Star Wars: 10 Things About Crix Madine That Only Diehard Fans Know

Crix Madine is largely a background character in Star Wars, but an important one, nonetheless. If not for his participation in the final days of the rebellion against the Galactic Empire, it’s doubtful the war would have ended the way it did.

Even seasoned Star Wars fans may not know everything of interest regarding Crix Madine, and his influence on galactic events both before, and after the battle of Endor. Though he was only present in one scene of Return of the Jedi, ancillary material has expanded greatly on his character, giving him some much-needed backstory.

He Used To Be An Imperial

According to the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, Madine served in the Galactic Empire following its founding in the wake of the Clone Wars. Already a brilliant military strategist, he was given a commando unit, where he excelled within Imperial ranks.

Unable to tolerate the Empire’s totalitarianism any longer, he defected to the Republic, abandoning a very prestigious career for the sake of fighting for the galaxy’s freedom. In so doing, he took all his knowledge of Imperial tactics and training with him.

The Details Of His Defection

There are multiple accounts of Madine’s defection, depending on the source. In the non-canonized Expanded Universe material, Madine felt guilt for his participation in the release of a deadly plague on the planet Dentaal. Later, he was captured by Imperials whilst leaking details of the Dark Trooper project to the Rebellion, but was rescued in short order by Kyle Katarn.

In the official timeline, the details are left largely to mystery, perhaps because of the incompatibility of the Expanded Universe chronology. Madine was not the first Star Wars character to defect to the Rebellion, nor would he be the last, before the battle of Endor.

He Was A Corellian Boxer

Far from just a man with a keen military mind, Madine could also throw down when needed. This was thanks to his training as a Corellian Boxer, which allowed him to hold his own in a tussle.

Not much is known about Corellian Boxing, as opposed to other forms of martial combat in the Star Wars universe, such as Teräs Käsi. Given the reputation of the Corellian people, however, it seems probable that it’s worth studying as a fighting art.

His Specialty Was Covert Ops

Madine utilized his knowledge of battle tactics and Imperial military protocol to wage a series of strike missions against the Empire, all of which played into a larger plan. Sometimes, this involved sending in covert ops troops to procure key Imperial technology or materials which could benefit the Rebellion.

Other times, it was to infiltrate Imperial-occupied worlds, either for the sake of information gathering, or disruption of operations. Though his missions paled in comparison to other campaigns in terms of overall size, they would have a lasting effect against the Empire.

His Rescue By Kyle Katarn

Crix Madine features heavily in the classic FPS game Star Wars: Dark Forces, which debuted in 1998. It was one of the first Star Wars games to try and expand on the existing universe by introducing new characters, and leveraging existing ones.

In the game, Katarn is tasked with breaking Madine out of an Imperial prison, after he had leaked intel about the Dark Trooper project to the Rebellion. While Kyle Katarn is no longer part of official Star Wars canon, the Dark Troopers themselves were carried over, having made their live-action debut on The Mandalorian.

His Role In Operation Yellow Moon

The top-secret mission known as Operation Yellow Moon was vital during the final days of the rebellion against the Empire. It was devised by the leaders of the Rebellion as a preemptive strike against the second dreaded Death Star, the infamous Star Wars weapon that was being built over the forest moon of Endor.

The plan was simple – distract the Empire to the Corva sector, while secretly massing the Rebel fleet near Sullust, in preparation for the strike. Unfortunately, Emperor Palpatine was already partially aware of this plan, though Operation Yellow Moon did allow the Rebels to procure the Lambda-class Tydirium shuttle that would later be used to transport Han Solo’s strike team to Endor.

His Promotion Within The New Republic

Following the crippling of the Empire at the Battle of Endor, Madine continued to work against the leftovers remnants of the order, while the Rebellion reconstituted the Republic as the galaxy’s official seat of government. Once the threat had largely abided, he ascended the ranks.

He was eventually put in charge of the Republic’s special forces division, a subgroup operating within the New Republic Defense Force. The objective was to demilitarize the Rebellion following its win, so as not to slip back into tyranny. However, even the diplomatic Star Wars character Mon Mothma herself realized the need to have forces on standby, in case of a new threat.

His Death

Madine was rumored to have met his death through the machinations of Imperial remnant officer Gallius Rax, a known confidante of Emperor Palpatine. Following the Empire’s demise, Rax used peace talks between the New Republic and the remnant as an opportunity to assassinate several of its key members.

Rax had biochips implanted into one hundred rebel soldiers held prisoner on Kashyyyk, who were recently liberated. At his command, he activated the implants, turning the prisoners into would-be assassins. Though not officially confirmed, it does appear that Madine died in the attack.

The Actor Who Played Him

Madine was played by Irish actor Dermot Crowley, born in 1947, who so far has a total of 99 acting credits to his name. He isn’t well known outside of Star Wars, at least in terms of mainstream actors, but he’s been steadily working up to this very day.

Crowley has starred in everything from the 007 film Octopussy, to 2020’s Batman spinoff series Pennyworth, co-starring Jack Bannon. At 74 years of age, he shows no signs of slowing down, especially in pursuit of that one-hundredth acting credit.

The Beard

According to Jonathan W. Rinzler’s book The Making of Return of the Jedi, Crowley showed up to set on his first day of filming with a clean-shaven face. This caused a bit of a continuity error with Kenner Products, who had already designed his action figure for retail sale.

As a result, Crowley was fitted with a fake beard in order to match him to the action figure, and the rest is history. If no one had said anything, it’s doubtful any Star Wars fan would have taken notice, even in the age of crystal-clear Blu-Ray video.

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