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NYT Syndicate
What's Star Wars without its critters, creatures, monsters and menaces? Just a bunch of lightsabers and whining. With Star Wars: The Last Jedi now in theatres, we compiled a list of some of the franchise's nonhuman species that are particularly fresh, particularly memorable or just plain cool.
The new ones
Porgs: They're all anyone really cares about: Porgs, porgs, porgs, those big-eyed cuties who stole the spotlight in the trailers for The Last Jedi. So what do we know about porgs? Director Rian Johnson says the porgs are the Star Wars version of puffins. They're a type of sea bird native to the planet Ahch-To, where Rey finds Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. Porgs are curious, nest-building creatures that emit a trilling sound at times. Oh, and baby porgs are called porglets. Porglets!
Crystal foxes: These creatures, technically called vulptices (singular: vulptex), will be seen in The Last Jedi on Crait, a planet made of red dirt and crystals and covered in white salt, which is the location of an old Rebel Alliance base. Foxlike quadrupeds, they live in burrows underneath the planet's surface and appear to have adapted a crystalline outer structure that matches the shapes found in Crait's geodelike centre. According to 'Entertainment Weekly', they are possibly bioluminescent.
Fathiers: Sometimes referred to as space horses, these creatures have long ears, large eyes and goat-like faces. On the casino planet Canto Bight, which we will encounter for the first time in The Last Jedi, fathiers are trained to run in high-stakes races. Place your bets.
Caretakers: Think"dinosaur nuns." These all-female caretakers speak their own language and live on the planet Ahch-To, where Luke Skywalker has resided in exile for many years. They have kept watch over the first Jedi temple for some time. Also, they possibly eat porgs.
The furry ones
Ewoks: A short, furry, bipedal omnivore (and we mean omnivore ” remember how they almost roasted Han for dinner?) from the forest moon Endor. These hunters live in complex tree villages and are surprisingly violent given their cuddly exteriors.
Wampas: First seen swiping Luke Skywalker off his tauntaun, and last seen losing what was possibly its swiping arm, this white-furred carnivore hunts in the snowy wastelands of Hoth. The wampa stands on two legs and has powerful claws, which it uses to stun its prey before chilling and devouring it back in its cave.
Banthas: These quadruped herbivores grow to around 8 feet tall and have long, brown fur. Both sexes of the species have curling horns and wide mouths. Their milk is drinkable and their hides, when mixed with fermented grain, make an alcoholic drink. Banthas are the primary mount for Tatooine's Sand People.
The deadly ones
The Sarlacc: Remember in Return of the Jedi when Luke was going to have to walk the plank into a scary pit with a hungry monster at the bottom? That monster is the Sarlacc. According to C-3PO:
"In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over 1,000 years."
Tentacles, a beak, a powerful tongue ” no thanks.
Rathtars: These are the vicious cephalopods in The Force Awakens ” the dangerous land squids that Han Solo captured and was transporting when he encountered his long-lost Millennium Falcon.
The Dianoga: Getting dumped in a trash compactor is no fun, but it's even less fun when there's a slithery one-eyed creature living at the bottom of it, and it's trying to eat you. Luckily Han, Leia and the apparently unappetizing Luke manage to escape.
Zillo Beasts: A reptilian creature ” some can grow more than 300 feet tall ” that is heavily armoured and has a long, spiked tail, often used as a whip. Zillo beasts were thought to be extinct until one was awakened, as seen in the Star Wars animated series The Clone Wars.
