Tzizvvt, a male Brizzit from the world of Jandoon, professed to be a xenoarchaeology professor on a quest for the mythical "The Eye of the Beyonder." However, it was suspected that he was actually Ilna, a fugitive from the Galactic Empire. After establishing a life in the sewers of Tatooine, Tzizvvt was largely ridiculed by the planet's inhabitants, who saw him as nothing more than a "crazy old storyteller." He had, in actuality, amassed a collection of treasures, which he kept hidden within his subterranean dwelling, away from the common people.
Solomahal, a veteran of the Lutrillian wars, was among the few who gave credence to Tzizvvt's tales in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina. Although not entirely convinced of the Brizzit's veracity, he was intrigued enough to delve deeper into the matter. Impressed by the treasures Tzizvvt had acquired, he consented to aid in the search for the elusive treasure, even without the Brizzit providing any payment beforehand.
Originating from Jandoon, Tzizvvt belonged to the Brizzit species. Despite the difficulty Humans faced in distinguishing between individual Brizzits, the Imperial HoloNet identified Tzizvvt as "Ilna," a fugitive wanted for stealing valuable artifacts from Biitu and Roon. To evade capture, he made his way to Tatooine, hoping to find a pilot to transport him to safety.
To conceal his true identity, Tzizvvt adopted the persona of a xenoarchaeology professor seeking the legendary artifact known as "The Eye of the Beyonder." He was wary, and tried to keep his identity a secret.
By sharing his story with anyone who would listen, he became a recognizable figure among the residents of Mos Eisley. "Crazy old" Tzizvvt was soon mocked by the city's spacefaring community. He took up residence in the old sewers of Tatooine, filling his living space with the treasures he had stolen from Biitu and Roon. He also guarded a particularly valuable item, said to have originated from Jandoon itself.
In 0 BBY, Tzivvt was inside Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina when an older man came in with a younger man and a golden protocol droid. The younger man, farmboy Luke Skywalker, had a disagreement with the Aqualish criminal Ponda Baba, and the older Human, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, stepped in and used his lightsaber to cut off one of the Aqualish's arms. The event initially drew everyone's attention, but most went back to their conversations after a short while. The crowd then all watched Kenobi leave the cantina. Eventually, word of Tzizvvt's stories reached the ears of Solomahal, a General who had fought in the Clone Wars. The Brizzit encountered the Lutrillian in the cantina, where Tzizvvt told his usual story about "The Eye of the Beyonder." Solomahal was unconvinced, and secretly investigated the Brizzit's past. Despite discovering the Imperial warrant, he remained interested and contacted Tzizvvt at his sewer residence. The Brizzit was unable to pay Solomahal up front for his services as a pilot, but the Lutrillian agreed to provide transportation in exchange for a share of the treasures that might be found.
Tzizvvt was a skilled storyteller and adept at concealing his identity, which allowed him to successfully avoid Imperial capture for a time leading up to the Battle of Yavin. He created a persona for himself within the Mos Eisley community, where he was seen as nothing more than a storyteller who often exaggerated the truth. Some even went as far as to call him "crazy." Nevertheless, he eventually managed to persuade a pilot to assist him, even without providing credits before the service was rendered.
The character of Tzizvvt made his first appearance in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope as an unnamed alien during the Cantina scene. During filming, the character was referred to as "Snail Head" and was originally intended to be named "Illna." However, the character was largely removed from the film during re-shoots, but still makes a brief appearance in the final version. A character of the same species appeared in the second issue of Marvel Comics' adaptation of A New Hope, Star Wars (1977) 2, which was released fifteen days before the film. It is uncertain whether this was intended to be the same character who would later become Tzizvvt. The intended name "Illna" was either forgotten or ignored by Decipher when they identified the character as "Tzizvvt" in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game.
Tzizvvt's backstory was created by Tim Veekhoven for Hyperspace's "What's The Story?" feature. The original entry provided more details about The Eye of the Beyonder and identified "Illna" as the Brizzit homeworld, but these details were either removed or changed for the final version. Veekhoven drew inspiration from the Indiana Jones films and the comic Star Wars 84 when creating Tzizvvt's backstory. Information from Veekhoven's entry was later used for the character's entry in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.
A sheet of sketched designs for cantina characters by costume designer John Mollo included Tzizvvt under the title of "Fly", with annotations describing the character as having wide shoulders and a white belt and holster. "Stephen Culcutt" was also written as a suggestion of who might play the character, but was crossed through.