The creatures of Star Wars come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small and fast like the scurrier and loth-cat while others are large and lumbering like the dewback and bantha. The worst thing a dewback will probably do to you is throw you off its back or step on one of your feet, but there is a whole other category of creatures that have far more menacing things on its mind. These creatures want to cause you harm. When you see them you better make a run for it because they will tear you apart and if you are truly unlucky you might end up in their bellies.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, along with associated merchandise, novels, and video games, will surely introduce us to even more terrifying creatures, but let's take a look at some of the most terrifying, dangerous creatures that already exist. Here is Screen Rant's list of 11 Star Wars Creatures That Want To Kill You.
The rules:
Creatures in this list are from Star Wars properties the Lucasfilm Story Group considers to be canon. They are creatures, meaning non-sentients or semi-sentients, that want to kill, harm, or eat sentients that come across their path. Creatures like the brain worm in The Clone Wars that control their victims rather than kill them are not on this list - even though you do absolutely want to stay far, far away from them.
Wampa
There is a long lineage of snow creatures in movies and television that including various yetis, Bumble from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the snow monster from Frozen. And then there is the wampa. In Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, the Rebellion is hiding out on the remote ice world of Hoth. One creature native to Hoth is not excited to make friends with its new visitors. Or perhaps it is excited to have some new snack options.
While Luke (Mark Hamill) is on a scouting mission, he runs into the large paw of a wampa who hangs him upside down like a rack of meat in his snow cave. Luckily for Luke the wampa is no match for his lightsaber, which Luke is able to move in a desperate attempt to rescue himself. In deleted scenes from The Empire Strikes Back, more wampas can be scene trying to enter the rebel base and wreak more havoc.
Dragonsnake
The dragonsnake has only had two brief appearances in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and one episode of the The Clone Wars, but it is a worthy entry on this creature list. If you are near a swamp in the Star Wars universe you need to be wary of the dragonsnake.
On Degobah, shortly after Luke Skywalker crash lands his X-Wing, a dragonsnake swallows and then spits out everyone’s favorite astromech droid R2-D2. The only part of the dragonsnake that viewers can see during this scene is a small portion of his back, but it seems to be a water monster in line with the Loch Ness Monster. In the “Hunt for Ziro” episode of The Clone Wars, the full dragonsnake is on display after one jumps out of the water and attacks Obi-Wan Kenobi in the swamplands of Nal Hutta.
Diagona
Disney may never create an official diagona action figure from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, but that won't stop you from having nightmares about it. A diagona is a slimy cephalopod with seven tentacles and one disgusting eyeball. When Luke Skywalker ends up in the garbage chute of the Death Star while breaking Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) out of her cell block, he quickly learns that walls closing in on each other are not the only danger he needs to evade.
The diagona uses one of its tentacles to strangle Luke and takes him under water to drown him. Some quick blaster fire from Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the movement of the compactor walls spook diagona to let Luke go, but not before giving Luke the most disgusting bath of his life. The low budget of A New Hope made director George Lucas get creative with this trash monster. Diagona is creepy precisely because it can’t easily be seen. It’s like the shark in Jaws: you know it’s there somewhere ready to strike, but there’s nothing you can do about it.
Rancor
The rancor is the perfect movie monster. All claws and teeth, the rancor appears to have one goal: to eat you. The rancor, introduced in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, lives in Jabba the Hutt’s basement as a pet of sorts, and rips apart the unlucky ones who fall down from Jabba’s secret trap door. The rancor doesn’t have a lot of room to maneuver, which only makes him that much grumpier.
While the rancor is used as entertainment for the criminals in Jabba’s Palace, he is also someone’s best friend. After Luke kills the rancor by crushing its neck, a man who was clearly the rancor’s keeper breaks down into tears. Which just proves that there is always someone out there who loves you, no matter how terrifying and scary you may be to everyone else.
Sarlacc
Every summer, children panic as they are about to jump off the high dive into their local swimming pool. At that moment it appears they are going to jump into the belly of a scary beast instead of a large pool of water. The arlacc is the nightmare hole these children are jumping into.
The sarlacc is the creature in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi that lives in the Pit of Carkoon near Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine. The sarlacc isn’t a creature that is going to chase you down, but if you come close enough, one of its tentacles will drag you into its open mouth. Then, you are in for a world of pain. C-3PO estimated that the unlucky beings that ended up in the sarlacc’s belly would spend the next thousand years being digested.
The sarlacc has an upgrade in the special edition of Return of the Jedi with a mouth that reaches up to eat its victims. But this change wasn’t really necessary as the original sarlacc was scary and intimidating enough of a creature to make anyone shiver.
Colo Claw Fish
As Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn find out in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, the water core of Naboo is as dangerous as it is beautiful. During their trip from the underwater Gungan city to the capital city of Theed, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Jar Jar Binks face three giant aqua predators. The opee sea killer which looks like a giant monster fish, or as Jar Jar calls it, a “gooberfish,” has a powerful sucker tongue that grabs the Jedi’s ship until the even larger sando aqua monster decides to eat the opee sea killer as a snack.
Even more scary than the opee sea killer is the colo claw fish, which looks a bit like a crocodile mixed with an eel. The colo claw fish is a giant, speedy predator with an enormous jaw filled with razor sharp teeth. The Jedi’s ship appears to have no chance of escaping this second, more intimidating predator until the sando aqua monster once again appears to take down the colo claw fish.
Acklay
In Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, and Anakin Skywalker are forced to face three frightful arena monsters after being captured in Geonosis. One of these dangerous predators is the acklay. The giant acklay looks a bit like a giant crab monster from the dinosaur age. It has six legs, all with sharp claws on its ends and three eyes to stalk its prey.
The acklay tries to stab Obi-Wan Kenobi with its sharp claws before snapping at him with its numerous sharp teeth. The acklays jaws are quite powerful, and they can snap a spear in half as if it were a twig. In between its loud hunting cries the acklay also uses its crustacean-like shell to knock down the pillar to which Obi-Wan Kenobi was shackled. The acklay is easily twice Obi-Wan’s height which makes fighting the creature that much more difficult.
Nexu
In that Attack of the Clones arena battle, Anakin Skywalker was lucky to be paired against a creature called a reek. While the reek could cause someone harm, this particular rhinoceros-type creature is easy to tame with a Jedi mind trick and ends up being used as transportation for Anakin. The nexu on the other hand, while the smallest of the three arena monsters, is a much more dangerous predator for Padme Amidala to face.
"Giant killer feline" is one way to describe the nexu, which can leap and pounce like a tiger or panther. The nexu easily scurries up the pillar Padme Amidala climbs and slashes her back with its claws. Its mouth is so wide and large and looks like a permanent evil grin on its face. The nexu also has a very long tail that resembles a rodent more than a feline. The predator, nicknamed “bad kitty” by ILM animators, looks like it has the patience of a cat waiting for some prey to drop its guard. But during the arena battle, the nexu is no match however for a stampeding reek under Anakin’s control.
Zillo Beast
The Zillo Beast, introduced in two episodes of The Clone Wars ("The Zillo Beast" and "The Zillo Beats Strikes Back"), really only wants to hurt you if you bother her. But when a bomb explodes on Malastare it unearths and awakens a Zillo Beast, who is not happy to be woken. With four long arms, a spiky tail, and a head similar to the sarlacc’s mouth, the Zillo beast looks a bit like a skinny Godzilla covered in hard scales. One thing that makes the zillo beast so dangerous are these scales that are not damaged by bombs or even lightsaber strikes.
The most intimidating thing about the Zillo Beast, however, is its overall size. As tall as a skyscraper, the Zillo Beast can crush you with its feet and destroy a village in a matter of minutes. Not surprisingly, the Zillo Beast’s ability to repel weapons catches the interest of Senator Palpatine, who seeks to clone one. Perhaps the Zillo Beast will make another appearance in a future Star Wars film or television show soon.
Gundark
Han Solo has a memorable quote in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, in which he tells the bedridden Luke Skywalker, recovering from the injuries of the wampa attack, that he looks like he could pull the ears off gundark. But we don't get to actually see a gundark until The Clone Wars. Gundarks make appearances in three Clones episodes: "Dooku Captured," "R2 Come Home," and "The Disappeared, Part II" and they are just as ferocious as you might have imagined.
The gundark looks a bit like a smaller version of a rancor, but it is much more mobile. While the rancor is slow and steady, the gundarks can run and leap during their attack. Mostly found on Vanquor, the gundark has terrifyingly large claws and jaws to eat their prey. Even though their two dominant arms would be enough to overcome most who come across a gundark, they also have an additional smaller set of arms to cause even more damage.
Fyrnock
If you’re afraid of the dark you will really be afraid of fyrnocks. First introduced in Star Wars Rebels, fyrnocks are medium-sized creatures who are vicious in the dark but can not tolerate the sun. A cross between a giant frog and a bat the fyrnocks live in large groups and hunt as a unit. The fyrnocks are dark purple with a large mask-like feature on their face and large yellow eyes. They are excellent jumpers and can run very fast.
The fyrnocks do appear to be influenced by the force which along with running into the sunlight are among the best ways to escape them. A mother fyrnock was seen in a second Star Wars Rebels episode which was much, much larger in size than her offspring.
-
The Star Wars universe is full of even more dangerous creatures than this. Do you think there's another monster that deserves to be on this list? Let us know in the comments!