What Happened To Watto Causes A Darth Maul Plot Hole In Star Wars Canon
The "Star Wars" universe has countless interesting and well-developed characters, ranging from those we've seen throughout the movies — like Obi-Wan Kenobi — to those introduced and explored through animation — like Ahsoka Tano. Then, there's Watto, the Mos Espa-based junk dealer who once owned Anakin Skywalker and his mother, Shmi, and is confidently one of the worst "Star Wars" characters. Whatever happened to the grumpy Toydarian?
Interestingly enough, Watto's fate created a bit of a plot hole in the old "Star Wars" canon. Following a brief appearance in "Attack of the Clones," Watto appears in the short comic "Old Wounds" within Dark Horse Comics' collection of stories, "Star Wars: Visionaries." In the story, the resurrected Darth Maul is hunting Obi-Wan Kenobi across the galaxy, missing him on many of the planets the Jedi Master visits throughout the prequel trilogy. However, when he travels to Mos Espa, he beheads an elderly Toydarian junk dealer, presumably Watto, after acquiring information on Kenobi.
It's unclear exactly what year "Old Wounds" takes place, but it's definitely before the Battle of Yavin, where Luke Skywalker destroyed the first Death Star. However, Watto also appears in "Star Wars Galaxies," an old fan-favorite MMORPG set between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back," insinuating he lived through the Battle of Yavin. While both stories are no longer canon, "Star Wars" had a massive Watto-sized plot hole that never received a proper explanation.
Watto's canon ending is much less exciting
Although plot holes are never ideal for an ever-growing universe like "Star Wars," Watto's fate bringing one to a galaxy far, far away offers much more than his new canonical ending.
Watto's live-action final appearance comes in "Episode II: Attack of the Clones," when Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padme (Natalia Portman) return to Tatooine, searching for Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August). They find Watto, who informs them he sold Shmi years ago, prompting them to continue their search. Although he doesn't appear in any "Star Wars" projects afterward, "Star Wars: Complete Locations," a canonical reference book, reveals Watto slowly expanded his junk-dealing business. "From a Certain Point of View," a collection of "Star Wars" short stories, also mentions Watto, with the story "Time of Death" revealing that Obi-Wan Kenobi bought a humidifier from the Toydarian during his exile on Tatooine.
While it is odd for "Star Wars" to completely drop a character like Watto, there may be a good reason for it. In the years following the premiere of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace," people have pointed out that Watto's character plays into many of the ethnic stereotypes present in the film. With that in mind, it's understandable if Lucasfilm simply decided to leave Watto on the desert planet instead of continuing his "Star Wars" story.