In Star Wars, the color red symbolizes what C.S. Lewis calls "the belly": the part of the soul connected to appetites and passions, such as fear and greed. It is not healthy to be ruled by this lower part of the soul. However, in Revenge of the Sith, there are not one, not two, but three rulers with prominently red costumes.
Tion Medon is the administrator of one of Utapau's sinkhole cities. The geographical symbolism of Obi-Wan Kenobi's descent into this city marks Tion Medon's domain as an underworld – a realm associated with the appetite, the passions, and the unconscious. General Grievous is hiding in this underworld by using the threat of military force to cow Tion Medon and the other Pau'ans. Tion Medon's deep red costume fits with his position as a ruler of an underworld, and with his role in the story as a hostage controlled by fear.
Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation and one of the primary leaders of the Separatist Alliance, wears a deep red costume that visually mirrors Tion Medon's. This red costume befits the greedy Gunray's ravenous appetite for wealth. Moreover, he is a coward whose subservience to fear becomes obvious when he begs for his life before being killed by Anakin Skywalker.
Tion Medon and Nute Gunray's costumes foreshadow the deep red costume that Palpatine wears when he declares himself Emperor of the new Galactic Empire. Palpatine is the most important red ruler in Revenge of the Sith: he tyrannizes the entire galaxy through the passion of fear, which creates such a craving for "a safe and secure society" that people will give up their liberty to get it.
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Characters: Nute Gunray / Palpatine / Tion Medon
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Concepts: appetite / ascent and descent / fear / greed / passion / tyranny / underworld
Interpretive Tools: Tripartite Soul Theory
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