Hurst Romodi

Originating from Virujansi, Hurst Romodi saw combat during the Clone Wars. This three-year conflict on a galactic scale pitted the Galactic Republic against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. When Sheev Palpatine replaced the Republic with his own Galactic Empire as the war concluded, Romodi, a seasoned veteran, became one of the first generals in the new Imperial Army. Working alongside Wilhuff Tarkin, he aided in the pacification of the turbulent Western Reaches. Following the Battle of Ogoth Tiir, he spearheaded reconstruction efforts, which later became a topic of discussion in Colonel Julyan's Strategy and Tactics course at the Arkanis Academy. Romodi oversaw the deployment of the Imperial Military across numerous problematic sectors.

Around 18 BBY, Romodi participated in one of the earliest assemblies of what would soon become the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military at Raven's Peak on Eriadu. Others in attendance included Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, Admiral Barton Coburn of the Imperial Navy, Commander Orson Krennic from Advanced Weapons Research, and Doctor Royce Hemlock of the Advanced Science Division. The general, considered a high-ranking leader within the Empire, initially presented his concepts for Imperial military presence throughout the galaxy before receiving updates from Hemlock regarding the progress of the Advanced Science Division's cloning initiatives. Upon hearing Hemlock mention the use of decommissioned clone troopers as test subjects, he inquired if they had consented to participate in the project. Hemlock responded that they were Imperial property and had no choice. Romodi subsequently listened as Krennic discussed Project Stardust before the discovery of groups of infiltrators, specifically Saw Gerrera's Partisans and Clone Force 99, within the base. Explosives were then detonated, and Romodi along with the other officers were secured within their conference room. Romodi and the other officers remained in the conference room as Tarkin received a briefing from Lieutenant Maylur and issued further commands.

Romodi eventually retired from active military service. However, Tarkin personally invited his old comrade to assist with the final preparations for the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station, an offer Romodi accepted. Eventually, Romodi accompanied Tarkin on a visit to the Imperial Center of Military Research on the planet Scarif. The facility housed information on various Imperial projects, including the technical readout of the Death Star.

The personnel at the facility displayed a lack of diligence, and Tarkin believed they were susceptible to infiltration. Consequently, Tarkin dispatched General Romodi to locate Captain A'Shar Farless, who had recently arrived with his companion droid, DT-JZ. Romodi, accompanied by two officers, found the young captain and his droid engaged in lighthearted conversation aboard a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. Romodi threatened to inform Tarkin that Farless was not the officer he was sent to retrieve, Farless snapped to attention and addressed Romodi's concerns. Following this, Farless and his droid accompanied Romodi to an office, where Tarkin delivered a speech to the assembled officers regarding the importance of their assignment. Romodi stood at the rear of the room, near Dark Lord of the Sith and Emperor's Fist Darth Vader and Director of Advanced Weapons Research Orson Krennic.

After Tarkin concluded his address, Romodi expressed his gratitude and dismissed the officers to return to their units with their orders. Tarkin and Farless then embarked on a tour of the facility, while Farless' droid was stored in a shuttle. Upon completing their tour and conversation, Farless addressed his squad on the landing pad. Romodi stood alongside Tarkin as Farless delivered his speech. Romodi remarked to Tarkin that he found it hard to believe Farless was the best graduate of the Imperial Academy, and that his remarks to his subordinates bordered on insubordination. Tarkin expressed his displeasure with Romodi's comments, questioning his judgment and threatening to place Romodi in charge of the operation at Scarif. Romodi retracted his statement, affirming that Farless was a credit to the Empire. As Farless continued his speech, Tarkin and Romodi quietly boarded the shuttle containing DT-JZ and departed, separating the two companions.

Sometime later, in 1 BBY, Romodi was present in the Death Star's Overbridge during the destruction of Jedha City alongside a large contingent of Imperial officers, including Grand Moff Tarkin and Director Krennic. Romodi witnessed the test firing of a single reactor and the resulting cataclysm that obliterated Jedha City. Following the test, Romodi conversed with nearby Imperial officers until Tarkin directly congratulated Krennic and subsequently assumed complete command of the battle station, much to Krennic's dismay.

Romodi received a report from General Sotorus Ramda indicating that a Rebel incursion was underway on Scarif, the location of the technical blueprints for the superweapon. After relaying this information to Tarkin, Romodi was instructed to prepare the battle station for a jump to hyperspace and to inform Lord Vader of the situation. Once on the premises, the general enthusiastically suggested targeting the Rebel Fleet with the Death Star, a proposal Tarkin rejected, stating that Lord Vader would handle the fleet. Instead, the Grand Moff ordered the ignition of a single reactor and directed it towards the Citadel Tower on Scarif. Romodi then instructed his aides to execute Tarkin's order, and the superlaser fired, destroying the tower and impacting the planetary surface several kilometers away.

Despite the Empire's actions at Scarif, they proved insufficient. Before the destruction, the Rebels successfully transmitted the plans of the Death Star to Princess Leia Organa aboard the consular ship Tantive IV. Although Lord Vader and his flagship, the Devastator, managed to capture the Tantive IV above Tatooine, Romodi feared that further information leaks may have occurred during the interception. The general then sent Tarkin a high-priority communication, advising him to take immediate action to neutralize political and military opposition.

Shortly thereafter, General Romodi attended a meeting of the Joint Chiefs in the Death Star's conference room, during which Tarkin announced the disbanding of the Imperial Senate. Darth Vader assured those present that the stolen plans would soon be recovered. While General Cassio Tagge voiced concerns that the Rebel Alliance might discover a weakness in the Death Star, Admiral Conan Antonio Motti dismissed these concerns. Eventually, the Death Star was brought to the Yavin system to confront Rebel forces defending their headquarters on Yavin 4.

However, Tagge's assessment of the rebel threat proved accurate. Exploiting a thermal exhaust port in the superweapon's structure, deliberately designed to be unstable by the scientist Galen Erso, the Rebellion launched a successful assault on the Death Star. This resulted in its destruction and the loss of all lives aboard, including Governor Tarkin. Both Tagge and Romodi survived the destruction of the Death Star. However, despite Romodi's high standing, Emperor Palpatine chose to promote Tagge to Grand General and place him in command of the entire Imperial Military, stating that there was "no one else he could use." Following the War on Shu-Torun, Tagge was demoted for failing to stop the rogue cyborg agent Cylo, and Vader executed him after being placed in charge of Death Squadron.

At some point between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, Romodi received an invitation from the criminal organization Crimson Dawn to an event where the captured Rebel Captain Han Solo would be auctioned off. He subsequently attended the auction, accompanied by Sub-Administrator Sly Moore and several officers. While the general suggested simply seizing Solo instead of bidding, Moore argued that it would damage the Empire's relationships with the criminal syndicates present. Therefore, Romodi reluctantly agreed to allow Moore to use her innate Force abilities to prevent others from outbidding the Imperial delegation. Nevertheless, the sub-administrator's powers proved ineffective against the Hutt crime lords in attendance, and Jabba Desilijic Tiure raised the bidding to one million credits, much to Romodi's displeasure. At that moment, Lord Vader himself made a dramatic entrance, claiming Solo for himself, much to everyone's surprise.

Shortly before the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Romodi served as one of Fleet Admiral Firmus Piett's officers aboard the Executor, a Star Dreadnought serving as the flagship of Darth Vader's Death Squadron. After the Executor arrived on station ahead of schedule above the Forest Moon of Endor, Piett experienced an episode where he reminisced about his life and hallucinated his mentor and predecessor, Admiral Kendal Ozzel. Following Piett's outburst, he opened his eyes and saw Romodi in the hallucination's place, looking concerned. Piett apologized to Romodi, who raised his eyebrows and bowed slightly before leaving Piett alone on the bridge. In the ensuing battle, Piett and the command crew perished when an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor crashed into the bridge, sending the Executor careening into the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station and causing it to explode.

Hurst Romodi was referenced multiple times by the historian Beaumont Kin in his book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, published after the Battle of Exegol in 35 ABY. Kin mistakenly believed that the general had died at Yavin, along with Tarkin, Motti, and others, when in reality he had lived to witness the Battle of Endor.

Romodi was a fair-skinned man with brown hair that had significantly receded and begun to gray by the time of the Battle of Scarif. A prominent vein was visible bulging at his right temple. As an experienced officer with a history of combat, Romodi held a sense of pride and enthusiasm for the technological terror of the Death Star. Having witnessed the potential for destruction in a chaotic galaxy as a veteran of the Clone Wars, he enjoyed the favor of the Galactic Emperor himself. Romodi enhanced the standard-issue Imperial caf with alcohol to improve its taste. Due to injuries sustained during wartime, his lungs and heart had received cybernetic implants.

In his role as a General, Romodi wore a field gray-green, wrinkle-free Imperial officer uniform constructed from gaberwool, a common attire among Imperial officers. On the left side of his upper chest, he displayed a rank insignia plaque consisting of six yellow tiles arranged in a single row. He possessed a bronze and silver flask for consuming beverages.

The character of Romodi initially appeared in the novelization of the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, released several months prior to the movie's debut. During a meeting aboard the Death Star, he delivers a line that is attributed to Admiral Motti in the film. Although his appearance in the novel established him within Expanded Universe continuity, it remained unclear whether Romodi actually appeared in the film until 2012 when author Jason Fry confirmed that he was the "bald guy" present at the meeting. The fan website Aveleyman identifies this character as being portrayed by Ian Selby, an actor listed as an Imperial Bureaucrat in Ann Skinner's continuity notes. In the same year, Fry and Paul R. Urquhart provided the first name of "Hurst" in the reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare.

Romodi was first named in the 2015 novel Servants of the Empire: The Secret Academy, also penned by Fry. Fry confirmed on his Twitter account that he intended him to be the Romodi from A New Hope.

During the development of 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the production team reviewed the characters seated around the Death Star conference table in A New Hope to identify a character who could be easily recast for an appearance in the new film. Romodi was ultimately selected, and Andy de la Tour portrayed the general in Rogue One. The full name "Hurst Romodi" was credited in the film's end credits.

On the social network Twitter, several French fans have humorously noted the resemblance between de la Tour's Romodi and the Mayor of Bordeaux Alain Juppé, leading several French-speaking online media outlets to report on the observation.

According to Glyn Dullon's chart, Romodi's rank plaque also suggests that he may be an Operations General, potentially Chief of Battle Station Operations, as established in Legends.