The ninth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series' third season is called "Hunt for Ziro". It was originally broadcast on November 12, 2010, and it continues the story from "Hostage Crisis."
Ziro the Hutt has been sprung from jail by Cad Bane, and the Hutt Council is pressing Ziro to reveal the location of crucial, incriminating information: a journal containing details of the five Hutt families' criminal activities. Ziro manages another daring escape, aided by Sy Snootles, his estranged and peculiar lover. Bane is once again chasing the Hutt, but he's not the only one. Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos are also on the hunt.
The pursuit through Nal Hutta's swamps leads them to Mama the Hutt, Ziro's massive mother, who directs them toward Teth. It is there, in his father's secret tomb, that Ziro has hidden the diary. Upon retrieving it, Snooty reveals her true colors. She is a scorned woman and a bounty hunter for hire, proving to be quite deadly. She murders Ziro and hands over the journal to her employer: Jabba the Hutt.
After being freed by Cad Bane, Ziro the Hutt finds himself on the swamp planet of Nal Hutta, the Hutt homeworld. He possesses vital incriminating data about the Hutt crime lords, stored on a holodiary whose whereabouts are known only to him. Ziro protects himself by threatening to send the information to the Republic authorities if anything happens to him. However, Ziro has an ally in Sy Snootles, a singer with whom he once had a romantic connection. Learning of Ziro's captivity in the Hutt stronghold, she secretly visits him. Ziro uses her feelings for him to orchestrate his escape, and they flee into the swamps, seeking refuge with Mama the Hutt, Ziro's grotesque mother, who provides him with a starship to reach Teth.
On Coruscant, the Jedi Council tasks Obi-Wan with capturing Ziro and bringing Cad Bane to justice. He is partnered with the skilled, yet unconventional, impulsive, and somewhat eccentric Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, whose presence is not exactly welcomed by Obi-Wan. Nevertheless, Vos possesses crucial knowledge about Ziro's release, leading them to Nal Hutta. The Hutt Council denies any knowledge of Ziro and Bane's location. Obi-Wan hesitates to openly confront them due to the Republic's debt to the Hutts for their contributions to the war effort, but Vos suggests they could have aided his escape, much to Gardulla's annoyance. He uses psychometry to sense Ziro's presence by touching a cup he used. Upon arriving at Ziro's cell, they find him gone and immediately start tracking him. Soon after, the Hutt Council discovers Ziro's escape, and Cad Bane offers his services (for a fee) to recapture the runaway Hutt.
Both parties follow Ziro's path to Mama's residence and discover his plan to reach Teth. Meanwhile, Ziro and Sy retrieve the diary from its hiding place, the tomb of Ziro's father, but Sy, driven by greed and resentment for Ziro's abandonment, betrays him and kills him. The Jedi and Bane encounter each other near the body and engage in a fight. Obi-Wan seeks to bring Bane to justice for the Senate hostage incident, while Bane is motivated by the reward for killing Jedi offered by the Separatists. The Jedi put pressure on Bane, who barely escapes with his skills and the assistance of his droid Todo. As this unfolds, Sy delivers Ziro's holo-diary to her true master...
"Hunt for Ziro" incorporated elements from the Expanded Universe, including Quinlan Vos and his psychometric abilities. The Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta has been part of Star Wars lore since the 1993 release of the Dark Empire Sourcebook. The names of the Hutt family leaders on Nal Hutta were revealed in the StarWars.com episode guide for "Hunt for Ziro," even though they had appeared as holograms in the preceding episode, "Evil Plans." The names of some of the creatures on Nal Hutta, including one atop Marlo the Hutt's head, were also revealed. This episode marks Sy Snootles' debut in The Clone Wars, having originally appeared in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Conversely, Snootles' lover dies and is last seen in this episode, Ziro having been a recurring character since the 2008 film Star Wars: The Clone Wars film.
Gardulla Besadii the Elder also appears in "Hunt for Ziro," despite being eaten by a krayt dragon in the 2002 video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, which takes place before the Clone Wars. After the episode aired, Leland Chee stated that the krayt dragon found Gardulla "indigestible," echoing a line from Boba Fett in a 1992 issue of the Star Wars: Dark Empire comic series. However, Star Wars author Adrick Tolliver noted that inconsistencies surrounding Gardulla's death had existed for some time, with both the Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide and the novel Tatooine Ghost mentioning her as alive after the events of Bounty Hunter.
The events of "Hunt for Ziro" directly follow those of "Hostage Crisis," a first-season episode of The Clone Wars. Together with "Evil Plans," which precedes "Hostage Crisis," these three episodes form a story arc about Ziro's escape from a Republic prison. The viewing order was confirmed in the 2012 book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded, which also places the comic arc Star Wars: The Clone Wars: In Service of the Republic after "Hunt for Ziro." In March 2014, Leland Chee, keeper of the Star Wars Holocron continuity database, revealed the chronological episode order of The Clone Wars's six seasons in a tweet, later published on StarWars.com. These sources confirm that "Hunt for Ziro" follows "Hostage Crisis," and "Heroes on Both Sides," the tenth episode of season three, is the next episode in the timeline.
The Jedi Temple Archives feature on The Complete Season Three Blu-ray includes deleted scenes titled "Ziro Loses the Bracelet" and "Quinlan Finding Snooty's Bracelet."
The idea of incorporating Quinlan Vos into the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series originated with writer Henry Gilroy around 2005, shortly after he joined the show. Vos was a popular character from the Expanded Universe, featured in numerous issues of Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars: Republic series. His initial design came from a background character in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Gilroy contacted John Ostrander, the writer of most of Republic's Vos-centric stories, to inquire about his interest in writing the episode marking the character's debut. However, the producers of The Clone Wars ultimately chose to use experienced television animation writers early in the show's production, and Ostrander's involvement was cancelled.
Vos was initially included in an early version of the show's season one episode "Bombad Jedi," but was removed due to limitations on the number of new character models that could be introduced in a single episode. Therefore, his first appearance was in the season three episode "Hunt for Ziro," which incorporated his character traits from the Republic comics, including his psychometric abilities and his tendency to disregard the Jedi Order's rules. Various concept art pieces were created for the episode, including designs for Vos, his gunship, the swamp speeder, Mama the Hutt's home, the musical performance by Sy Snootles, and various locations on Teth and Nal Hutta. A maquette of Mama was also produced.
"Hunt for Ziro" took inspiration from several sources. Mama's character was partially based on Pearl, the obese vampire from the 1998 film Blade; the Ran-D housekeeper droids in Mama's hut were a reference to the 1987 film Batteries Not Included; and Ziro's dying words, "What a world, what a world!" are a nod to the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Additionally, the musical number in Gardulla's palace was an homage to the opening scene of 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The musical number was included as a reference to the Chicago nightclub scenes often featured in gangster films. Designer Darren Marshall and Supervising Director Dave Filoni designed the headdresses worn by Snootles's backup dancers, which have been compared to those in Julie Taymor's production of The Lion King musical. Originally, Jabba the Hutt was intended to be in the palace with his protocol droid, TC-70. He was replaced by Gardulla late in the episode's production, and TC-70 was swapped for Gardulla's droid MF-80. TC-70 has not appeared in Star Wars canon since.
In May 2010, Dan Curto of Rebelscum.com reported rumors of Quinlan Vos being included in the season three action figure line of The Clone Wars. An image of Vos's Hasbro figure was first found by Yakface.com in August of the same year, and images of the character were used in official promotional materials for the series in the months that followed. An official preview of "Hunt for Ziro" was featured in the 121st issue of Star Wars Insider magazine (October 2010), including still images and a brief summary of the plot. Additionally, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Cartoon Network released three official preview clips online.
"Hunt for Ziro" was broadcast on the Cartoon Network on November 12, 2010. It featured Al Rodrigo as Quinlan Vos, a voice actor who had not previously worked on The Clone Wars. The episode was posted on StarWars.com three days later and was included in Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Complete Season Three, released on October 18, 2011.
Star Wars author Pablo Hidalgo expressed his love for the episode and Star Wars dark comedies in general. Jan Duursema, an artist who collaborated with Ostrander on many of Republic's Vos-centric issues, reacted positively to the character's appearance in The Clone Wars, citing his flair for the dramatic and his interactions with Kenobi as highlights of an enjoyable episode. However, Star Wars author Daniel Wallace noted a difference between the two portrayals of Vos, describing the Republic version as "brooding and stoic" and The Clone Wars' version as "an overenthusiastic bull in a china shop." Before the episode aired, Ostrander stated that a different interpretation of Vos was within the rights of Star Wars creator George Lucas, who ultimately owned the character. Like Duursema, he was pleased to see one of his comic book characters appear in Star Wars television.
In April 2011, the 125th issue of Star Wars Insider featured an article titled 50 Great Reasons to Rewatch Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season Three, written by Daniel Wallace, Pablo Hidalgo, and Leland Chee. "Hunt for Ziro" contributed six items to the list, more than any other episode: Quinlan Vos's rudeness and the script's The Big Lebowski reference; the sensational musical number; the presence of a mummified Hutt; the slyness of Sy Snootles; the battle between Bane, Kenobi, and Vos; and the outrageous character of Mama the Hutt.
Quinlan Vos only appeared in one additional episode of The Clone Wars: the sixth season episode "Destiny," as one of the Jedi gathered around the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in a vision experienced by Jedi Master Yoda. He also appears in the MMORPG Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Hasbro produced an action figure of Vos, complete with his speederboard, as part of their Star Wars: The Clone Wars toyline.