So after about 40 years of asking why is that guy carrying an ice cream maker in STAR WARS: The Empire Strikes Back we finally have our answer. The guy carrying the “ice cream maker” is Willrow Hood. Yeah, he was in the scene for only a few seconds but no one would have ever guessed the impact good old Willrow would have on STAR WARS fans.
Who Is Willrow Hood?
This is what fandom.com had to say about Willrow Hood:
“Willrow Hood was a human male who was a resident of Cloud City during the reign of the Galactic Empire. In 3 ABY, after the imperial forces took control of the city, Hood participated in the city’s evacuation.“
So yeah that is really all there is about him, but he has always stood out in The Empire Strikes Back for those few seconds of chaos on Cloud City. Willrow Hood was first introduced from the Legends Star Wars Card Game but his name was finally made canon by the STAR WARS: Card Trader game. But the biggest question about him was what in the hell was he carrying and why did it look like an ice cream maker?
The Ice Cream Maker
Fans have been asking for years why is he carrying that ice cream maker? There were a lot of theories out there from it being a bomb to an actual ice cream maker. So, fans just kind of left it at that. Well things got really interesting when The Mandalorian producer Jon Favreau posted a picture that looked just like that thing Willrow Hood was carrying around.
Even though there were no details given at the time of what this ice cream maker thing was, it really got fans worked up. It was then shown again during STAR WARS: Celebration in Chicago during The Mandalorian Panel and again still was not talked about. So, What is it?
Willrow Hood was not carrying an ice cream maker
Well STAR WARS fans like looks like we finally got our answer. I know everyone is going to be disappointed that Willrow Hood was not carrying an ice cream maker. It was a safe. This was reported by Gizmodo:
“Well, we can exclusively reveal that’s no ice cream maker. In fact, it’s a safe.
A camtono, actually. The word briefly made it out into the world at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year when, in an extended clip from The Mandalorian that never made it online, Werner Herzog’s character shows the titular bounty hunter a piece of beskar—an ancient, valuable, Mandalorian alloy—and tells him he’ll give him a camtono of it when he completes the mission. “Camtono” also happens to be a word for “ice cream” made up by Baby Delta who went viral with her chatter in 2017.“
So, there you go it is a camtono. I mean it does make more sense that Willrow Hood was carrying a safe around. It would be strange to carry an ice cream maker. I mean that would have to make some really good ice cream for that to be the first item you decided to take off with to save.
The Impact of Willrow Hood
For a character that only had a few seconds of screen time he has become the cult classic of cosplaying at STAR WARS events. I know when I was at STAR WARS Celebration in April it seemed like I was always bumping into a Willrow. I mean there was even a running of the Hoods. It was amazing how many people were Willrow Hood!
We want to hear from you
So, did you guess right on the ice cream maker being a safe? Do you think we will see Willrow Hood in The Mandalorian? Do you have any Willrow Hood figures? What other very little screen time characters would you like to know more about? Well That Hashtag Show wants to hear from you.
You can do that by hitting us up on Twitter @thathashtagshow and myself @starwarsnerd574. You can also comment from this article as well. Also make sure to stay up to date on all the Star Wars news by following us at ThatHashtagShow.com. I can’t wait to see you all next year at STAR WARS Celebration.
Sources: Gizmodo and Fandom.com
