Fortuna was created by Return of the Jedi co-writers Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, and was designed by Phil Tippett based upon early sketches by concept artists Nilo Rodis-Jamero and Ralph McQuarrie.

The character was portrayed by Michael Carter in Return of the Jedi, who was cast based upon his stage acting experience; the actor did not know it was a Star Wars film until after he accepted the role.

Although few details about him were revealed in his film appearances, other Star Wars works have established Fortuna's back story, including his past as a slave trader who was sentenced to death on his home planet of Ryloth.

[7] The film begins with Han Solo, one of the protagonists of the Star Wars franchise, being held captive by Jabba the Hutt and frozen in a slab of metal substance called carbonite.

[8][9] He is later present with Jabba when Princess Leia Organa, who infiltrated the palace by disguising herself as a bounty hunter named Boushh, is captured while freeing Han Solo from carbonite.

In the Expanded Universe/Star Wars Legends continuity, Fortuna survives the battle, escaping before the sail barge's destruction and returning to Jabba's palace to attempt to take over his criminal enterprise.

To protect Secura, Fortuna seeks assistance from his allies, the mysterious B'omarr monks, religious beings that have transplanted their brains into nutrient-filled jars attached to spider-like droid walkers.

[39] Fortuna appears in his disembodied droid walker form in a four-issue arc of the Star Wars: X-wing Rogue Squadron comic book entitled Battleground: Tatooine (1996).

In the comic, a group of Jedi including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano investigate an illegal mining operation using slave labor in the Valsedian asteroid belt.

[46] Fortuna plays a supporting role in Smuggler's Gambit, a radio drama recorded live at Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, Florida in August 2012.

[47] After Solo and Chewbacca are captured and placed on sale at an auction, Fortuna attempts to buy them on behalf of Jabba the Hutt, entering into a bidding war with Prince Xizor of the Black Sun criminal organization.

His nickname among Rogue One's crew during production was "Cousin Bib", so Lucasfilm executive Pablo Hidalgo made their familial connection official while writing Beezer's back story.

The character's first name derives from the "High Beeser of Hoth", a title belonging to Bib Fortuna in early Return of the Jedi drafts, but which was ultimately abandoned in later versions.

[8] However, Star Wars media and works outside of the films have established that Fortuna's obedience and good manners toward Jabba are almost entirely an act, and that internally he serves his own interests and actively plots against his employer.

[1][7] Michael Carter, the actor who portrayed Bib Fortuna in Return of the Jedi, said he found the character "stupid in an endearing way" and "quite innocent, yet quite scary", and believed he could have led a good life if he had been raised in a different place.

[65] Other variations by Rodis-Jamero presented Fortuna in blue, priest-like robes, occasionally holding a sceptre, with a lined, elongated face and narrow slits for eyes and nostrils.

[67] He drew several versions with a variety of alien faces,[63][67] as well as various costume elements like a tall top hat,[63][67] and silver snow goggles, the latter of which George Lucas particularly enjoyed.

[67] One of Rodis-Jamero's concepts was the one ultimately selected, and maquettes of the character were created by "Monster Shop" of Industrial Light & Magic, the motion picture visual effects company founded by Lucas.

[68] Michael Carter, the actor who portrayed Fortuna, spent three months undergoing extensive makeup casts and tests for the character at Elstree Studios before shooting began.

[3] An intricate set of "air bladders",[71] or foam and latex bubbles, were fitted onto Carter's temples and brows and inflated via hoses operated off-screen to give the impression of pulsation.

[82] In order to realistically deliver dialogue in a fictional language, Carter would make up his own meaning for the words he was speaking, which made it easier for him to find the correct vocal delivery and facial expressions for the performance.

While filming the scene, Carter misjudged actress Carrie Fisher's weight, and lifted her so quickly that he nearly pushed her straight into the mouth of the Jabba puppet, causing her to scream.

The role of Bib Fortuna was cast very early in the production process for Return of the Jedi because makeup artist Stuart Freeborn wanted to get started on creating the character's look as quickly as possible.

[59] Michael Carter came to the attention of Return of the Jedi casting director Mary Selway, who saw him perform in a musical in the West End theatre section of London in the early 1980s.

"[11] Matthew Wood, a sound editor who has worked on multiple Star Wars films,[104] portrayed Fortuna in the podrace scenes in The Phantom Menace,[104][105] which marked his first acting role.

[107] The moment when Wood woke up a sleeping Jabba at the end of the podrace was a joke conceived by the motion picture visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic during the making of the film, which George Lucas loved.

[104] The name and first photo of Bib Fortuna were first revealed to the public in a Return of the Jedi poster book published by Paradise Press in May 1983, the first of four such magazines released in advance of the film.

[114][115] In his 1983 review of Return of the Jedi, Desmond Ryan of The Philadelphia Inquirer cited Fortuna as one of the diverse types of alien species in the film that "reaffirms the inventiveness and inspiration of Lucas and his legions of craftsmen and technicians".

[72] Scott Chernoff of Star Wars Insider said Michael Carter conveyed "a touching vulnerability through his makeup and contact lenses, transforming what could have been a stock character into a sadly haunting figure".

[130] A Bib Fortuna toy was released in 1993 as part of the Star Wars Bend-Ems line by JusToys, a collection of rubber figures that could be easily bent and twisted.