According to expanded “Star Wars” lore, Dexter Jettster belongs to a species called Besalisk, a species that only appeared on “The Clone Wars” TV series, and throughout various “Star Wars” tie-in novels and comic books. He also would have featured heavily into the comedy series “Star Wars: Detours” had the show not been canceled before its release. In the context of “Attack of the Clones,” Dexter is an old friend of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and a trusted source of shady information. He only appears in one scene in “Clones,” but he was a striking enough figure for the world’s Starwoids to remember his name and face.
The production of the “Star Wars” prequel films was massive and elaborate, with every tiny detail overseen by Lucas. The production process was painstakingly described in a series of making-of documentaries available on the “Star Wars” DVDs. Because of the stringent attention to detail, Coleman knew he was going to get a lot of input as to how he was to bring a character like Dexter Jettster to life. Coleman admits bending Lucas’ ear a lot, grilling his director as to smaller details of the “Star Wars” universe. He said:
“We had a huge amount of fun bringing him to life. […] For a lot of the time, for any character, I would ask George — just when we were sitting, waiting for the lights to be changed on set or whatever — about backstory, subtext, and inspirations for characters. I always wanted to know whether there was an actor or a character, you know, that George had seen in an old movie, a favorite of his.”
