Star Wars has had its fair share of terrifying creatures, but the franchise has also introduced several species of giant spiders. These memorable arachnids have appeared across canon and Legends, formerly known as the Star Wars Extended Universe. In fact, the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, added to the franchise's spider mythology by debuting a new species never before seen or mentioned in canon, at least.
George Lucas first launched the galaxy far, far away in 1977, and since then, a multitude of memorable monsters have been incorporated into the vast fictional universe. The original Star Wars trilogy alone featured the dianoga, the wampa, the space slug, the Sarlacc, and the man-eating rancor. The prequel trilogy then added more horrifying species like the Sando Aqua Monster and the Zillo Beast.
While none of the Skywalker Saga's biggest monsters were spiders, a few have appeared in the films. Most arachnids, however, debuted through subsequent canon material, as well as Legends titles. To date, there are over a half dozen giant spider species, not including sentient arachnids and smaller spiders. Here's a breakdown of the various spiders in the Star Wars universe.
Ginntho
Ginntho is one of the few species of spiders to appear in live-action canon. The giant black and purple spider species is said to be native to the rocky planet Utapau. In addition to their eight-legs, ginntho have two feathery antennae and the species use their strong webs to capture prey before wrapping them with silk. After leaving victims for weeks, the ginntho spiders then return to drain their remains. The specific species was seen in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith when a native in Pau City was seen walking a ginntho spider.
Assassin-Spider
Assassin-spiders are a canonical species of arachnids that have phosphorescent skull patterns on their thorax. The spiders were introduced in Chuck Wendig's 2015 novel, Aftermath. Assasin-spiders possess the ability to spit venom as well as their strong silk webs. A Kubaz thief on the planet Taris used a lightsaber to split an assassin-spider in half as a demonstration before selling the weapon to dark side fanatics. The fact that a lightsaber was needed to slice the spider in half suggested the species large size.
Wyyyschokk
Shortly after the introduction of assassin-spiders, the wyyyschokk spider was added to canon through Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Native to the planet of Kashyyyk, wyyyschokk spiders are a very large species that could potentially lay 1,000 eggs a year. The species, which could also be albino, is highly intelligent, seeing as they could cast webs at a victim from a large distance. Before appearing in Fallen Order, the wyyyschokk species originally appeared in Legends, but they were often referred to as "webweavers." This version had poisonous mandibles, and it was viewed as one of the most feared creatures in the galaxy.
Bane Back Spider
Aside from the wyyyschokk species, Fallen Order also featured the first canonical appearance of the bane back spider. The dark-colored species has eight legs and an armored exoskeleton used to protect against attackers. Not only do bane back spiders have poisonous saliva, but they also emit dangerous acid upon dying. Like the wyyyschokk spiders, bane backs were first developed in Star Wars Legends, more specifically, the video game titled Star Wars Galaxies. Like the canon version, bane back spiders in Legends were native to the planet of Dathomir.
Spice Spider
Spice spiders are another over-sized species of arachnids that have been present in both canon and Legends. In the canon one-shot comic Star Wars Special: C-3PO 1, the species was native to Taul. A group of droids became stranded on the planet during the Battle of Takodana where they were ambushed by a group of spice spiders. The species are also referred to as energy spiders in Legends material. This interpretation of the species is known to live in the mines of Kessel, feeding on energy sources that result in webs made of glitterstim. A sub-species of energy spiders that had hooks on their backs were once found by Han Solo and Leia Organa upon investigating ground quake in the mines.
Knobby White Spider
The knobby white spider is a large arachnid species that was strictly used in Legends. It first appeared in Darksaber, a 1995 novel written by Kevin J. Anderson. Knobby white spiders were white lumpy arachnids with bulbous heads said to be native to the swamps of Dagobah. It also served as a root that acted as a piece of the gnarltree's life cycle before breaking free to roam the swamps. Luke Skywalker encountered smaller knobby white spiders while training in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, a Legends video game from 2003.
Krykna
Krykna are a canon species directly based on Star Wars concept designer Ralph McQuarrie's design of the original knobby white spider intended for The Empire Strikes Back. The species is technically spider-like creatures with six legs native to the remote planet of Atollon. The predators are known to be resistant to blaster fire and the Force, making them hard to battle. Krykna were seen in Star Wars Rebels multiple times, including when Sabine Wren and Rex were attacked by the large species of spiders at the rebel base on Atollon.
The Mandalorian's Ice Spider
The Mandalorian introduced a brand new species of spider in the season 2 episode titled "The Passenger." Upon crash-landing on the ice planet of Maldo Kreis, Din Djarin, his frog-like passenger, and Baby Yoda encountered a horde of white spiders in an ice cave. Among the group of arachnids were massive spiders the size of Din's ship. This species has a head in the center of its body, with a circular mouth that has rows of sharp teeth. Like the krykna species, the new ice spider is based on McQuarrie's past Star Wars design for the knobby white spider.
Other Known Spider Species In Star Wars Canon & Legends
Spine spiders: Introduced in Kevin Hearne's canon novel Heir to the Jedi, spine spiders are poisonous arachnids that live on the desert planet of Pasher. The spiders' glands could be used for medical applications, making them highly sought after by natives.
Crab spiders: A crustacean-type of spider was mentioned in Death Star, the Legends novel from 2007. The spider was described to be as big as an average-sized hand, but they presumably went extinct when the planet of Despayre was destroyed after the destruction of the first Death Star.
Rakazzak beasts: The Forest Moon of Endor have their own spider-like creatures in the form of rakazzak beasts. the creatures are very tall, and they had the ability to be tamed for the purpose of riding the beasts as a form of transportation. Aside from appearing in a canon reference book, rakazzak beasts appeared in the 1984 Legends storybook titled The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense.
Sentient spider-like species: Last but not least, Star Wars has featured sentient spider-like species like Harch, the Spider People, Araquia, and Arachnoids. Out of that group, the Harch species was most prominently presented. These humanoid figures are native to Secundus Ando, having six arms, six red eyes, and arachnid appendages near their mouths. Aside from appearing in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Harch species was present in Legends through a character named Trench. Return of the Jedi originally featured an arachnid species known as sic-six, but the intelligent creature was cut from the Star Wars film.