| Hera Syndulla | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
 Hera Syndulla as seen inRebels. | |
| First appearance |
|
| Created by |
|
| Voiced by | Vanessa Marshall |
| Portrayed by | Mary Elizabeth Winstead |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Hera Syndulla |
| Alias | Spectre 2 |
| Species | Twi'lek |
| Gender | Female |
| Title |
|
| Affiliation |
|
| Family | Cham Syndulla (father) Eleni Syndulla (mother) |
| Significantother | Kanan Jarrus |
| Children | Jacen Syndulla (son) |
General Hera Syndulla is a fictional character in theStar Wars franchise, voiced byVanessa Marshall in the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels,The Freemaker Adventures,Forces of Destiny, andThe Bad Batch, and the video gameStar Wars: Squadrons, and portrayed byMary Elizabeth Winstead in the live-action miniseriesAhsoka. TheTwi'lek daughter of Ryloth freedom fighterCham Syndulla, and widowed lover ofJedi knightKanan Jarrus/Caleb Dume, with whom she has a son, Jacen Syndulla, General Syndulla is an expert pilot and central figure in the formation of theRebel Alliance in its fight against theGalactic Empire after leading a small rebel insurgency on the planet ofLothal that gained the attention of SenatorBail Organa.
Marshall's portrayal of Hera Syndulla has received a universally positive critical reception.[1]
The character of Hera Syndulla was first created in 2014 for the animated television showStar Wars Rebels. The character was first revealed on February 20, 2014 with the announcement that she would be voiced by Vanessa Marshall in a video posted to the Star Wars YouTube channel.[2] The character was named after the Greek goddess of marriage, women and familyHera, meaning "protector".[3] When Marshall was auditioning for the role,Star Wars Rebels was using a secret title but Marshall saw the character "described as a pilot who wanted to see the 'tyranny' fall" and insertedStar Wars elements like theEmpire into the character description when she was auditioning.[4]
Syndulla's outfit inRebels was designed to imitate a classic X-Wing pilot flight outfit that is mixed with elements fromWorld War II-era pilot gear such as a leather shoulder assembly and flight goggles.[5] For season 3 ofRebels, Hera underwent a minor redesign with more texturing added to the character model and adding a patch to signify her position as Phoenix Leader in the Rebellion's Phoenix Squadron.
Hera's leadership style is a more mature and emotionally intelligent one. TheRebels episode "Homecoming" deals with how Hera’s sense of duty to the whole galaxy conflicts with her father’s commitment to their home planet Ryloth. She convinces her father Cham Syndulla to widen his perspective and fight for the freedom of other planets that are not Ryloth.
Hera Syndulla serves in a mother-figure role to the rest of the Ghost Crew, mentoring them and helping to hold the group together when they would otherwise fall apart.[6] In particular, she forms a motherly bond withEzra Bridger who was orphaned as a child.
In 0 BBY, Syndulla became a mother to son Jacen Syndulla with the late Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus.[7]
Hera Syndulla is mentioned inRogue One: A Star Wars Story on the Rebel Alliance'sYavin IV base when an announcer on the base intercom summons "General Syndulla" to the briefing room.[8] Dave Filoni confirmed that it was indeed referencing Hera rather than her father.[9] Additionally, Hera's droid Chopper is briefly seen in the background.[10]
Syndulla is a lead character inRebels during its four seasons.
A 10-year-old Hera Syndulla appears in the eleventh and twelfth episodes from the first season ofThe Bad Batch titled "Devil's Deal" and "Rescue on Ryloth". Syndulla is again voiced byVanessa Marshall.[11] However, unlike the character's American accent inRebels, the younger Hera has a French accent from living on her native Ryloth.[12] Previously inRebels, Syndulla would slip into a French accent when she is emotional such as when arguing with her father Cham. Syndulla's dysfunctional astromech droid C1-10P ("Chopper"), who was rescued by Hera from a crashed Y-Wing ship during the Clone Wars on Ryloth, is featured alongside a young Syndulla.[13]
Hera Syndulla is portrayed in live-action for the first time byMary Elizabeth Winstead in the 2023 seriesAhsoka.[14] The casting of Winstead was first reported in December 2022 and was formally confirmed atStar Wars Celebration in April 2023.[15] Winstead said that, inAhsoka, Hera "is a general and she has become some kind of a legend just from all the work she's done fighting on behalf of the Rebellion".[16] In 9 ABY, when theAhsoka series is set, General Hera Syndulla is a military leader in the New Republic and informs ChancellorMon Mothma that the Republic must prepare for the return ofGrand Admiral Thrawn from the Unknown Regions.[17]
Syndulla is a playable character in thefree-to-playturn-basedmobilerole-playing gameStar Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, released oniOS andAndroid in 2015. She, along with several otherRebels characters, were added into the game in 2017 as part of the new "Phoenix" faction. She is a support character who leads fellow Phoenix characters and is well known for allowing them to share their passive abilities as leader.
Syndulla is also a playable Light Side leader character for the Rebel Alliance faction in the mobile card-poweredMOBA gameStar Wars: Force Arena, and was immediately available to unlock and play as during the game's worldwide launch in 2017. She is a ranged leader whose special ability is to call in a bombing run with theGhost to deal area of effect damage.
Syndulla is featured in the 2020 EA flight-combat video gameStar Wars: Squadrons, set in the years followingReturn of the Jedi. InSquadrons, Syndulla is a Rebel General in charge of the Starhawk Project, tasked with creating a fleet of Starhawk ships with super-powerful tractor beams.[18]
The 2014 prequel novelA New Dawn follows Kanan Jarrus after Order 66 as he makes allies with Hera Syndulla before the events ofRebels.[19]
In the novelAlphabet Squadron, set shortly afterReturn of the Jedi, Hera serves as a general in the New Republic and oversees the starfighter group known as Alphabet Squadron.
In 2022,Entertainment Weekly placed Hera Syndulla at 27 on their list of top 100Star Wars characters.[1]
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