Nute Gunray

Nute Gunray is a fictional character and supporting villain from the Star Wars universe, played by Silas Carson in the films. Besides Palpatine (Darth Sidious), he is the only villain to appear in all three episodes of the prequel trilogy.

Character overview
Gunray is a Neimoidian, an amphibian-faced humanoid with snake-like eyes, and an enemy of the Galactic Republic. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Gunray and his organization, the Trade Federation, appear to be the movie's primary villains, but it is made clear early on to the audience that the real antagonist is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid). Gunray, like most Neimoidians, is paranoid, cowardly, and greedy.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
In The Phantom Menace, Gunray, one of the first separatists, blockades the planet Naboo from trade routes. After a failed attempt to kill the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), Gunray meets with Naboo's Queen, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), and feigns ignorance. Gunray orders the droid OOM-9 to find the Jedi, but the droid fails.

Gunray's forces eventually take Theed, the capital city of Naboo, with only the native Gungans eluding him. The invasion sets in motion the events which bring Senator Palpatine to power and lead to the Battle of Naboo.

At the end of the film, with his forces destroyed, Gunray and his accomplice Rune Haako are arrested and sent back to Coruscant to stand trial for their crimes.

Gunray is never named in The Phantom Menace but simply referred to as "Viceroy"; his name is first mentioned on-screen in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
In Attack of the Clones, it is revealed that after four trials in the Republic Supreme Court, Gunray still maintains control over the Trade Federation. His quest for power and revenge brings him to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He and Separatist leader Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) plan to combine the Trade Federation's droid armies with those of the Techno Union in order to strong-arm smaller star systems into supporting the Confederacy.

Gunray goes to Geonosis with Haako and several other Separatists to oversee the production of a new droid army. There, Gunray finally gets his chance at revenge when Padmé and the teenaged Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are captured by the Geonosians while trying to rescue the captive Obi-Wan Kenobi. Along with Dooku, Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), Jango's son Boba (Daniel Logan), and Poggle the Lesser, Gunray and Haako sit back in a private viewing to watch the former queen and the two Jedi be sentenced to death in the Geonosian execution arena.

When Yoda (Frank Oz) arrives with an army of clone troopers, Gunray and Haako scurry aboard their shuttle and flee from the battle.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A few months into the war, Gunray (voiced by Tom Kenny) agrees to provide the jungle world of Rodia with fresh food and supplies after they are attacked by pirates. Gunray demands one condition: Padmé Amidala's execution. The plot eventually backfires on Gunray, and he is taken into custody by the Republic and to pay for his war crimes. While en route to the Republic capital of Coruscant, he is freed by Dooku's agents, Asajj Ventress and a rogue Senate Captain by the name of Argyus. Gunray is tracked down to a Vassek moon by Kit Fisto and his former Padawan, Nadhar Vebb, but escapes. Darth Sidious later ordered Gunray to dispatch reinforcements to assist bounty hunter Cad Bane at Devaron. Bane had stolen a Jedi Holocron which contained vital information which Sidious desired. Gunray sent a Trade Federation escort of Munificent-class frigates to safeguard Bane's escape from Devaron, but was furious when he discovered that Bane had lost four of his ships in battle with the Republic. Though Bane assured Gunray that Sidious would compensate him for the loss of his fleet, Gunray demanded that Bane transmit him the data from the Holocron, but Bane had been unable to open it thus far. Much to Gunray's shock, Bane let Jedi board his ship, and then successfully forced Jedi Anakin Skywalker to open the Holocron in exchange for his Padawan's life. Bane reported his success to Gunray, and the Viceroy offered to send him a rescue ship in exchange for the data from the Holocron — but Bane remained far too cagey to accept Gunray's offer, and made his own escape as the last ship in Gunray's borrowed fleet was destroyed.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Gunray finds himself at odds with the droid army leader General Grievous (Matthew Wood). Both Dooku and Grievous are eventually killed, leaving Gunray the last surviving Head of the Confederacy. Darth Sidious contacted Nute Gunray on the moon of Mustafar and acknowledged Gunray had "done well" in leading the Separatists and that he would send his new apprentice Darth Vader to "take care" of Gunray. Gunray welcomes Vader &mdash; only to realize that the Sith Lord is in fact Anakin Skywalker, and has come to tie up Sidious' loose ends by killing them all. Vader kills Gunray last, cutting him down with his lightsaber.

Cloak of Deception
In the novel Cloak of Deception, Gunray and his associates visit the Baktoid factories to acquire even more powerful weapons, including destroyer droids. The book depicts Gunray's rise to Viceroy of the entire Trade Federation, the forging of his alliance with Darth Sidious and the events which lead up to the blockade of Naboo in Episode I.

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
The novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter depicts Darth Maul, at the behest of Darth Sidious, tracking and killing one of Gunray's associates. The incident terrifies Gunray, who realizes for the first time that he is dealing with a very dangerous man.

Labyrinth of Evil
In the novel Labyrinth of Evil, Gunray returns to his home on Cato Neimoidia to plunder what wealth he can, while being pursued by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Gunray escapes, but is later sent to the planet Utapau with the other Separatist leaders. When Grievous begins his attack on Coruscant, Gunray begins to think he has underestimated the cyborg general, and, for the first time during the war, he celebrates with his comrades.

Novelizations
The representation of Nute Gunray differs somewhat in the novelizations of the films. In The Phantom Menace novelization by Terry Brooks, he is portrayed as a great deal braver than his film counterpart, standing his ground when Padmé holds him at gunpoint, and even standing up to Sidious, who accuses Gunray of defying him. In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover, Gunray is described as treacherous, venal, and cowardly.

Video games
Nute Gunray appears in the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game on both the first and final levels. He also appears in the strategy game Galactic Battlegrounds giving OOM-9 his missions for the Trade Federation levels and the character is playable in the custom game section. Gunray also appears in the Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game, on the level 'Assassination on Mustafar', where he realizes Darth Sidious has betrayed him and dispatches security to kill Vader. The player (as Vader) must engage Gunray in a fight, as he has escaped in his personal shuttle.

He was going to appear and be a playable character in the Lego Star Wars video game series, but the producers cut him out but he is playable in Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars and is purchasable.

Other appearances

 * The Stark Hyperspace War
 * Darth Maul: Saboteur
 * Reversal of Fortune

Costumes
In The Phantom Menace, Nute Gunray wears a crimson robe and tricornered headdress. In Attack of the Clones, he wears red robes and a slightly different head-dress. In Revenge of the Sith, he wears an orange robe with a turban like head-dress.

Controversy
Following the release of The Phantom Menace, some critics charged that the mannerisms and voices of a few Star Wars characters represented racial stereotypes. While most of the complaints were focused on Jar Jar Binks, complaints were also made concerning Nute Gunray and the Neimoidians negatively portraying Asian culture by associating what is perceived as "Engrish" accents with the Neimoidian race, known for its greed, cowardice, and connection with the evil Trade Federation.

Despite the accusations of Neimodians speaking with "Engrish" accents, it should be noted that actor Silas Carson read all of Nute Gunray's lines based on how they were read by a genuine Thai actor, who pre-recorded Nute Gunray's lines for Carson to mimic.