A hulking Crolute, Unkar Plutt is the junkboss of Jakku, doling survival rations out to scavengers in return for salvage from the Graveyard of Ships. The ruthless Unkar uses hired muscle to enforce his stranglehold on barter, sending his thugs to punish any scavenger who dares dabble in unauthorized trades or negotiates too aggressively. The Blobfish – as scavengers call him behind his broad back -- has collected all matter of weapons, gears and ships over the years, including a battered Corellian freighter he keeps under a tarp on the outskirts of Niima Outpost.

The junkboss Unkar Plutt enforces his control of Jakku’s salvage economy by paying dim-witted henchmen to watch for scavengers conducting unauthorized barter or otherwise challenging the Blobfish’s authority. Unkar’s thugs keep their faces hidden to conceal their identities, but Niima Outpost is a small place whose residents know the bullies by their voices, carriage and body language. The scavengers find the attempts at secrecy amusing -- unless they’re on the receiving end of one of Unkar’s punishments.

A scavenger toughened by life in Jakku’s harsh deserts, Rey has been drawn into a galaxy-spanning conflict and learned that her life is being shaped by the mysterious power of the Force. She seeks out Luke Skywalker, the lost Jedi Master, in hopes that he will aid the Resistance against the First Order and help her control her growing powers. But when that quest ends in disappointment, Rey must find a new way forward.

Jakku’s most significant settlement, Niima Outpost is little more than a bazaar, some hard-packed dirt that passes for a spaceport, and the compound of junk boss Unkar Plutt. The little settlement – named for its late founder, Niima the Hutt – is dominated by Unkar and his thugs, who control the market for salvage found by scavengers in the nearby Graveyard of Ships.

A harsh desert world, Jakku is a lawless place that’s home to thieves, outlaws and refugees. During the final years of the Galactic Civil War, Jakku was the site of a secret Imperial research base and served as a jumping-off point for warships heading into the Unknown Regions. The Empire made a last stand above the frontier planet, leading to a pitched battle between rebel and Imperial fleets. Jakku’s sandy wastes are littered with old wrecks, picked over by desperate scavengers searching for parts that can be salvaged and sold.

A skittish but loyal astromech, BB-8 accompanied Poe Dameron on many missions for the Resistance, helping keep his X-wing in working order. When Poe’s mission to Jakku ended with his capture by the First Order, BB-8 fled into the desert with a vital clue to the location of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. He rejoined Poe and the service of the Resistance in time for the attack on Starkiller Base, then helped Rey locate Skywalker’s planet of exile.