Star Wars: The Mon Calamari Explained

The homeworld of the Mon Calamari is the planet Mon Cala, which they share with another species called the Quarren, who briefly kidnap Mando in "The Heiress." While the two sentient species are able to cohabitate relatively peacefully for a large swath of their history, tensions between the two eventually boil over into a full-blown civil war, which was depicted on the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The Mon Calamari emerge victorious, but the peace that arises at the end of the war is short-lived.

The rise of the Empire gave the residents of Mon Cala a much bigger problem to deal with than each other. The Empire was relentless and cruel to Mon Calamari and Quarrens alike, enslaving them and destroying cities on their home world to crush them under their Imperial boot. This caused the two species to put their differences aside and join forces to fight for the common cause of kicking the Empire off Mon Cala.

The Imperial violence against Mon Cala also led the Mon Calamari to embrace the Alliance. In addition to supplying their unique and efficient starships to the Rebellion effort, a prominent military leader from the planet's civil war, none other than Gial Ackbar, also became a leader in the Alliance's efforts to overthrow the Empire.

Whether they're hauling in seafood catches on Trask or doing battle with the evil forces of the Empire, the Mon Calamari are one species of humanoid cephalopods you always want on your side.