In The Phantom Menace, Jabba the Hutt appears during the Boonta Eve Classic, watching the podrace from his private box.
But if you look closely, he is not the only Hutt there. Sitting near him is another Hutt who barely gets attention in the movie, but her connection to Anakin Skywalker is much bigger than a simple background cameo.
So who was the Hutt sitting next to Jabba during the podrace?
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Gardulla Once Owned Anakin and Shmi Before Losing Them to Watto
During the Boonta Eve Classic, Gardulla is sitting near Jabba while Anakin races below them.
That is a small background detail in the movie, but canon gives it a much darker meaning. Before Anakin and Shmi Skywalker belonged to Watto, they belonged to Gardulla the Hutt.
StarWars.com’s Databank says Watto bought Shmi and Anakin from Gardulla, which means the Hutt watching the race used to own the boy flying through the canyon.
By the time of The Phantom Menace, Anakin is working in Watto’s shop in Mos Espa. Watto uses him as a podracer, and during the Boonta Eve Classic, Qui-Gon makes the wager that changes Anakin’s life.
So Gardulla is not just watching another race. She is watching her former slave race for the Toydarian who got him from her.
Then Anakin wins. And because of Qui-Gon’s deal with Watto, Anakin leaves that race no longer belonging to him either.
Gardulla Was a Crime Lord and Member of the Hutt Council
Gardulla’s seat near Jabba also fits her position among the Hutts.
Canon identifies her as a crime lord and a member of the Hutt Council. That puts her in the same world of power as Jabba, where gambling, slavery, and crime were all part of Hutt business.
The Boonta Eve Classic was exactly the kind of event where someone like Gardulla would appear. It was a major podrace on Tatooine, with Jabba presiding over it, huge wagers being made, and powerful criminals watching from the best seats.
Gardulla later appears again during the Clone Wars era, when the Hutt Council becomes involved with Ziro the Hutt. After Ziro is imprisoned by the Republic, Gardulla and the Council hire Cad Bane to break him out because they are afraid he will reveal their secrets.
When Ziro escapes from Gardulla’s palace on Nal Hutta, she hires Bane again to track him down.
In Legends, Jango Fett Killed Gardulla in Her Own Palace
Gardulla also had a much darker fate in the old Star Wars: Bounty Hunter game.
In that story, Jango Fett is hunting Komari Vosa for Darth Tyranus, and the trail eventually leads him into the criminal underworld around Tatooine. After learning that Gardulla may be connected to the Bando Gora, Jango goes after her.
The problem is that Gardulla’s palace is not just some meeting place. It is her territory. Zam Wesell gets captured there, and when Jango refuses to let Gardulla feed her to her pet, the Hutt turns the trap on him instead.
Jango is captured and thrown into the pit with Gardulla’s krayt dragon.
But Jango survives.
He escapes the beast, fights his way through Gardulla’s guards, and pushes deeper into the palace until he reaches her throne room. Gardulla tries to use the same monster again, releasing the krayt dragon to kill him in front of her.
Instead, Jango turns the whole thing back on her.
He gets behind Gardulla and sends her into the arena, where she is eaten by her own pet. Then Jango kills the krayt dragon too, leaving Gardulla’s palace behind as he continues the hunt for Vosa.