HK-47

HK-47 was initially built by Darth Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, shortly after the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars in 3960 BBY. At this time, Revan was still a Jedi Knight serving as the commander of the Republic forces. He decided to employ extreme methods to decisively conclude the war. This decision led to the devastation of the entire surface of Malachor V, the site of the battle, and the destruction of most of the warships on both sides. Shortly after the war ended, Revan and his friend, Malak, succumbed to the dark side and began plotting to conquer the Republic.

With this objective in mind, Revan constructed HK-47, using Czerka's HK-24 design as a foundation for his model and incorporating several of his own enhancements. Seeking to avoid a repeat of the devastation at Malachor V, Revan opted to utilize HK-47 for the assassination of political opponents as a more precise means of achieving his objectives. While he considered himself unique, HK-47 bore a striking resemblance to the HKB-3 hunter-killer droid produced by Czerka Corporation.

As a result of Revan's programming, HK-47 demonstrated obedience to those he recognized as his master but displayed little regard for any form of life, driven by a thirst for violence and carnage. HK-47 characteristically referred to organic life forms, particularly Humans, as "meatbag." This term originated when Darth Malak, Revan's apprentice, inquired about the droid's opinion of him. In expressing his view, HK-47 informed Malak of his meatbag status. Revan found the insult, and Malak's annoyance, sufficiently amusing to reprogram HK-47 to consider all organics "meatbags." After witnessing HK-47's capabilities firsthand, Revan concluded that more droids of this design would serve as effective agents in his plans to maintain galactic stability. HK-47 became the prototype for a new model of HK-series assassin droids: the HK-50s, manufactured at a clandestine facility on the planet Telos IV.

HK-47 continued to serve Revan throughout the Jedi Civil War, a destructive conflict between the Sith Empire that Revan had established after his fall to the dark side, and the Galactic Republic. During this period, HK-47 assisted Revan in locating the Star Forge superweapon and assassinated beings who could potentially destabilize the galaxy, which eventually led to a mission into Mandalorian space in 3957 BBY. While HK-47 was on this mission, Revan was captured by the Jedi after Malak betrayed his master, unleashing a volley of turbolaser fire at the bridge of Revan's flagship.

The Jedi High Council ordered Revan's mind to be rewritten, and the Sith Lord lost all memories of his former self, including HK-47's existence. Meanwhile, although HK-47 succeeded in his assassination mission, his motor functions were compromised, and he ended up in the possession of a Mandalorian soldier. The Mandalorian reprogrammed and claimed the crippled droid, repairing him—though not to the droid's satisfaction—and using him to advance his own rank by eliminating his superiors to clear the path for his own promotion.

HK-47 had lost much of his memory due to the damage he had sustained and lacked knowledge of his creation, though he believed himself to be of Systech Corporation's manufacture. Conversely, rumors suggested Czerka Corporation as his true creator. All that remained was his inclination toward violence, though he could not recall why he had been equipped for such a purpose.

Eventually, the Mandalorian instructed HK-47 to assassinate the reigning Mandalore. HK-47 failed and was captured by his target, who reprogrammed him to target his master. The Mandalorian soldier was subsequently terminated. Since HK-47 was programmed to shut down upon his current master's death, he deactivated himself after killing the Mandalorian and was sold to Bochaba the Hutt, a crime lord operating on Sleheyron.

HK-47 assisted Bochaba in maintaining his reputation as the most feared gangster on Sleheyron, eliminating 322 targets in a single year before Bochaba was assassinated by his rivals. The droid shut down again after learning of his master's death and was sold to a Human senator on Coruscant, the galactic capital. The Senator initially mistook HK-47 for a mere protocol droid, but an assistant later discovered the droid's assassination functions and requested the Senator to destroy him. The Senator instead ordered HK-47 to kill the assistant, and the droid remained with his master, helping him eliminate his political enemies. With his rivals swiftly eliminated, the Senator was on track to be elected as the Supreme Chancellor, but events did not unfold as planned.

The next target the Senator instructed HK-47 to kill was his own wife, whom he had discovered was cheating on him. As HK-47 approached the wife and her lover to terminate them, his master suddenly regretted his order and intervened, diving between the droid and his intended victims. Accidentally terminating his master, HK-47 had no choice but to shut down once more. The Senator's wife then sold him to a low-ranking commercial officer of Systech Corporation. Initially, the officer used HK-47 as a protocol and bodyguard droid, but upon discovering the droid's assassination protocols, the officer sent HK-47 on a mission to eliminate workers of a competitor company developing a product that would ruin the officer's career if launched. The officer was unaware that the competing company was, in fact, another branch of Systech Corporation. By the time he realized his mistake, HK-47 had already terminated 104 Systech employees. HK-47 assumed that, as the only officer remaining, his master would be promoted. Instead, the officer, in dismay, attacked the droid, piercing one of HK-47's actuators with a writing utensil, resulting in an electric shock that killed him and destroyed the droid's assassination protocols, again forcing the droid to deactivate himself for killing his master.

Following the incident with the Systech Corporation officer, HK-47 was sold to Yuka Laka, an Ithorian droid dealer at the Anchorhead settlement on Tatooine, who fitted him with a restraining bolt, further restricting the droid's memory, protocol, and assassination protocols. There, HK-47 encountered his original master, Revan, whose mind had been erased by the Dantooine Jedi Enclave Council after being injured by Darth Malak. Revan was again seeking the Star Forge and searching for the Star Map, an ancient artifact located on Tatooine. This time, Revan was acting on behalf of the Jedi Council to locate and destroy the superweapon and save the Republic from defeat. Revan purchased the droid for his knowledge of the Sand People dialect, intending to negotiate with the local chieftain to cease attacks against Czerka Corporation personnel, a dialect he could not understand himself. HK-47 eagerly accompanied Revan, disliking Yuka Laka, and served as a translator when Revan met with the chieftain of the local tribe.

Consistent with his violent programming, HK-47 advocated for simply eliminating the local tribe, but Revan opted for a peaceful approach and gained entrance to the Sand People Enclave using disguises taken from fallen Tusken Raiders. Revan successfully reached an agreement with the chieftain by trading two moisture vaporators purchased from the Czerka outpost, enabling the tribe to relocate further from the settlement and cease their raids. As a gesture of appreciation, the chieftain gifted Revan his personal gaffi stick and a map of the area of Tatooine where the Star Map was located. At this, HK-47 expressed his disappointment at the missed opportunity for combat against the Sand People. HK-47 was present when Revan was permitted to meet with the Sand People storyteller in exchange for presenting the chieftain with a krayt dragon pearl. HK-47 translated for this meeting, cautioning Revan against making any potentially offensive statements.

When Revan later inquired about the droid's past, he was surprised to discover that the droid had, directly or indirectly, caused the deaths of all his interim owners. This did not deter Revan from making multiple repairs to the droid, despite some trepidation from HK-47. Revan eventually restored everything but HK-47's memory core, which was too fragile to repair manually. Revan later encountered Malak for the first time since his former Sith apprentice had betrayed him.

This encounter proved to be the catalyst for Revan to remember the truth about his own history. It also triggered HK-47's internal programming to unlock and repair the damage to his primary memory core, granting the droid full access to his entire memory and combat/assassination protocol package. HK-47 appeared pleased to be reunited with his master but later commented that Revan had changed, becoming more compassionate. Despite this, the droid still believed Revan was capable of merciless and necessary actions when required. The droid also expressed frustration and rage at being absent during Malak's betrayal and his inability to defend Revan from Malak's treachery.

HK-47 remained with Revan until the end of the former Dark Lord's journey, following him to the Star Forge and assisting in the destruction of the superweapon and the defeat of Darth Malak. HK-47 was honored alongside Revan's other companions as a hero of the Republic. Shortly thereafter, more of Revan's memories returned, and the Jedi recalled a threat to the galaxy that he had uncovered as a Sith Lord. HK-47 was left with Revan's wife, Bastila Shan, when he departed for the Unknown Regions. Revan also had HK-47's memory of the past four years erased to prevent the droid from discovering his destination. Shan briefly left HK-47 with the Jedi Council on Coruscant, hoping to temper his murderous instincts.

However, HK-47 was unwilling to remain and await his master's return, and when Bastila refused to disclose Revan's whereabouts, HK-47 left to find him. During his search for Revan, HK-47 sustained heavy damage and was almost entirely dismembered. His remains were later discovered by T3-M4, another of Revan's droids, who recovered and stored them aboard the Ebon Hawk.

When Meetra Surik, a former Jedi and one of the few survivors of assassination attempts by a new Sith Order, acquired the Ebon Hawk in 3951 BBY, she found a deactivated HK-47 on board. Using parts salvaged from imitation HK-50s and a junk dealer on Nar Shaddaa, Surik reactivated HK-47. The droid was enraged by the existence of his copies, viewing their coloration and their use of "organic" instead of "meatbag" as signs of inferiority and an insult to himself. Hoping to encounter more of these copies and trace them to their creation site, HK-47 joined Surik on her quest to find and unite the surviving Jedi Masters from the former Jedi High Council after the First Jedi Purge. He also recovered some memories of his past adventures on the Ebon Hawk after Surik reactivated him.

The damage HK-47 had sustained was not fully repaired by Surik; his assassination protocols remained damaged, and his personality became more violent than during the Jedi Civil War. Much of HK-47's memory was also lost. Consequently, HK-47 did not remember others who had followed the amnesiac Revan, such as T3-M4 or Canderous Ordo, though he did recognize G0-T0, a droid crime lord who also joined Surik. However, HK-47 was unaware that G0-T0 was the employer of the HK-50s from whom Surik had obtained the parts to repair him. HK-47 began analyzing the Ebon Hawk and discovered an anomaly: the ship's navigation computer was locked, piquing his curiosity about the ship's recent destinations. Before he could investigate, T3 disabled him and erased his memory of the anomaly. HK-47 continued to follow Surik until after the Battle of Telos IV. During the battle, HK-47 left the group after capturing and torturing an HK-50 unit into revealing the location where the HK-50 models were being produced.

HK-47 eventually tracked the HK-50s to the HK Manufacturing Plant beneath Telos IV and, upon arrival, convinced them to join his cause. HK-47 then returned with Surik to Malachor V to defeat the Sith Lord Darth Traya. However, the Ebon Hawk crashed due to the planet's stormy atmosphere, separating the group. Surik had instructed that Malachor V be destroyed, an order G0-T0 tried to prevent, considering the Sith artifacts on the planet too valuable to destroy. HK-47 and the HK-50s intervened on Surik's behalf and destroyed their former employer. G0-T0's destruction allowed the remote assistant of Bao-Dur, another of Surik's companions, to activate a superweapon and destroy the planet.

After defeating the Sith, Surik decided to investigate Revan's fate and left HK-47 behind. Before she departed known space, she learned from the reformed Jedi Council that HK-47's programming compelled him to seek out his master, and the droid had left to search for Revan once again.

Unbeknownst to the assassin droid HK-47, Surik had successfully located Revan on Dromund Kaas, which functioned as the capital world for the Sith Empire after its reformation. Together, they made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Sith Emperor, resulting in Surik's death and Revan's capture, where he was held in stasis. For three centuries, HK-47 searched until he was reunited with Revan in 3642 BBY, after a Republic strike force liberated him from his imprisonment. Once again, HK-47 found himself serving his original master, embarking on a journey to the Foundry, an ancient Rakatan space station. Revan's intention was to utilize the station to construct an army of droids, led by HK-47, with the purpose of destroying the Sith Empire. However, while en route to the Foundry, HK-47 was captured by the Shroud, a rogue intelligence operative, who created a duplicate of the assassin droid's memory core before allowing him to proceed, completely unaware of the duplication.

Upon discovering Revan's scheme, the Sith Empire dispatched a strike team to attack the Foundry with the goal of stopping him. As the team fought through the station, HK-47 confronted them, engaging in combat. Despite the support of the Foundry's droid construction capabilities, HK-47 was defeated, and the Sith Empire retrieved the droid's components for study under the direction of Sith Lord Darth Malgus. Subsequently, HK-47 was reconstructed and reprogrammed by the Anomid Schism Collective to serve Darth Malgus, protecting the Sith Lord during his bid to seize control of the Sith Empire in 3640 BBY. Onboard the Emperor's space station, HK-47 activated himself prematurely to confront Malgus's adversaries during the Battle of Ilum, where he was destroyed in combat. Nevertheless, his remains were somehow salvaged from the station before its destruction.

In 3637 BBY, a "returned" Revan reappeared on the galactic stage, acquiring one of the Shroud's HK-47 copies. The assassin droid loyally served his master as the now-insane Force-user attempted to resurrect the Sith Emperor on the moon Yavin 4. During the confrontation between Revan and a combined military force of Imperial and Republic forces atop the Temple of Sacrifice, the Sith temple housing the artifact Revan intended to use for the resurrection, HK-47 joined Revan in a final battle against their enemies. However, the devoted assassin droid was defeated in battle, and Revan himself perished soon after, becoming one with the Force.

However, the Shroud retained a copy of HK-47's head at the Coil, his clandestine base located on the planetoid Obus VI. The droid's memories were corrupted, and it remained unaware that it was a duplicate and merely a head. During the war against the Eternal Empire, this duplicate HK-47 was discovered by another HK unit, HK-55, along with the shapeshifting droid Z0-0M, as they attempted to escape from the Coil. Upon learning from HK-55 that it was just a copy and that numerous other HK-47 units had been destroyed across the galaxy, the HK-47 duplicate became disheartened. Shortly thereafter, the duplicate HK-47 head was destroyed by a war droid during an ambush targeting HK-55 and Z0-0M.

At some point during the millennia separating the fall of the Eternal Empire and the Galactic Civil War, an iteration of HK-47 was recovered and found aboard a Hammerhead-class cruiser that had crashed on the volcanic Outer Rim world of Mustafar. As a result of a tectonic shift thousands of years later, the cruiser was exposed. When the Confederacy of Independent Systems arrived on Mustafar during the ongoing Clone Wars, they discovered the wreckage and the deactivated HK-47, which remained in excellent condition. Upon being reactivated by Separatist engineers, the droid went berserk. It swiftly eliminated several engineers, destroyed three B2 super battle droids, and even a droideka, before the remaining engineers could subdue him using a restraining bolt installed prior to his reactivation. The Separatist experts were amazed by the droid's advanced technology, but they were unable to perform a memory wipe due to its incomprehensible thought matrix. Consequently, the engineers transferred HK-47's memory and thought patterns into a functioning subsystem of the crashed cruiser, taking the empty chassis with them.

Separatist scientists then began examining HK-47's design elements, integrating them into their technology in hopes of creating new droid models to aid in their fight against the Republic. This endeavor resulted in the creation of the HK-77 model. Meanwhile, HK-47's AI merged with the ship's systems, seizing control of its operational functions and forcing the scientists to seal off the ship and disconnect the uplink to the Neimoidian droid factory. Mass production was on the verge of commencing when Darth Vader, the newly appointed Sith Lord formerly known as Jedi, arrived on Mustafar and annihilated the Separatist leaders, effectively ending the Clone Wars, dismantling the Separatist movement, and solidifying the stability of the newly formed Galactic Empire. HK-47's chassis, along with the rest of the new HK-77 models, was forgotten and remained dormant after Vader's departure from Mustafar.

More than two decades later, around 1.5 ABY, HK-47 utilized the Hammerhead-class cruiser's systems to contact a group of spacers. HK-47 instructed the spacers to assist in transferring his artificial intelligence from the ship to a nearby abandoned research facility, rumored to date back to the era of the Galactic Republic. After the spacers successfully completed this task, HK-47 assigned them another mission: to enter the facility and restore its power. The spacers succeeded in restoring power to both the facility and the droid factory, and they were soon directed by HK-47 to help him gain control of the reactivated factory. The group battled their way through various reactivated battle droids, eventually granting HK-47 control. They then returned to the old research facility, where they received a message from HK-47, now integrated into a new body resembling his former 4000-year-old one.

HK-47 informed them that, despite appreciating their assistance in restoring him to his body, he intended to commence the production of battle droids to eliminate those who had taken the factory from him. However, he was uncertain about the identity of the individuals who had seized it and decided to simply kill any organics he encountered, beginning with the group of spacers who had aided him. The group managed to escape and returned to the Mensix Mining Facility to consult with Milo Mensix, the foreman and leader of the facility. The mining camp had been constructed almost directly on top of the ruins of the droid factory and was therefore in imminent danger from HK-47's attack.

HK-47 assembled an army comprising AK-1A "Hammer", AK-3 "Reaper", GK-5, and HK-77 droids to eradicate all organics on Mustafar. The army launched an assault on the mining camp, where they were met by several miners and the spacers who had previously escaped from HK-47, initiating the Battle of Koseyet. Despite the droids' relentless attacks, they were ultimately defeated. The group of spacers proceeded to the droid factory, engaging and destroying the droids HK-58 Aurek, HK-58 Besh, HK-Taskmaster, CY-M Prototype, and Doom Bringer before shutting down the factory itself. The spacers then ventured to a lava crater to destroy HK-47. Although they succeeded after a prolonged battle against HK-47's elite droids, upon returning to Milo Mensix for their reward, they received a message from HK-47, revealing that he was, in fact, still alive. HK-47 admired the spacers' abilities and, in a sarcastic gesture, presented them with a decorative hologram of himself. The plaque at the hologram's base simply read "meatbag."

HK-47's programming gave him a misanthropic personality, bordering on sociopathic, to those who encountered him. He relished observing and causing death and destruction, often disregarding bystanders. Despite this, HK-47's programming maintained a protocol of professionalism, preventing him from senselessly slaughtering his way to his target. The only organics HK-47 displayed any respect for were his masters, although he indirectly caused the death of almost all of them. He was more than willing, on several occasions while serving Revan, to dispose of anyone who annoyed the Jedi. From Revan's point of view, the droid was much too eager to act on his programming, which unnerved the amnesiac Jedi.

As a consequence of his programming, HK-47 exhibited unique behavioral patterns. He possessed a distinct sense of pride and considered himself superior to all organics and droids, with the exception of Revan, whom he seemed to admire, primarily for what the droid perceived as the "creative atrocities" Revan committed as a Sith Lord. The droid also held a peculiar and twisted understanding of love, describing it as "making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope." He further contemplated that love was a matter of probability and found it odd that while most "meatbags" could not make such a shot, few would derive a feeling of love from it. HK-47 had a unique speech trait, vocally prefixing all of his sentences with a conditional word describing the type of sentence it was. For instance, when asking a question, he would begin by stating "Query:" before speaking.

Due to his appearance, HK-47, as well as subsequent models, was often mistaken for a protocol droid. He exploited this to his advantage on multiple occasions, concealing his true nature to covertly achieve his objectives. HK-47 was a skilled killer and highly innovative, employing diverse techniques, particularly when hunting Jedi. The Jedi Exile briefly installed the HK protocol pacifist package, which temporarily instilled in HK-47 an appreciation for peace and pacifism, leading to a deeper understanding of his prey. However, this upgrade had to be removed because the droid was horrified by the mere thought of harming another being and because his new behavior disturbed the Exile. Upon the program's removal, HK-47 strongly advised the Exile to scan any future packages before installing them, as the thought of becoming a pacifist in function appalled the droid.

In accordance with his design as an assassin droid, HK-47 was a formidable adversary, capable of effectively engaging in stealth operations as well as open combat. His combat programming made him a deadly combatant proficient with a wide array of weapons, including blasters of all designs and numerous droid weapons, such as flamethrowers and carbonite projectors. HK-47 had a particular fondness for blaster rifles, primarily using the Droid Assassin's rifle and frequently expressing the satisfaction he derived from using them in various combat scenarios.

As a Jedi hunter, HK-47 possessed extensive knowledge of techniques for assassinating Jedi, which he shared with Meetra Surik to help her better defend herself against her enemies. When confronting a Jedi, HK-47 employed weapons specifically chosen for their effectiveness against lightsaber techniques, such as grenades, sonic screamers, cluster rockets, plasma charges, poison gas, and mines, all of which exemplified the droid's combat versatility. These weapons could not be deflected by a lightsaber, and sonic weapons were useful in disrupting a Jedi's concentration, preventing the use of Force powers. Mines and gas were effective in catching a Jedi off guard, giving HK-47 a combat advantage. HK-47 also mentioned using a sniper rifle to attack from long range to avoid detection. In addition to these weapons, HK-47 often attempted to undermine his opponents' will and make them question their beliefs, which he found to be an effective method for weakening their concentration and disrupting their connection to the Force. The droid also considered attacking a Jedi's allies or Padawan to be a sound tactic, as Jedi would often sacrifice themselves to save an ally.

Beyond his combat prowess, HK-47 possessed numerous other skills. Like many droids, HK-47 was an experienced mechanic and had at least some knowledge of demolitions and slicing. During his travels with Revan, he could initiate a fighter simulation to allow Revan to practice his skills at manning the Ebon Hawk's turret. Revan also upgraded HK-47 on several occasions, enhancing his overall efficiency. Given that much of his original programming was based on protocol subroutines, the droid was capable of functioning as a translator, voice impersonator, and protocol droid in various other capacities. He was fluent in over 6,000 forms of communication, including Galactic Basic Standard, Tusken, Binary, and Jawa trade language.

Throughout his lifespan, HK-47 underwent several modifications by his various owners, which served to reinforce his abilities and improve his performance. However, most of these modifications sustained damage beyond repair following his dismemberment during his second period of service to Revan.

HK-47 appears in the video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Star Wars Galaxies. With a Force alignment score of 20, where 0 represents Dark Side Mastery and 100 represents Light Side Mastery, HK-47 has the darkest alignment score of any member of Revan's party. He often expresses delight at the cruel actions of a Dark Side player. Conversely, HK-47 often expresses disappointment at just actions undertaken by a Light Side player.

David Gaider conceived and wrote HK-47's character in the original game. After completing his work on Jolee Bindo, lead designer James Ohlen suggested that Gaider write for HK-47. With a week of free time before returning to work, Gaider watched all episodes of The Littlest Hobo in a marathon. Gaider then developed the concept of HK-47, describing him as "the anti-Littlest Hobo. He goes from owner to owner, engineering their self-destruction." The origins of HK-47's name can be traced to BioWare writer Drew Karpyshyn, who drew inspiration from the name of his billiards team and the infamous AK-47 rifle. Chris Avellone wrote HK-47 for Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, as he did for most of the game's companions. HK-47 has received highly positive critical reception for his character design and unique personality. HK-47 has won several awards for his character, including "Original Character of the Year" at the 2004 Game Developers Choice Awards and Computer Gaming World's 2003 "NPC of the Year" award.

HK-47 is also featured as a miniature in the Star Wars Miniatures set Champions of the Force, where he is rated "Very Rare" and depicted holding a blaster rifle. Consistent with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, where he was introduced, he is affiliated with the Fringe, allowing him to join either light or dark side factions during skirmishes. HK-47 is also available in the Star Wars: The Legacy Collection action figure line. He is included in the "Wave 7: ATTACK OF THE CLONES" set as the "Build-A-Droid" bonus feature; parts to build HK-47 are packaged with the other figures in the set.

Kristoffer Tabori voiced HK-47 in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, HK-47 was originally intended to attack the secret HK Manufacturing Plant on Telos, which he learns about by torturing an HK-50 droid. This segment was to occur shortly after the final meeting on Dantooine and the confrontation with Atris. In the sequence, HK-47 travels to the surface of Telos IV just as Darth Nihilus begins his assault on Citadel Station. The droid independently tackles the factory while the Exile, Visas, and Mandalore assault the Ravager. Inside the factory, HK-47 gains the support of the new HK-51s due to their self-preservation program. After destroying the HK-50s and halting their production, the droid group travels to Malachor V to either assist Bao-Dur's remote and dismantle G0-T0 or preserve Malachor and destroy the remote.

The New Essential Guide to Droids and Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide both contain references to events from the cut content, with some details altered. Specifically, the HK-51s were not mentioned, and HK-47 instead manages to turn the HK-50s to his side, enlisting their help for his confrontation with G0-T0 on Malachor V.

The official Prima Guide for The Sith Lords included a CD featuring a humorous sequence of a malfunctioning and aberrant HK-47. In this sequence, HK-47 behaves uncharacteristically, spouting a long string of random and nonsensical statements, including references to the Star Wars films, witty one-liners, and philosophical musings. HK-47's tone shifts from his typical vicious personality to melancholy ranting, suggesting that this segment was primarily intended for comedic effect.

While Bao-Dur, another member of the Exile's party, can upgrade T3-M4 and G0-T0 in cutscenes, HK-47 cannot, although it was initially planned and the dialogue was recorded. Bao-Dur offers to upgrade him, but HK-47 declines, stating that he has been tampered with enough by other "unskilled meatbags." Bao-Dur is insulted by this comment, so HK-47 says that he will allow Bao-Dur to work on him after he is more confident in the Zabrak's abilities. Later in the game, HK-50 units attack the Ebon Hawk, and their strength makes HK-47 feel inferior, prompting him to allow Bao-Dur to upgrade him. Following the procedure, HK-47's system checks indicate optimality, and he apologizes for doubting Bao-Dur's abilities. This encounter results in a permanent extra constitution point for HK-47.

Chuck Wendig, the author of The Aftermath Trilogy, initially wrote an interlude to include HK-47 in Aftermath, the first book of his canon novel trilogy. Although HK-47 was not explicitly named, fans would have been able to recognize him through his distinctive speech patterns. The Lucasfilm Story Group ultimately rejected Wendig's interlude.

In Aftermath, Wendig also introduced a new droid character, Mister Bones, a heavily modified B1-series battle droid with a similar murderous personality, who bore resemblance to HK-47. In Aftermath: Empire's End, the third book of the trilogy, Mister Bones has a line that served as a callback to HK-47's blunt, violent dialogue. In the novel's narrative, the droid suddenly "glitches," his voice "warps," and he says, "COMMENTARY: I SAY WE BLAST THE MEATBAG AND SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE, MASTER" with a "strange, hard-angle" accent.