From the Movies
A young Padawan at the time of the fall of the Jedi, Zett Jukassa studied in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. When Darth Vader attacked the temple, leading a column of clone troopers in a devastating assault on the sacred Jedi edifice, Zett put up a valiant defense. Trapped in the temple, Zett attempted to escape via the Jedi Temple hangar platform.
After slicing through several clones in an acrobatic display of lightsaber prowess, Zett was shot and killed by the elite clone troopers. Bail Organa witnessed the death of the 10-year old Jedi student before rocketing away from the burning temple aboard his airspeeder.
From the Expanded Universe
Like all Padawans in the temple, Zett Jukassa entered the Jedi Order as a very young child, cut off from links to his life before. The parents who gave up the young child to the Jedi longed for a better future for him, far from the dangerous world that would otherwise be his home. Jukassa never knew his parents, ore traders on Mon Gazza. He had no idea that, when he had turned seven years old, his parents were killed in a grisly murder.
Yet somehow, through the Force, he sensed something was amiss. Though his contact with his parents was minimal -- he was separated from them as a newborn -- he nonetheless still carried hazy images and feelings about them. Some were very detailed: descriptions of a world he had barely visited, and strange associates known to his parents. A Jedi Knight, Mierme Unill, was investigating the murder of the Mon Gazzan ore traders when heard reports of a youngling with unnaturally vivid visions of the crime scene.
Knowing that the child might hold valuable clues locked in his subconscious mind, Unill sought permission from the Jedi Council to inform Jukassa of his pre-Jedi past. They approved, and with the help of Jocasta Nu, Jukassa learned of his origins. He was born Warpoc Skamini, the son of Sembric and Ashielle Skamini, proprietors of an ore prospecting launch base on Mon Gazza. The clues held in Jukassa's hazy recollections allowed Unill to complete his investigation: the evidence pointed to Black Sun, and the Jedi arrested the ruthless extortionists responsible for the deaths.
Impressed with Jukassa's resolve and maturity during his search, Unill took the child as his Padawan learner. With the outbreak of the Clone Wars, though, Jukassa was never able to hone his farseeing abilities. Instead, emphasis was placed on his combat training, and he proved himself a capable swordsman at the age of 10.
Sadly, Unill died during the Clone Wars. Zett stayed at the Temple after that, one of many "orphaned" Padawans awaiting reassignment. In the interim, he studied under Cin Drallig.
Behind the Scenes
Zett Jukassa was played by Jett Lucas, the son of the
Star Wars creator George Lucas. Lucas had written a brief scene in the script for a heroic 10-year old Padawan (Jett's age during principal photography) who cuts through clone troopers. For this part, young Lucas trained with Stunt Coordinator and Swordmaster Nick Gillard to perfect his moves against the digital foes.
During production, the character's name changed several times. It was first scripted as "Titi Jukassa," and then renamed "Tado Jukassa" and then just "Tado" before finally becoming "Zett Jukassa."
Jett Lucas had a similar cameo appearance in Attack of the Clones, as the young Padawan that Jocasta Nu tends to during the library scene. For that role, he selected the name Warpoc Skamini for his character. Given the similarities between the two roles, a backstory was crafted to combine both roles into the same character.
