A male Toydarian by the name of Watto operated a junkshop as a junk dealer in Mos Espa on the desert planet of Tatooine; he also engaged in human trafficking. He held ownership of Shmi Skywalker and her son, Anakin Skywalker, who as a young boy would eventually become both a celebrated Jedi Knight and the dreaded Sith Lord known as Darth Vader.
Watto's life began as a soldier on Toydaria. After sustaining an injury, he departed Toydaria and arrived on Tatooine, where he observed Jawas trading in secondhand goods, inspiring him to launch his own enterprise.
Residing in Mos Espa, Watto established himself as a junk dealer, running a modest shop. He acquired Shmi Skywalker and her son Anakin as slaves from Gardulla the Hutt through a wager. Recognizing Anakin's talent for podracing, Watto became his sponsor in various Podraces, though he frequently bet against the boy. He also hosted viewing parties in his private box for his gambling associates and friends. Besides managing his shop's droids, Watto tasked Anakin with polishing droid components.
In 32 BBY, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn visited Watto's shop in search of components for his spacecraft. Lacking sufficient funds and unable to negotiate a price, Jinn even attempted a mind trick on the Toydarian, but failed.
The following day, Jinn proposed to Watto that Anakin participate in the Boonta Eve Classic in return for the necessary parts. Watto consented and entered Anakin, but placed his bet on the Dug racer Sebulba. Despite Watto's warnings that Anakin was destined to lose, Jinn wagered for Anakin's freedom. Anakin, however, emerged victorious, departing Tatooine with Jinn to train as a Jedi on Coruscant, while Shmi remained under Watto's ownership.
Years later, Watto sold Shmi to Cliegg Lars, a moisture farmer, who acquired her to live with him on his moisture farm after winning a bet against Watto. In reality, Shmi had collaborated with the Lars family to secure her freedom, revealing Watto's gambling vulnerability to Cliegg and the others. Four years after the Invasion of Naboo, Senator Padmé Amidala dispatched her handmaiden Sabé to locate Shmi and liberate as many slaves as possible. Sabé's efforts to find Watto or Shmi proved unsuccessful, forcing her to contend with Watto's associates. Throughout these years, Watto persisted in his trade, even expanding his shop by acquiring neighboring buildings. However, mounting gambling losses threatened his business's future, compounded by a lack of personnel that forced him to undertake all the labor himself.
In 22 BBY, shortly before the beginning of the Clone Wars, Anakin returned to Tatooine in search of his mother. Watto, recognizing his former slave, inquired if he could assist with some "deadbeats" who owed him a lot of money. Upon being questioned about Shmi, Watto provided all the details he possessed about her after her sale. Ultimately, Skywalker would reach his mother just as she passed on, to which he responded by slaughtering the Tusken Raiders who had taken her prisoner in a major step in his journey into the dark side of the Force and transformation into the Sith Lord Darth Vader.
During his exile on Tatooine following Order 66, Obi-Wan Kenobi bought a humidifier from Watto at an exorbitant price. After Kenobi was killed by Vader on the Death Star in 0 BBY, Kenobi, who had unlocked the secret to preserving himself after death, found himself in a vision of his hut on Tatooine. He noted that the humidifier was not in the vision, among other recent additions that were missing. He then realized the vision was of an earlier time in his hut, from around three years into his exile.
Watto took pride in his business and held a deep distrust for Republic credits, deeming them insufficiently "real" for the harsh economic realities of an Outer Rim Territory planet like Tatooine. When Qui-Gon Jinn attempted to use a mind trick to persuade him to accept 20,000 credits for a T-14 hyperdrive generator, Watto dismissed it, asserting that Toydarians were immune to such techniques. A dedicated gambler, Watto later lost both the hyperdrive and Anakin in a bet against the Jedi. Following Anakin's departure, he experienced significant gambling losses.
As the owner of Shmi and Anakin Skywalker, Watto's treatment was not particularly benevolent, although their living conditions were better than their previous servitude under Gardulla the Hutt. Nevertheless, Watto occasionally displayed glimpses of compassion, allowing Anakin to leave work early upon completing his tasks and permitting Shmi to perform quieter duties in her private workspace.
Watto's misjudgment of Anakin proved detrimental to his business. With Anakin gone and Shmi sold to the Lars family, Watto was left without assistance and had to undertake the demanding labor himself to sustain his business. Unaccustomed to the exceptional abilities of his former slave, Watto struggled to find replacements with comparable technical expertise.
Actor Andrew Secombe both portrayed and voiced Watto in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and its 2002 sequel Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Secombe's on-set performance provided animators with a reference for lighting and eye-line. Envisioned by Star Wars creator George Lucas, Watto's initial design was more avian, featuring feathers and a beak. Subsequent versions of the Toydarian included a cigar and tentacles.
When artist Terryl Whitlatch began designing the character, she started with an ugly, "cherub-like" design. Lucas suggested that he be given webbed, duck-like feet. Eventually, the basis for the character's face was derived from an early concept painting of the Neimoidian race by concept artist Doug Chiang, particularly the hooked trunk and the crooked teeth. As the character spoke frequently, animator Rob Coleman found lip-syncing Watto's lines with Secombe's delivery of the dialog to be difficult. To solve the issue, Coleman had part of Watto's teeth chipped away, so the character could speak out the side of his mouth, making the syncing process much easier. Sound designer Ben Burtt recorded himself opening and closing an umbrella to make the sound of Watto's wings flapping. Watto was given a son, Blatto, in the non-canon television special Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars.
Leading up to the release of Legacy of Vader 2, a comic issue penned by Charles Soule and illustrated by Luke Ross, scheduled for release on March 12, 2025, Marvel Comics senior editor Mark Paniccia shared images from the issue on January 24. One image depicted Vader Force choking Watto, while another character contemplated whether the Dark Lord of the Sith had returned to Tatooine for revenge. Many fans interpreted the scene as confirmation of Watto's death at Vader's hand, a claim that spread rapidly and was presented as fact in online news articles and Internet memes. Soule, however, cautioned against drawing conclusions about the story based on preview panels. Soule also responded to the discussion around Watto's apparent death by quote-tweeting an old picture of himself with a Watto cosplayer and reposting it to his Bluesky account, reflecting the "happier," "good times" they had shared.
In his January 28 newsletter, Soule further addressed the online reaction to Watto's supposed demise, expressing surprise at the internet's emotional connection to Watto and appreciation for the numerous humorous memes that emerged. He specifically highlighted a Forbes article by writer Dani Di Placido for its coverage of Watto's demise and inclusion of fan memes. According to Soule in the newsletter, Watto's seeming death was a key moment in Legacy of Vader 2.