Neel's story begins on the remote world of At Attin, where this Myykian youngling (a male) lived. His closest companion was another child, Wim, and their adventures unfolded in the early years of the New Republic Era. The year 9 ABY marked a turning point when Wim stumbled upon an old starship hidden within the woods just outside their city. Curiosity led Neel, Wim, and two others, KB and Fern, to investigate. Their exploration led to the ship's accidental activation, thrusting them into the vastness of space. To find their way back to At Attin and evade a band of pirates, the children allied themselves with SM-33, the ship's droid, and Jod Na Nawood, a Force-sensitive individual.
Around the dawn of the Galactic Civil War, Neel entered the world as the firstborn of four siblings on At Attin. Due to At Attin's isolation, the war remained unknown to him, and he was ignorant of even the Destruction of Alderaan until 9 ABY. By that time, he shared classes at At Attin Middle School Gamma with his best friend Wim, his love interest Roona, and the girls KB and Fern. While Neel occasionally joined in Wim's playful and rule-bending activities, his focus leaned more towards academics. Unlike Wim, who dreamt of more ambitious careers, Neel, like most of his classmates and parents, aspired to become an analyst and was less inclined to court trouble.
During the Battle of At Attin, Neel's insights gained from his friendship with Hayna on At Achrann proved invaluable. He had learned of a turbolaser positioned atop the school on At Achrann. Knowing that At Attin and At Achrann shared a similar design, Neel correctly deduced that At Attin would have a matching laser in the same location. Neel utilized this laser to neutralize the pirate ship's cannons, enabling KB, aboard the Onyx Cinder, to bypass the Barrier and contact Kh'ymm, who then alerted the New Republic. Subsequently, the New Republic dispatched a squadron that engaged the pirates, ultimately destroying their vessel.
Neel possessed a gentle demeanor and took his schoolwork seriously. He was a steadfast friend to Wim, readily offering academic assistance or joining him on adventures. Neel harbored a strong aversion to fighting, believing that revenge was futile and conflicts should be resolved through peaceful means. His ambition was to become an analyst like his mother. Neel's sleep was characterized by loud, trumpeting snores. Similar to KB's dynamic with Fern, Neel sometimes struggled to assert his own needs within his friendship with Wim, leading to Wim's occasional unawareness or disregard for Neel's feelings. This tendency diminished somewhat during their journey aboard the Onyx Cinder, and Wim's experiences with KB helped him become more attuned to the needs of others, including Neel.
Romance presented a challenge for the shy Neel. Despite harboring a crush on Roona, he had never spoken to her. However, his experiences during the Onyx Cinder adventure, particularly his friendship with Hayna, boosted his confidence.
Neel's debut occurred in the Disney+ live-action television series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, with Robert Timothy Smith providing the voice. His performance artist Kacie Borrowman using a combination of facial motion capture on-set performance in a costume and an animatronic head. Initially conceived as sweet and shy, the character's personality was adjusted to be more humorous during filming.
The character's existence was first revealed through a listing by German retailer Müller, which unveiled the LEGO Star Wars: Skeleton Crew set 75374 The Onyx Cinder. Amidst fan speculation about Neel's species being Ortolan, Leland Chee of the Lucasfilm Story Group clarified that Neel belonged to his own distinct alien species, a fact later corroborated by the series' creator, Christopher Ford.