redirected his fire toward the attacking Wookiee soldiers. The Wookiees' leader, General Tarfful, intervened between Gilas and Ramy to fight them personally. After throwing Ramy off the side of the floating fortress, Tarfful knocked Gilas to the ground and stomped on his head, resulting in the Trandoshan hunter's swift and brutal death.
The Wookiees achieved complete victory over the hunting guild when Tano defeated Garnac in combat, putting an end to the guild's violent activities.
Gilas was a stout Trandoshan with scales that were brown and white, and he had orange eyes. When Ramy called for backup, Gilas quickly joined the fight against Tano's team, engaging both Jedi and Wookiees in hand-to-hand combat, although he lost both of his direct duels with them.
Gilas was enthusiastic about the prospect of a new hunt, and he roared in celebration while preparing for the hunt before Dar's initiation. During Dar's initiation ceremony, Gilas joined the others in chanting the young hunter's name in anticipation of Dar's induction, and he celebrated when it occurred.
During his final activities on Wasskah, Gilas wore clothing that included a turquoise shirt covered by a brown vest. He also had a belt with pouches and dark-colored pants with dull orange streaks. In addition, Gilas wore two electronic gauntlets, one on each wrist.
Gilas also carried two identical blaster pistols during the Jedi/Wookiee skirmish, one of which he lost after his skirmish with Jinx and Tano. He was disarmed of the second pistol during his battle with General Tarfful. Gilas was also known to use one of the guild's three hover pods for various purposes.
Gilas was created for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. He initially appeared as a background character in the episode "Padawan Lost" before having a slightly larger role in the following episode, "Wookiee Hunt." Both episodes aired on April 1, 2011, serving as the season three finale of the show. Gilas does not speak in either episode, only making growling sounds, and he is not named onscreen. However, his name was revealed in the episode guide for "Padawan Lost."
Like all the Trandoshans, Gilas was designed by concept artist Pat Presley. Gilas's stocky build was a deliberate choice to create more diverse body types for the Trandoshans, making them physically distinct from the more well-known Trandoshan Bossk, who had appeared earlier in the series. Series lead Dave Filoni named Gilas, drawing inspiration from two sources: Angilas—better known as Anguirus—, a character from the Godzilla franchise; and the 1959 film The Giant Gila Monster.