star-wars bothans

While we all know that “many Bothans died to bring us this information” on the second Death Star, it seems that Bothans may no longer be aliens in the “Star Wars” galaxy. Back in the pre-canon days of The Expanded Universe (which have now been rebranded as “Legends”), Bothans were a wolf-like alien species that got to shine in the “Thrawn” trilogy (as seen by the character Borsk Fey’lya).

However, when you go by what is canon these days, there have been no references to Bothans as a species. You may wonder why this is an issue and it all comes down to the response to this tweet:

The question seems harmless enough, but the response from Matt Martin, who is the Chief Executive of Lucasfilm Story Group, turns innocent inquiry on its head:

Martin would know as the man has a bit of insight on the matter and even went further when someone asked why Mon Mothma didn’t simply say “many spies” when talking about these brave heroes:

So outside of the single line that references them in ‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,’ we have absolutely no knowledge of who they are. They have been vaguely referenced a few other times with ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ making note of the strategically important planet of Bothawui and in the novel ‘Star Wars: Bloodline,’ it is stated that there is “a group of Bothans growling to one another.”

While that last line could indicate the wolfy feel to the characters which were had seen in “Legends,” it doesn’t confirm it. I’m curious as to why the Chief Executive of Lucasfilm Story Group stated their inclusion in just this way if they are for sure an alien species.

What do you think of the Bothans? Will we see them as human or alien when they’re finally visually introduced into canon? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Source: Ziro