John D. Branon

John D. Branon, a young pilot, served within the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War that opposed the Galactic Empire. By 0 BBY, the pilots of Red Squadron esteemed him as a veteran, and he was stationed at their base situated on the moon Yavin 4. Together with fellow pilots Puck Naeco, General Antoc Merrick, and Red Squadron's leader Garven Dreis, he would admonish [Col Takbright](/article/col_takbright], another member of Red Squadron, following the latter's impetuous outbursts.

Not long after the Battle of Scarif in 1 BBY, where the Rebel Alliance successfully acquired the technical readouts for the Empire's Death Star battle station, General Jan Dodonna gathered the Yavin pilots. He informed them of their mission to destroy the superweapon by exploiting a two-meter–wide thermal exhaust port to trigger a devastating main reactor failure. The Death Star's rapid approach towards Yavin 4 posed an imminent threat to the base, making its destruction essential. The pilots, including Branon, Naeco, Takbright, and Theron Nett, convened in the squadron's ready room, awaiting their assignments and preparing to board their respective starfighters. When Naeco teased Takbright about his nickname, "Fake Wedge," Branon and Nett exchanged an amused look. Subsequently, the pilots deliberated on the likelihood of successfully destroying the Death Star with a precise hit using a proton torpedo.

Branon inquired of Takbright about what the squadron's newest pilot, Luke Skywalker, had conveyed during the briefing. Takbright responded that he had loudly proclaimed the impossibility of hitting a two-meter target, even with the aid of a computer. He then questioned Branon if he shared the same reservations regarding the mission, to which Branon remained noncommittal. As more pilots entered the room, Takbright instructed Branon to disregard the events of the briefing. However, Branon remained insistent on discovering what Skywalker had said, and Takbright finally yielded, revealing that Skywalker used to hunt womp rats in his T-16 skyhopper. After Dreis's arrival, Branon was selected to participate in the attack on the battle station under the callsign Red Four alongside pilot Harb Binli, who flew as Red Seven. Both were chosen to serve as wingmen to Major Ralo Surrel, designated Red Eleven, for the second flight.

Following the completion of preparations, the pilots of both Red Squadron and Gold Squadron entered their respective X-wings and Y-wings and launched from the Yavin 4 base to initiate the Battle of Yavin. As the pilots approached the Death Star within the Yavin system, Red Squadron broke away from formation to divert the Death Star's turbolaser fire away from Gold Squadron, allowing the latter to commence its attack run within the superweapon's meridian trench. During the battle, the Empire dispatched several TIE fighters to engage them.

As the TIEs drew closer to the rebel craft, Branon and Nett were targeted early in the attack. Branon was then struck by fire from one of the Imperial vessels. In an attempt to evade the enemy fighter pursuing him, he desperately announced that he had been hit as his X-wing was shot down, erupting in flames and resulting in his death. He became the first Red Squadron pilot to be hit by TIE fire during the battle, and the majority of the squadron also perished in the engagement, including Dreis, Nett, Naeco, and Branon's wingmen Surrel and Binli. During the battle, Branon's death was reported by a control officer back at the Yavin 4 base. The officer's communication log was incorporated into a partial transcript of recordings from the base's war room, which was later included in a collection of non-electronic documents known as The Rebel Files. Ultimately, the rebels achieved victory when Skywalker, flying as Red Five, successfully executed a precise hit on the Death Star's thermal exhaust port, completely obliterating the superweapon.

Branon's participation in the battle immortalized him as a rebel hero, his callsign becoming part of the legend. By at least 0 ABY, the Twi'lek Bela Elar served as Red Four in Red Squadron. In 1 ABY, Skywalker and fellow rebels Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, Zev Senesca, Derek Klivian, and Chewbacca raised a toast at Mess Hall IV in the Mako-Ta Space Docks to honor the deceased members of Red Squadron, including Branon.

Branon was a human with light skin. He was astute, meticulous, cautious, and not excessively optimistic about the rebels' chances against the Death Star. Branon also displayed an inquisitive nature, eager to learn about the discussion between Takbright and Skywalker in the briefing room, much to the annoyance of the former, who compared him to a "nek with a bone." He would also lecture Takbright after his outbursts and had a subtle way of sternly calming the pilot down. Similar to other Rebel Alliance personnel, he understood that the galaxy would be plunged into fear if the Death Star remained operational and hoped that General Dodonna's plan to destroy the superweapon would succeed.

Members of Red Squadron regarded Branon as a veteran. He possessed above-average intelligence, diplomacy skills, strength, speed, and fighting ability. He was not Force-sensitive.

At the time of his death, Branon piloted a T-65 X-wing. He wore an orange flight suit and a white flak vest. He also wore a red and white K-22995 light flight helmet with black streaks above each brow.

John D. Branon was played by Jack Klaff in the 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, credited as "Red Four (John 'D')." His surname, "Branon," was established in the current Star Wars canon by the 2015 digital trading card application, Star Wars: Card Trader. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the surname originated from Michael Knight's 2006 strategy guide Star Wars: Empire at War: Prima Official Game Guide, and Branon also appeared, voice only, before A New Hope in the 1976 novelization of the film, written by Alan Dean Foster. It is believed that the character was named after special effects supervisor John Dykstra. A card in the 2018 Topps Star Wars Galactic Files set mistakenly assigns the Red Ten callsign to Branon.

According to Klaff, he did not audition for the role of Branon. He was selected when a fan of his, who also worked as a casting director for A New Hope, cast a group of people, including Klaff, to portray the pilots in the film. Upon being cast as Branon, Star Wars creator George Lucas approached Klaff and inquired if he would object to being blown up. He agreed to play the character, and Branon's death scene was filmed within minutes at Stage 8 of Elstree Studios, London, within the "Interior cockpit with blue backing" set sometime between June 28 and 29, 1976.

Initially, Klaff, whose character was designated Blue Six in the script, was scheduled to film his scenes using front projection. However, Lucas decided to switch to a blue screen, and the character's callsign was changed to Red Four in post-production. During filming, the actor was placed in a cockpit set that rocked in front of the blue screen, simulating the movement of the X-wing. After filming the scene, a wet cloth was placed over his face to remove the fumes resulting from the X-wing's explosion. The character also had additional dialogue where he reported his callsign before the battle and claimed to have shot down a TIE fighter before being shot down himself, but these lines were omitted from the final film.

Annotations by special effects photographer Richard Edlund on artist Joe Johnston's storyboards for the film revealed that a pilot named "Chewie" in the third draft had its role split between Branon and Wedge Antilles because the character of Chewbacca was also called by that name. In the storyboards, Branon is depicted with a scar across one eye and adjusting his targeting device during the battle, neither of which are shown in the film. Another storyboard, titled "Dog Fight," shows Branon with a helmet covering his entire face.

Some fans mistakenly believed that Klaff portrayed Wedge Antilles in the briefing room scene, and the character in that scene was later nicknamed "Fake Wedge." While Antilles was played by Denis Lawson in the Battle of Yavin scenes, Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo clarified that the character in the briefing room was not portrayed by Klaff, but by actor Colin Higgins. The 2017 short story "Duty Roster," written by Jason Fry and published in the anthology From a Certain Point of View, later retconned Higgins' role as Antilles into a separate character named Col Takbright.