Star Wars’ Next Movie Finally Brings 1 Fan-Favorite Bounty Hunter to Live-Action After 16 Years

February 17, 2026, 1:31pm

After 16 years, one iconic Star Wars bounty hunter is about to make his live-action debut in The Mandalorian and Grogu. The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau is a fan first and foremost, and he clearly loves the opportunity he’s had to play in George Lucas’ sandbox. Speaking at New York Toy Fair, he compared the experience of writing Star Wars to having a chance to play with his favorite toys.

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This, perhaps, is why Favreau’s Star Wars stories feel like something of a love letter to everything that has gone before. The new trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu features everything from Clone Wars battle-droids-turned-mercenaries to creatures we’ve only ever seen before in Chewbacca’s Dejarik games. But perhaps the most exciting reveal is of a returning bounty hunter introduced 16 years ago in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Embo Has Made His Way Into Live-Action Star Wars At Last

The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s trailer presents a high-stakes mission to prevent a war between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant. There are still a lot of mysteries about the overarching plot, but we now know Din Djarin is attempting to take down Imperial warlords, gangsters, and even crime bosses – presumably explaining why he winds up crossing paths with the Hutts. But it seems Din Djarin’s enemies decide to strike back, because there are scenes of a sinister villain named Embo attacking Din’s homestead on Nevarro itself.

Created for Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 2, Embo hails from an alien race known as the Kyuzo. Although he was able to work as part of a larger team, Embo preferred to operate solo, noted for owning a pet anooba. Lucasfilm actually intended to kill Embo off in his first appearance, but the creative team behind The Clone Wars felt he was far too cool, and the story was rewritten so he survived. Now, 16 years later, the character is appearing in live-action at last – just the latest bounty hunter to make that transition in recent years.

Embo used to work for the Hutts, so he’s presumably back in their employ. That said, his return is more than a little surprising; the celebrated bounty hunter was believed to have retired by this point in the Star Wars timeline, taking up farming instead. It’s safe to assume the Hutts have made it worth Embo’s while, and that Din Djarin and Grogu will come to regret his return.

Embo Will Make A Terrifying Villain For The Mandalorian and Grogu

Embo is just the latest bounty hunter to make his way back into live-action, and it does make sense that the Hutts would seek out someone so prominent. Din Djarin is considered one of the galaxy’s most skilled bounty hunters, a so-called “class one” operative, and there aren’t actually that many left by this point in the timeline. Boba Fett has retired to become a crime lord in his own right, Fennec Shand is working for him, and Cad Bane suffered a defeat at Boba’s hands on Tatooine that has likely left him out of commission.

Make no mistake, Embo is definitely skilled. This is a bounty hunter willing to target Jedi and senators alike during the time of the Old Republic, meaning he had no fear of a Jedi Order that had over 10,000 Force-sensitives at the time. During the Clone Wars, he actually targeted Padmé Amidala while she was under Anakin Skywalker’s protection, and came within a hair’s breadth of killing her. He forced the Jedi Knight to run – the Chosen One, at the height of his powers. The rivalry between Jedi and Mandalorians is notorious; if Embo can take on the one, he can battle the other.

Embo’s anooba isn’t just a pet. These are vicious, carnivorous creatures with fearsome tusks, gangs, and teeth. Embo domesticated one anooba, Marrok, to help him hunt targets through its tremendous sense of smell; Marrok is known to have died by the time of The Mandalorian and Grogu, but Embo clearly has another anooba in the trailer. An anooba would potentially be able to kill Grogu with just a single strike of its tusk, making this a very dangerous threat indeed.

We don’t yet know how major a role Embo will play in The Mandalorian and Grogu. He’s clearly been assigned to target Din Djarin and his adopted son, but it remains to be seen whether he’s the one who captures them or whether he pays a fateful price for tangling with a fellow class one bounty hunter. We may learn more in future marketing – or, more likely, we’ll have to wait until May to see.

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