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From the moment Star Wars began with A New Hope, it has always taken a creative approach to populating a galaxy far, far away with life. Whether the story takes place in a harsh desert, on an icy world, or in the depths of space with no atmosphere at all, Star Wars imagines a creature evolved to survive in every environment. Oftentimes, this adapted wildlife poses a threat to the sentient beings who wander into their domain.
Some of these creatures are so alien and terrifying that they feel more like monsters. For the most part, though, they are simply animals trying to survive like any other wildlife. As these beings have slithered, clawed, and stalked the protagonists, some have stood out as particularly ferocious and frightening.
Summa-Verminoth
Around the planet, Kessel, swirls the Akkadese Maelstrom, a cluster of gas and chunks of ice and carbon. In that maelstrom lurks the summa-verminoth. This massive creature grows over 7,000 meters long and stares through an array of spider-like eyes. It uses gigantic tentacles covered in suckers and electrified stingers to trap and drag prey into its gigantic mouth.
The Sith planet, Exegol resides within a similar maelstrom containing similar creatures. However, the Exegol variant was capable of launching a psychic attack to prevent its prey from escaping.
Giant Spiders
Giant spiders are disturbingly common in the Star Wars universe. Many species exist including the Krykna from Star Wars: Rebels and the knobby white ice spiders from The Mandalorian. Each variant possesses unique quirks in behavior and biology. The Krykna, for example, have a beaked mouth, only six legs, and strong skin that could resist blaster fire even from starships, while the ice spiders resemble Earth spiders, just larger.
Despite their differences in biology and environment, they live in dark, tight spaces where they attempt to trap prey. These scenes are among the creepiest in Star Wars. Tiny spiders you can step on are bad enough; Gigantic spiders that can spin you in a web like an insect so their young can hatch and feed on your insides are horrifying.
Rancors
The rancor is one of Star Wars' most recognizable animals, thanks to Jabba the Hutt keeping one as a pet and feeding his enemies to it. These carnivorous reptiles are basically Tyrannosaurus Rex with arms long enough to be useful. Their violent tendencies make them easy to dismiss as dumb brutes, but they possess surprising intelligence.
They have great strength, are difficult to injure, and will eat almost anything. The Witches of Dathomir were known to tame and ride the beasts into battle. Boba Fett used this tactic to turn the tide in his fight with the Pyke Syndicate.
Vixus
What’s worse than a sarlacc? A sarlacc with reach. The vixus is an ambush predator that lies in wait in the jungles of Umbara. Tentacles that look like vines spread from its body through the jungle underbrush in a 7-meter radius. When prey comes into contact with one of the tentacles, the vixus ensnares it and drags it toward its toothy mouth.
A three-pronged tongue reaches from its maw to assist in dragging the poor creature in for digestion. The vixus, rathtar, blixus, and sarlacc all descend from a common ancestor.
Zillo Beasts
Zillo Beasts are gargantuan reptiles that stand 97 meters tall. Unbelievably strong scales cover its body like plate armor. These armored scales are resistant to explosions and even lightsaber blades. Its indestructibility led some civilizations to revere it as a god.
Zillo Beasts were once thought extinct until the Republic’s army accidentally unearthed one in battle. They were able to subdue the beast so that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine could study it. Unfortunately, it escaped and terrorized Coruscant until the Republic was forced to kill it with toxic gas. Many years later, Kylo Ren encountered a civilization worshipping a living Zillo Beast. He killed their god in order to subjugate them for the First Order.
Krayt Dragons
Krayt Dragons actually refer to a number of similar species on Tatooine. Essentially, these are the giant reptiles that inhabit the desert planet. Different species have variations in physical appearance, including number of limbs, and they come in various sizes, though all are massive. One commonality they share is the ability to produce “krayt venom,” a potent acid for injuring and pre-digesting prey.
These apex predators are ferocious and difficult to kill. The Tuskens opt to sacrifice banthas to them and keep them satiated rather than fighting them. However, Din Djarin did help a human village and a Tusken settlement slay one krayt dragon that had begun to frequently prey on the nearby towns.
Drengir
The Drengir are similar to an invasive plant species. When a seed lands on a new world, it quickly sprouts, grows, and creates more Drengir. Slicing one in half doesn’t kill it, it just creates two Drengir. Where they differ from an invasive plant species is their voracious appetite for meat.
Drengir are a mess of tentacles, thorns, and teeth. They are sentient and share a collective conscience with deep strength in the dark side, capable of overwhelming even a Jedi. As they hunt they chant, “Meat. Meat. Meat.” These creatures have been the most frightening addition to Star Wars from the High Republic Era so far. Their mission to reap meat across the galaxy is deeply disturbing.
Brain Worms
Yoda once said, “Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not.” It’s easy to tremble before the ferocity of large creatures, but don’t overlook the danger of small animals that can get close before you perceive the threat. The brain worms of Genosois are here to remind you that a predator can succeed in the hunt even if it is small in stature.
These worms grow about 3 meters long and slither up a host’s nose to take control of its mind. A colony of these worms can control an entire society and they can even use dead sentients as hosts. Fortunately, brain worms lack resistance to the cold. Low temperatures can incapacitate the worms and save the hosts if utilized quickly enough.
Rathtars
Rathtars are nightmare fuel. A collective of rathtars is known as a remorse of rathtars, because that is what you feel if you are unlucky enough to stumble upon one. A rathtar is more or less a round mouth filled with sharp teeth encapsulated with a ball of tentacles that move lightning fast. They have poor eyesight but compensate by hunting in packs and communicating in high-pitched shrieks.
Rathtar skin is resistant to blaster fire, making their primary weakness the one thing you don’t want to get anywhere near: their open mouths. They reproduce via fission, allowing them to quickly populate an area and making it dangerous to slash one with a lightsaber.
Mnggal-Mnggal
The Mnggal-Mnggal was the most disturbing creature from Star Wars Legends. It is a sentient dark ooze similar to the symbiote from Spider-Man. Instead of forging a symbiotic relationship with its host, though, it enters the host body and digests it from the inside. The Mnggal-Mnggal lurks in the form of a pool of ooze. When a victim draws near, it explodes and showers its prey in droplets that slither into the eyes, mouth, and nostrils. Starting with the brain and working its way down, it absorbs the internal organs. By the end of the process, the Mnggal-Mnggal is a mass of ooze wearing the husk of its prey like a suit.
This creature delighted in suffering and tortured its prey with nightmarish visions while feeding. It hasn’t made an appearance in the current canon, but a being with similar physical traits appeared at the end of the Star Wars: Eclipse trailer.