While the Hutts are some of the most notorious criminal gangsters in the Star Wars galaxy, Marvel's High Republic writer Cavan Scott has just confirmed that they were once much more powerful. During the High Republic era set nearly 200 years before the days of the Skywalker saga, the Hutts apparently control vast swaths of space with nearly no opposition centuries before the famous Jabba the Hutt. Then the Republic and shining Jedi Order begin to expand into the Outer Rim.
Thus far in Marvel Comics' Star Wars: The High Republic series from writer Cavan Scott with art by Ario Anindito, the Jedi have recently investigated a derelict Hutt ship that has been sabotaged and attacked by the fearsome marauders known as the Nihil. Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis, Trandoshan Jedi Master Sskeer, and the Jedi twins Terec and Ceret discover that the crew has already been killed, including a member of the Hutt Clans. While there is some initial shock that a Hutt (dead or not) is found in Republic space, it is further noted that the region they are in has only been "aligned" for a few months. This seems to indicate that as the Republic has been expanding, they've been moving into Hutt Space, disrupting their operations and creating animosity.
The position of the Hutts was recently confirmed by Scott himself in a recent interview with the Comic Book Nation podcast. Scott shared that more of the Hutts' influence and power will be felt in future issues of the series from Marvel Comics:
"With the Hutts as well, we know that with the warlords, there is a history there when they weren't just a bunch of gangsters, they had power then they've got their own area of space. They've got Hutt Space. And so then there must have been conflicts when we were discussing the idea of Republic pushing out into the frontier that yes, they would come up against the Nihil, but they would also come up against people like the Hutts who have had a free reign in that past space."
Not only that, but Scott credits the rise of the Republic and subsequent Empire as the primary reasons why the Hutts' power is diminished, essentially demoting them from warlords to the gangsters like Jabba seen in the films and various series set during the Skywalker saga:
"It gives us the chance to think back of a period of time when the Hutts were perhaps a bit more active in every sense of the word, then we see them later on where perhaps they do have a bit more power because there isn't an Empire keeping them in place or isn't a Republic, even in the same way we've seen the Republic."
Furthermore, the High Republic writer continues in the interview, sharing that the while the Hutts may not like that their influence and power is being encroached upon by the Republic, they may be forced to ally themselves with the Jedi and Starlight Beacon regardless, in order to end the terror of the Nihil that threatens them both:
"I moved them to be an active part of the galaxy and what that would mean. And going back to the old saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and seeing how that would work, and seeing if there would be a moment when the Republic and the Hutts would have to join forces."
It's going to be very interesting to see how the Jedi handle the complex nature and influence of the Hutt Clans, as well as to discover how big their power truly is during the days of the High Republic. While the most notable Hutt, Jabba, probably won't be a leading member of the clans at this point in the Star Wars timeline, it is possible that a younger version of the classic gangster could make an appearance as some point in future issues (as he was born 600 years before A New Hope). In any case, the Hutts' history during the High Republic will no doubt make for some very dynamic elements as the series continues from Marvel Comics.
Source: Comic Book Nation