Top 10 Creatures In The 'Star Wars' Universe
The Star Wars universe hosts some of the most amazing creatures in science fiction. Incredibly talented designers have created a galaxy-worth of creatures contextual to the alien worlds they reside in. My first Star Wars experience was with the prequel trilogy. As such, there were many creatures and aliens from that era that captured my imagination.
These are my top 10 creatures from the Star Wars universe. I will take into account mostly design and how they are utilized in their story. Sometimes, creatures are just decorations in a scene. In other instances, they are used to illustrate a theme or push forward a narrative. I am also not including alien species with animal-like qualities that are sentient to the level of culture and organization (such as the Ewoks).
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10. Colo Claw Fish
We see the colo claw fish in a startling scene in The Phantom Menace. Its faint bioluminescence clues us in on its shape as it slowly becomes visible in the underwater cave. It snakes through the water like a sea snake with a gar-like elongated mouth. It is a really great, memorable design.
9. Zillo Beast Of Malastare
The Zillo Beast of Malastare is a creature we have only seen in a two-episode arc in The Clone Wars animated series. This creature is massive, more akin to buildings than other creatures in terms of scale. It has elongated limbs, which it uses for swiping as a means of defense. Its roar brings to mind famous movie monsters like Godzilla.
It also illustrates that deception is a tool employed both by the Jedi Order and the Chancellor with both parties willing to manipulate situations for their own purposes. This theme, of course, makes a return during the events of Revenge of the Sith.
8. Acklay
The acklay is the greenish creature with pointed crustacean-like legs that takes an interest in Obi-Wan Kenobi during the arena scene in Attack of the Clones. We learned from Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005) that these creatures hail from the planet Felucia, a planet rich with gorgeous vegetation. We see it again briefly in Revenge of the Sith when Aayla Secura is killed during the Order 66 sequence. Its origin explains why it stands out against the Geonosian landscape.
7. Vulptex
The vulptex is one of the many striking elements introduced in The Last Jedi. These small but brilliant crystal foxes are seen on the planet Crait where they move in groups. Even though we only get to experience them for a short amount of time in the film, we can see that they are very intelligent. In fact, the Resistance is able to escape by following these creatures to safety.
6. Porg
The birth of the porg came from an abundant population of real-world puffins on the shooting location of what would become the mysterious Ahch-To. Despite its seemingly random conception, it has spread widely in popularity. Its cries are as instantly identifiable as any other sounds in the Star Wars universe. It is adorable, it is harmless, and I am glad those real-world puffins made their presence known.
5. Tauntaun
Tauntauns are iconic creatures in the Star Wars universe. We see them used as mounts by the Rebels in The Empire Strikes Back and getting processed in a meatpacking plant in The Book of Boba Fett. They utter unique noises and appear to be an interesting mixture of reptile and mammal. They are also available as one of the mounts in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga video game.
4. Loth-Cat
Native to the planet Lothal, the adorable Loth-cats are featured heavily in Star Wars: Rebels. They have large mouths but are overall very small in stature. They appear to have been intentionally designed to look like they are smiling. They prove to be defensive, intelligent, and affectionate over the course of the series.
3. Wampa
Essentially the Yeti of the Star Wars universe, the wampa is native to the ice planet Hoth. It is much like an ape in that it is bipedal and utilizes its arms to grab and strike its prey. However, it is carnivorous and hunts for food. We see it bringing Luke to its ice cave in The Empire Strikes Back.
2. Rancor
The rancor is one of the original “threatening” creatures in the original trilogy. The one we see in Return of the Jedi lives in an enclosure underneath Jabba the Hutt’s Palace on Tatooine where the crime lord would frequently send down those who displease him. Interestingly, we see a sad reaction from its caretaker when Luke Skywalker successfully dispatches of it. We would later learn in The Book of Boba Fett that rancors imprint on the first thing they see, are emotional, and somewhat timid.
Honorable Mentions
Now, before we get to our final creature, we have some important honorable mentions.
The incredible aiwha of Kamino are both aquatic and aerial. We can see the Kaminoans riding these air whales in The Clone Wars and other Star Wars media like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
The design of the spider-like krykna have been around since the earliest days of Star Wars. They were finally given life in Rebels and The Mandalorian where they gave my wife and me creepy-crawlies for days!
The humble blurrg are seen in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and in The Mandalorian. They are small and seem to have utilitarian functions like riding and farming.
The happabore is a large snouted quadruped from The Force Awakens. We only really get to see it drinking water next to Finn, but its design is very fun and unique.
1. Krayt Dragon
The final creature on our list is the krayt dragon. Actually, the krayt dragon does not signify a single creature, but rather a myriad of outer-rim, desert-dwelling ones. However, the one I am specifically talking about is featured in The Mandalorian. It is a part of a unique club with the Gorog (now considered Legends), purrgil, the sando aqua monster, the Zillo Beast of Malastare, and the summa-verminoth (from Solo: A Star Wars Story) in terms of its massive scale. They have undergone significant redesigns over the years. Their existence in Star Wars was first hinted at by the mysterious skeleton lying in the sand in A New Hope. Over time, we now have giant Dune-like, venom-spitting leviathans. You can seek out and fight a krayt dragon on Tatooine through a side quest given by Yaddle in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Thank you for coming on this journey with us and we hope you had fun exploring the creatures of the Star Wars universe! Until next time, and may the Force be with you!
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Source(s): Wookieepedia, StarWars.com, Comic Vine, Golf Digest, GQ, IGN,