Loje Nella, a mysterious female Riorian, operated within the court of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure. During 4 ABY, she was present in the throne room's viewing boxes at Jabba's Palace on the planet Tatooine, observing a performance by the Max Rebo Band that culminated in the death of the enslaved dancer, Oola.
Later, Nella played a role in a scheme designed to capture Princess Leia Organa. Organa was attempting to free [Han Solo](/article/han_solo], a prisoner of Jabba's, from his carbonite encasement, believing the Hutt to be sleeping. However, Jabba, having been forewarned about Organa's disguise as the bounty hunter Boushh, had concealed himself behind a curtain along with Nella and other favored members of his entourage. As soon as Solo was liberated, Jabba revealed himself, leading to the capture of both Solo and Organa, while the Riorian joined in the laughter with the other members of the court.
Hailing from the planet Rior, Loje Nella was a female Riorian. She was part of the court of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, spending time at his palace situated on the desert planet Tatooine. In the year 4 ABY, Nella occupied a position behind a pillar, nestled between two of the booths within Jabba's throne room, while the Max Rebo Band entertained. Following the conclusion of one song, the band transitioned into "Jedi Rocks," but their performance was cut short when Oola, an enslaved dancer, was cast into the pit beneath the throne room after rejecting Jabba's advances.
After Pateesa, Jabba's rancor, devoured Oola, Princess Leia Organa, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, made a dramatic entrance into the throne room, accompanied by the Wookiee Chewbacca as her supposed captive. After Organa threatened the court with a thermal detonator, Jabba conceded to pay her a higher bounty for Chewbacca, who was subsequently led away. However, Organa and Chewbacca's true objective within the palace was to rescue their ally, Han Solo, whom Jabba had frozen in carbonite and put on display on one of the throne room walls. Later that evening, Organa stealthily returned to the throne room, believing everyone to be sleeping, and freed Solo. Unbeknownst to her, Jabba had been warned by Boba Fett that Boushh was not who they appeared to be and had set a trap.
For an hour, the Hutt and his court had been concealed behind curtains, awaiting the princess's arrival. Nella was tucked away in a small alcove alongside Jabba, recognized as one of his favored associates. Once Solo was freed and Organa revealed her true identity, Jabba emerged, drawing back the curtains as Nella swayed back and forth with laughter alongside the musicians Max Rebo and Droopy McCool. Solo and Organa were then taken into custody, prompting the court to celebrate late into the night. However, the following day, Jabba and many of his allies met their demise after the Jedi Luke Skywalker arrived and assisted in freeing Solo, Organa, and Chewbacca.
Loje Nella made her debut in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, part of the original trilogy. She was portrayed by a puppet manipulated by puppeteer Mike Quinn from beneath the set. Concept artist Joe Johnston created a concept sketch of Nella for the film, and a maquette of the character, featuring lighter skin and orange eyes, was also produced. The scenes set in the palace throne room were filmed between January 25 and February 8, 1982, at Stage 8 of Elstree Studios.
The puppet's creators at the Industrial Light & Magic Monster Shop gave the character the nickname "Toadstool Terror." Within current Star Wars canon, she was officially named Loje Nella in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z. Her name originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it first appeared on a card for the character in the 1998 Jabba's Palace Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game published by Decipher. Despite Leland Chee, manager of the Holocron continuity database, stating that Nella was a Riorian, the character was ultimately identified as an intelligent cliffborer worm in the Legends continuity. In canon, the character has only been identified as a Riorian, and no source has mentioned cliffborer worms.