Comprehensive Guide to the Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars Lore

Enter Gungi, a Wookiee from the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” What sets Gungi apart is his sensitivity to the Force and his journey to becoming a Jedi. Initially, George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars,” was hesitant about including Wookiee Jedi, but over time, several have made their way into the official storyline. Although Gungi has yet to appear in live action, his story reveals him as a formidable character, from securing his kyber crystal to surviving the catastrophic Order 66.

Gungi’s journey in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” begins with his training as a Jedi. As one of the standout young trainees, he earns the opportunity to travel to the icy planet Ilum alongside Yoda and Ahsoka Tano. There, he participates in the Gathering, a ceremony where young Jedi discover the kyber crystal that resonates with them. For Gungi, this means exercising patience, as his green kyber crystal lies on a patch of land encircled by freezing waters. He must wait for the water to solidify into ice, enabling him to safely retrieve his crystal.

Despite rescuing Ahsoka, their escape from Florrum is thwarted as their ship is destroyed, leading to their capture by Hondo Ohnaka. The pirate has plans to keep them, but an attack by General Grievous interrupts, forcing the young Padawans to ally with Ohnaka to overcome a shared adversary and escape Grievous’s clutches.

However, the success and excitement of their trip to Ilum is cut short when well-known galactic pirate Hondo Ohnaka boards the ship with the intent to steal and sell the kyber crystals. While the Jedi and Jedi-in-training successfully fight him off, their ship is damaged and Ahsoka ends up stuck in space. The group does eventually rescue her from planet Florrum; in their downtime on the ship, Gungi and his fellow trainees build their lightsabers with their new crystals.

Despite saving Ahsoka, their ship is destroyed when they try to get away from Florrum, and they’re taken captive by Hondo Ohnaka. While the pirate clearly aims to keep them, General Grievous attacks, giving the young Padawans a chance to escape by joining forces with the pirate in a common goal: surviving Grievous.

The Great Jedi Purge, starting with the enactment of Order 66, is the mass genocide of Jedi orchestrated by Darth Sidious during his reign over the Galactic Empire. Over the span of 16 years after the Clone Wars, the Sith methodically exterminated Jedi and anything connected to the Jedi Order. The intent was to effectively kill off all Jedi, trying to prevent them from having the population numbers to rise up against the Sith. Order 66 was how the Sith justified their actions; the order would deem Jedi traitors, with death as their punishment.

Gungi was a young Jedi at the time of the Great Purge, but he managed to survive. It isn’t clear exactly how he escaped the Sith other than that he hid for a long time, though where isn’t known. At one point, he is captured by the criminal cartel known as the Vanguard Axis, who meant to sell him to the highest bidder because he’s a Wookiee. Omega, a female clone of Jango Fett, breaks him out and helps him escape aboard the Clone Force 99 ship in “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.”

After Omega and Clone Force 99 help Gungi get away from the Vanguard Axis, they take him back to Kashyyyk, his forested home planet. However, Imperial Forces currently control it, which means they not only have to be sneaky about landing on the planet, but they have to avoid patrols that could recapture the wanted Jedi fugitive. As they head to his village, Gungi shows his skills outside of fighting with a lightsaber, using the Force to communicate with some native arachnids known as netcasters, convincing the creatures that he and the group mean them no harm. 

Though they find Gungi’s home in ruins, destroyed by a fire, he meets another Wookiee. He’s then guided to a different village, led by the Wookiee elder Yanna. Gungi settles with them, helping the village fight against the reptilian Trandoshans trying to exploit the land for natural resources under Imperial rule. The Wookiees set a trap for the bounty hunters, who are en route because they know there’s a Jedi sniffing around; the Trandoshans are defeated with the help of the netcasters from before. This battle helps Gungi realize he wants to stay in the village, aiding in the effort to protect Kashyyyk from the Imperial Forces, and giving the Wookiee a home after going into hiding during the Great Purge.