Ketwol, a member of the Pacithhip species, convened with Kardue'sai'Malloc, the Devaronian, and Arleil Schous, the elderly Defel, while sharing Merenzane Gold at Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina. This meeting took place in a booth within the Mos Eisley spaceport situated on the planet of Tatooine during the year 0 BBY.
Dice Ibegon, a Lamproid, was also present at the table with the three individuals. Ketwol communicated with her in Shimiese, while she responded in Lamproid. Shortly thereafter, Luke Skywalker, a local moisture farmer, was inadvertently thrust into the table adjacent to their group during an altercation involving the criminals Ponda Baba and Doctor Cornelius Evazan. Ketwol's physical appearance included mottled gray skin and blue eyes. While at the cantina, the Pacithhip was attired in a red robe layered over a tan shirt.
Ketwol's initial appearance was in the 1997 Special Edition re-release of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Comprehensive conceptual sketches of the character were crafted by Terryl Whitlatch on December 13, 1995. Whitlatch envisioned the alien with a substantial, rounded physique and diminutive legs, given that only the upper torso would be visible.
These sketches were dispatched to the creature workshop at Industrial Light & Magic in San Rafael, providing Howie Weed and his colleagues with an early glimpse into the extent of director George Lucas's planned modifications for the re-release. Weed, serving as the lead creature designer for the Special Edition, commenced sculpting Ketwol's head and shoulders from water-based clay on the very day he received the sketch, which was the first to gain approval. Working predominantly independently during this initial phase of the Special Edition development, Weed swiftly completed the project in slightly over a week, culminating in a rubber and foam puppet.
Upon completion of the puppet, numerous takes were filmed on the main stage in San Rafael over a few hours. During the filming process, John Knoll observed that the back of Ketwol's head possessed a resemblance to another alien and proposed flipping it around to film the alternate side. Subsequently, wardrobe supervisor Anne Polland assembled a fresh Tatooine-themed ensemble, incorporating a turban to conceal Ketwol's trunk and tusks, while Mark Siegel fashioned a makeshift hookah pipe equipped with a tube for smoke inhalation. They then captured footage of this novel alien, who would later be recognized as Melas the Sarkan. The footage featuring the meticulously crafted Ketwol puppet was then digitally integrated into a shot from the cantina scene, superseding the character Lak Sivrak, whose readily available mask had long been a source of dissatisfaction for Lucas. The original audio, intended to depict Sivrak growling, remained unaltered in the scene.
Within the current Star Wars canon, Ketwol's identity was initially established on a digital card launched on the Star Wars: Card Trader application in 2017. The character's name originated within the Star Wars Legends continuity, initially appearing in the Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition, a 1997 supplement for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games.