}); The Road to Episode Infinity: Creatures of the Mandalorian Season 2

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Creatures of the Mandalorian Season 2


Krayt Dragon

The Krayt Dragon is the first creature to ever feature in the Star Wars franchise. Right around the 11 minute mark you will see it, right behind C-3PO. The bones of a creature sprawled out on the sand dunes of the Jundland Wastes.

The first mention of a Kryat Dragon was in the 1976 novel "Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker" which predated the film by several months. The image of a living Krayt dragon was first drawn by Ralph McQuarrie as concept art for the film. The art shows a battle between Tusken Raiders and a large dragon, an encounter finally realized on screen four and a half decades later in Chapter 9 of The Mandalorian.

Almost all living Krayt dragons in the Star Wars franchise have been depicted as giant lizards similar to the Ralph McQuarrie art, but "The Mandalorian: Chapter 9" reimagines Krayt Dragons as long sand worms, similar to the creature from "Dune" or the monsters from "Tremors".

Krayt Dragons are native to Tatooine where they terrorize local communities. Tusken Raiders utilize Krayt Dragons for their meat. In their native habitat, Krayt Dragons ate a variety of desert creatures and also swallowed stones to help with digestion. Krayts were long lived and sometimes swallowed Kyber Crystals which would turn into a pearl in their stomachs. If the pearls were small enough they could be used to power lightsabers, though some pearls grew quite large in size and could be bigger than the head of a humanoid.


Knobby White Ice Spider

Knobby White Spiders are creatures based on another Ralph McQuarrie design (this time for "The Empire Strikes Back"). In the old Expanded Universe, Knobby White Spiders were from Dagobah. But according to Legends Canon the spiders were actually living roots (part of the lifecycle of a gnarltree). 

Another creature similar to the Knobby White Spiders are the Krykna, which appeared in the second and third seasons of "Star Wars: Rebels". The Krykna were native to planet Atollon. The Rebels of Chopper Base used sensor beacons to keep these spiders away from the base itself. 

Knobby White Ice Spiders appear in "The Mandalorian: Chapter 10". They are native to the ice caves of Maldo Kreis. These spiders appeared to have 6 legs as juveniles, but 8 legs as adults.


Lava Meerkat




Lava Meerkats were small mammalians adapted to live on the volcanic planet Nevarro. They were commonly found on the banks of subterranean rivers of lava (as seen in "The Mandalorian Chapter 8").

A Lava Meerkat is also featured in the opening scene of "The Mandalorian Chapter 12" where it is being tortured by a gang of Aqualish. Curiously, in concept art featured at the end of that episode the Lava Meerkat is scene breathing fire at one of the Aqualish. Could this fire breathing be a adaptive trait of the creature?


Massif


Massif were creatures that first appeared in "Attack of the Clones". The dog-sized lizard-like creatures were domesticated by Tusken Raiders and primarily used to guard Tusken settlements. The creatures were fearsome and formidable, but they were quite docile in the presence of Tuskens or those who could speak the Tusken language.

Though native to Tatooine, Massifs could be found on Geonosis, Florrum and were even imported to core worlds such as Coruscant.


Scurrier

Scurriers first appeared in the 1997 Special Edition of "A New Hope" - but the creatures were also seen in "Attack of the Clones". The CGI model of these creatures was actually a modified version of Jurassic Park's velociraptor. 

Scurriers often scavenged food from homesteads or settlements on the desert planet of Tatooine. Though skittish, they were a common site on the streets of Mos Eisley and Mos Pelgo.  


Creatures of the Mandalorian Season 1

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