Grummgar, a Dowutin of the male persuasion, operated as both a big game hunter and a mercenary roughly thirty years following the celebrated Battle of Endor. As is custom for Dowutins, Grummgar was left to fend for himself at a young age, an experience that honed his hunting abilities and eventually led him to accept a contract to hunt a predatory molsume indigenous to the planet Ithor's jungles. Despite the illegality associated with hunting on Ithor, Grummgar pursued molsumes for a period before crossing paths with fellow hunter Nysorly. Initially sizing each other up as potential rivals, both hunters departed with their respective molsume trophies.
At a later point, Grummgar made his way to the castle owned by the pirate Maz Kanata located on the planet Takodana. While there, Grummgar socialized with fellow mercenary Bazine Netal and found himself present when the forces of the First Order launched an attack that destroyed the castle.
Grummgar, a massive male Dowutin, like all members of his species, began living independently at a young age. This led him to develop proficiency in hunting and tracking, ultimately leading him to a career as a big game hunter. He participated in the Great Hunt of Malastare as a mercenary hired by Second Vice Chair Exum Jermit, offering his expertise in the pursuit of the Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk. Despite Grummgar's advice for caution, Jermit opted to attack Bossk's group as they were attempting to reach Bib Fortuna's ship. Grummgar acted as a lookout, but Bossk ambushed several mercenaries, killing them. The Dowutin managed to wound Bossk in the arm with a shot and then engaged him in hand-to-hand combat. Bossk retaliated by clawing Grummgar's face and striking him with a rock, leaving him defeated. As Bossk departed, Grummgar hoped for a rematch in the future.
Grummgar was a regular at the castle of the pirate Maz Kanata on the planet Takodana, where he sought hunting advice from explorers who had ventured into Wild Space and the Unknown Regions. Driven by his quest to discover new predators to hunt, he frequently journeyed to uncharted worlds he had learned about. At one point, Grummgar was commissioned to retrieve the pelt of a molsume, a predatory creature that is native to the jungles of the planet Ithor. Despite the known prohibition against such hunting activities on Ithor, Grummgar accepted the assignment and spent a period of time hunting molsumes, utilizing a speeder for transport and an NT-242 hunting rifle as his weapon. Eventually, Grummgar spotted the seemingly vulnerable human Nysorly. Recognizing her potential as bait for a molsume, Grummgar concealed himself and awaited a molsume's approach. One eventually appeared, but to Grummgar's surprise, Nysorly produced a shortblaster and fatally shot the molsume, leaving it dead.
Impressed by her actions, Grummgar revealed himself and complimented her kill. However, Nysorly perceived Grummgar as a competitor and threatened him with her blaster. Grummgar attempted to defuse the situation, which only led to both of them expressing ideas on how they could outmaneuver and either directly or indirectly eliminate the other. While they were arguing, a second molsume stalked Nysorly from behind. Noticing the danger, Grummgar spat in Nysorly's direction. The human, assuming the spittle was toxic, dodged out of the way and fired her shortblaster at Grummgar's speeder as he fired past her, killing the second molsume. Only after reloading to finish Grummgar off did Nysorly turn and realize that the Dowutin had actually saved her. She thanked Grummgar, who was unharmed despite his speeder being destroyed. The two acknowledged their newfound respect for each other, and Nysorly shared her story of being forced into a dangerous life after being abandoned at a young age, a past mirroring Grummgar's own.
In the end, both hunters were satisfied with having secured their own molsume pelts. Grummgar offered to carry the molsumes, and Nysorly reciprocated by promising to help him skin his pelt, as his large hands made it difficult to achieve a clean result. After declining a partnership proposal, Grummgar informed Nysorly that he expected compensation for the damage to his speeder.
Approximately thirty years following the Battle of Endor, he spent time in Maz Kanata's castle alongside the mercenary Bazine Netal, mistakenly believing she was attracted to him, too self-absorbed to consider she might have ulterior motives. The two were seated together on a sturdy sofa near the castle's entrance, with Netal on Grummgar's considerable lap as he consumed a strong drink, giving her a clear view of the castle's activity. Upon the arrival of smuggler Han Solo, scavenger Rey, former stormtrooper Finn, and the astromech droid BB-8, Netal recognized the droid as a target of the First Order. After whispering in Grummgar's ear, she departed from his lap to inform the First Order of the droid's location. Shortly after Netal's departure, the castle's patrons rushed outside, witnessing the destruction of the Hosnian system by the First Order's Starkiller Base superweapon, which was visible and audible from Takodana. The castle itself was then attacked and destroyed based on Netal's information.
Grummgar was preoccupied with acquiring trophies, whether they were parts from illegally poached exotic animals or women drawn to his perceived brute appeal. He had [yellow](/article/color] skin and wore a matching yellow outfit with a brown jacket. He carried an NT-242 hunting rifle equipped with a remote trigger interface and a sniper barrel flash suppressor. His protruding stomach was visible through the opening of his shirt.
Despite his lack of scruples, Grummgar preferred hunting wild animals over sentient beings, and he readily pursued endangered and rare prey, even within protected nature reserves and sacred areas.
Grummgar's creation was for the film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, but his initial public appearance was in a Vanity Fair article released in May 2015, seven months before the film's debut. His name was subsequently revealed in the promotion for the short story "Bait," penned by Alan Dean Foster, which featured Grummgar as the main character. The connection between the name and appearance was finally established by Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, a reference book authored by Pablo Hidalgo and released concurrently with the film. He was brought to life through the performances of Patrick Comerford, Don Austen, Andy Heath, Katherine Smee, Lynn Robertson Bruce, and Iestyn Evans.
Originally, Grummgar was intended to have a more substantial role in the film, including a confrontation with a bar patron who demanded money from him, leading to a physical altercation. However, due to time constraints, the only footage that was shot was a segment where the patron attempts to argue with Grummgar; this can be observed in the background of two shots where Finn is departing Maz Kanata's castle. For the portion that was retained, Abrams instructed Miltos Yerolemou, the actor portraying the bar patron, to stand before the animatronic Grummgar: "You say something and he says something…in fact he's not going to say anything at all because we are going to dub it later." Because Grummgar was an animatronic creation, with operators inside controlling its movements, the scene was not rehearsed. The actor, having not yet witnessed the creature in motion, was so amazed when the large alien picked up a glass of brandy during the first take that he forgot the characters were supposed to be arguing, ruining the shot. However, in the final film, Grummgar is only shown holding the glass, and no dialogue is dubbed in.