Conan Antonio Motti

Conan Antonio Motti, a human male, originated from a prosperous and influential family residing in the Outer Rim Territories. As a native of the planet Seswenna, Motti served as a naval officer within the Galactic Empire, the successor to the Galactic Republic. The Empire was under the rule of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine from the capital planet of Coruscant. He distinguished himself as one of the Imperial Navy's most esteemed starship captains and a seasoned naval commander, ultimately achieving the rank of rear admiral, with his flag displayed on the Star Destroyer Steel Talon.

By 14 BBY, Motti held a significant position on the Joint Chiefs of the Imperial Military, a body comprised of generals, admirals, and other senior military officers who advised the Emperor on matters related to the military. The Emperor considered him a potential candidate for the newly established role of Grand Moff, which was eventually granted to Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Along with the other members of the Joint Chiefs on Coruscant, Motti contributed to coordinating the Imperial response to the rebel campaign led by Berch Teller, a disgruntled intelligence analyst whose cell posed a threat to various Imperial outposts across the Outer Rim. Due to his involvement and the discrediting of Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, the head of the Naval Intelligence Agency, Motti received a promotion from the Emperor.

By 0 BBY, Motti was known as Admiral of the Navy and also as the Chief of the Imperial Navy. He was stationed on the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station, the Empire's planet-destroying battle station. Motti was in charge of naval operations, helping Grand Moff Tarkin test the superweapon on Rango Tan, a planet inhabited by a pre-hyperdrive species known as Rangan. After Motti told the crew about the planet's inhabitants and their lack of involvement in recent conflicts, Tarkin ordered the planet's destruction. However, the simulation failed before the firing sequence could be completed, and Tarkin ordered it to be stopped. When Motti inquired about what had happened, a crew member explained that each gunner needed to follow his protocol at the correct time for the simulation to succeed. Motti suggested immediately investigating to find out who had failed to complete the protocol, but Tarkin wanted to see the gunners himself.

As the Alliance to Restore the Republic intensified their activities, escalating to open warfare, they successfully stole the technical readouts of the Death Star during the Battle of Scarif. Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, captured the rebel flagship, the Tantive IV, which carried the plans, but he failed to recover the plans themselves. Shortly after, Motti met with General Cassio Tagge of the Imperial Army in his private office on the battle station. Tagge was reviewing data from the attack on Scarif. The two then went to the Joint Chiefs' conference room. When a senior adviser inquired if something was wrong, Motti stated that the theft of the station's plans had made Tagge paranoid. Tagge responded that the Empire was more vulnerable to the Alliance's attacks until the Death Star was fully operational. However, Motti countered that the battle station was not under threat, even though the Alliance posed a threat to Tagge's forces. Tagge further argued that the Alliance would continue to gain support in the Imperial Senate, but Tarkin interrupted him. Tarkin arrived with Lord Vader and informed the officers that the Emperor had just dissolved the Senate. He added that fear, specifically fear of the Death Star, would keep star systems in line, which made Motti smile.

Tagge raised the issue of the Alliance, who, possessing the Death Star plans, could find and exploit a weakness in the battle station. However, Vader, who had arrived to interrogate Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, stated that the Empire would soon have the plans again. Motti then claimed that any attack on the Death Star would be futile, regardless of the technical data the Alliance had. He boasted about the station's power, calling it the ultimate power in the universe, and suggested that the Empire should use it. However, Vader disagreed, warning Motti not to underestimate the power of the Force. Motti, blinded by arrogance, mocked Vader, criticizing his devotion to the Force and claiming that it had not helped him recover the stolen Death Star plans or find the Rebels' hidden base. In response, Vader began to force choke the admiral, scolding him for his "lack of faith," and only stopped at Tarkin's insistence. Motti collapsed on the conference table, gasping for air and visibly shaken, making eye contact with Tagge. Nevertheless, he later submitted a strongly worded incident report, criticizing what he considered Vader's attempt at religious proselytization, while reaffirming his confidence and pride in the battle station.

Later on, Motti oversaw the final inspection of the battle station, which confirmed that all systems were operational. The admiral then went to Overbridge to inform Tarkin, who was being briefed by Lord Vader along with General Tagge. The Sith Lord had been torturing the captive Leia with an IT-O Interrogator droid, but he struggled to extract the location of the rebel's hidden base from her due to her strong resistance to the mind probe. Motti inquired about the Death Star's course from Tarkin, who ordered it to head to Alderaan as a method of "alternate persuasion." Motti responded that he would do it with pleasure. Shortly after, Motti approached the Grand Moff in private, again emphasizing the extraordinary capabilities of the Death Star. He pointed out that the ultimate power in the universe now belonged to Tarkin, as he was in command of the battle station. Motti suggested that the Grand Moff could assume a position of authority in the Empire second only to the Emperor if he wished, subtly implying that he himself could serve with Tarkin. Tarkin considered Motti's words as almost treasonous and rejected the offer, but the ambitious Motti remained determined.

When the Death Star arrived in the Alderaan system, Motti informed Tarkin. Vader then arrived at the Overbridge with Princess Leia, and Tarkin openly threatened to destroy Alderaan if she did not reveal the location of the Rebel's hidden base, as Motti watched. In response to the threat of her home planet's destruction, Leia lied and told the Grand Moff that the rebels were headquartered at the defunct base on Dantooine. Despite this, Tarkin ordered Motti to have the Death Star's superlaser fire when ready, which shocked the princess. Motti followed the order, and the Death Star fired on Alderaan, destroying it in moments.

After the failed attempt to destroy Rango Tan, Tarkin had instructed Motti to install bio-trackers in the helmets of every Death Star gunner. This allowed the Grand Moff to discover that several gunners, including Chief Gunner Endo Frant, had hesitated at key moments during Alderaan's destruction, leading to them being immediately locked in an airlock and ejected into space.

Shortly after Alderaan's destruction, which was later called "the Disaster," General Tagge led a search on Dantooine, only finding an abandoned base. Although Tarkin ordered Leia's execution, it was not carried out. The Millennium Falcon, a YT-1300 light freighter, managed to board the Death Star from Tatooine, and its crew succeeded in freeing Organa from her cell. After Vader had captured the Tantive IV earlier, Leia gave the Death Star plans to the astromech droid R2-D2, who, along with C-3PO, escaped the Tantive in an escape pod onto Tatooine. There, they met Luke Skywalker, a moisture farmer; Han Solo, the Millennium Falcon's captain; Chewbacca, Solo's first mate; and Obi-Wan Kenobi, a former Jedi Master. As the guardians of the Death Star plans, their original intention was to meet with Leia's father, Imperial Senator Bail Organa, on Alderaan and give him the plans, but the planet's destruction changed their plans. The team managed to escape the battle station with Leia, but Imperial stormtroopers had placed a tracking device aboard the starship. The Empire tracked the freighter to the Rebel base on the fourth moon of Yavin, and as the Death Star prepared to destroy Yavin 4, a battle began between the Imperial and Rebel forces above the Death Star.

When several T-65 X-wing starfighters proved effective at avoiding the station's defenses, Vader piloted his personal TIE Advanced x1 and attacked them. He began eliminating the surviving fighters one by one, but some officers became concerned that the rebel attack was a threat. Meanwhile, the battle station approached the rebel base, and Motti stood next to the gunner on the Overbridge as it did so. However, the Alliance knew about a flaw in the Death Star: a small, unprotected thermal exhaust port that led directly to the station's main reactor. Against all odds, Luke Skywalker, piloting a Rebel X-wing, successfully flew through the trench where the exhaust port was located and fired a pair of proton torpedoes into the shaft, causing the Death Star to explode and instantly killing everyone on board, including Motti.

Three years after Motti's death, Vader remembered the moment he Force choked Motti after Palpatine punished him using the same method. This was due to Vader's failures in turning Luke Skywalker, his son, to the dark side of the Force and for allowing the Amidalans to escape.

Motti was loyal to Grand Moff Tarkin but had a rivalry with Darth Vader. His ambition sometimes outweighed his loyalty to the Empire, as shown when he approached Tarkin to use the Death Star in a bid for power, where Motti would be at Tarkin's side. This ambition was fueled by his belief in the Death Star as the ultimate power. He considered the battle station invulnerable and believed that any rebel attack would be a futile effort. Because of this, he was openly critical of views like those of General Tagge, who thought the rebels were a credible threat, stating that "the dog nipping at [Tagge's] heels is no threat to my locked and guarded house," referring to the Death Star. Generally, Motti dismissed the rebellion, viewing the Alliance's military capabilities as just a "patchwork of X- and Y-wing fighters."

According to Leia Organa, Motti had one of the largest egos in the galaxy. His arrogance was evident in his condescending attitude towards other high-ranking officers and in his lengthy and strongly worded report about the strangulation incident between him and Darth Vader. Despite being on the receiving end of the Sith Lord's anger, Motti remained unrepentant, insisting that Vader was at fault for using violence, which Motti took as a sign that he had won the argument. He also suggested that Vader and Tagge were disloyal to the Empire, Vader for trusting the Force over the Death Star and Tagge for being too concerned with the strength of the Rebellion.

Although Motti was personally religious, he was also dismissive of the Force and doubted its existence. He publicly called Darth Vader a mere sorcerer with a "sad devotion" to an "ancient religion," justifying his attitude as a response to alleged "workplace proselytization." This almost led to his death when Vader Force-choked him for his insolence.

Motti first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the first film in the Star Wars original trilogy. He was played by Richard LeParmentier, who was credited as "General Motti." Motti was originally meant to be an admiral, but LeParmentier was too tall for the uniform he was supposed to wear, so he was given a general's uniform and Motti's rank was changed.

LeParmentier initially auditioned for the role of Han Solo, but Harrison Ford was chosen instead. He was then offered the role of a customs officer who would try to stop Solo from leaving Mos Eisley. A friend of LeParmentier took the part, but the role was eventually cut from the film. However, LeParmentier was invited back a month later to read for Motti's part. As an American actor, LeParmentier was one of the few non-English actors cast as Imperial officers who spoke without an English accent. During filming, LeParmentier suggested to director George Lucas that he use his Mid-Atlantic accent for Motti, and Lucas agreed. To film the scene where Motti is Force-choked by Darth Vader, LeParmentier spent days practicing choking in his dressing room to make it look convincing, until he could control and induce spasms in his neck. While filming the scene, LeParmentier had his pants rolled up to his knees and took off his boots, along with Don Henderson, because it was very hot.

Richard LeParmentier liked to be remembered as Motti, as he felt it was an honor to be part of the Star Wars saga. He believed that A New Hope helped him get more roles in other big movies because it was the most memorable film he had been in. LeParmentier was proud that Motti's Force choke was the first time fans saw the power of the Force in action, although he didn't know at the time if the film would be as successful as it turned out to be. He enjoyed his experience and said that the only problem he had on set was Motti's boots, which caused him to sweat a lot. As a result, the film's crew members would take off the Imperials' boots and let their feet air-dry between shots.

When playing the character, Richard LeParmentier saw Motti as a trigger-happy military type who was eager to show off the Death Star's power and resented those who disagreed with him. He played Motti as a sanctimonious and smug character, believing that it was necessary to contrast with the calm and reasonable Cassio Tagge, played by Don Henderson, to prompt Darth Vader to use the Force on Motti. At the time of his death in 2013, LeParmentier was producing an animated fan film called Motti Now, in which Motti survives the Battle of Yavin and leaves the Empire. However, it is likely that he had not finished it before his death, as it has not been released yet.

Motti was originally intended to appear with Generals Cassio Tagge and Trech Molock as one of the Imperials at Tarkin's summit on Eriadu in "The Summit," the fifteenth episode of the second season of the Disney+ animated television series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. However, it was ultimately decided that the character would not have been high-ranking enough at that early stage of the Empire's existence.

Motti's full name was revealed by Star Wars creator George Lucas on an episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien on May 1, 2007. When a fan, Jordan Schlansky, the Associate Producer of Late Night, challenged Lucas with a trivia question about the name of the officer Darth Vader Force chokes in A New Hope, Lucas jokingly answered "Conan Antonio Motti," which was a tuckerization of Conan O'Brien's name. The day after the episode aired, Late Night posted a blog entry on the NBC website, expressing their surprise at Wookieepedia's quick response in adopting the new full name for Motti and their appreciation for Lucas' decision to name the character after O'Brien. The name was then confirmed in-universe by Star Wars Legends novels and later in the canon novel Tarkin.