Monsters of The Clone Wars: A Season One Bestiary

The six Star Wars films introduced lots of fantastic creatures, from acklays and banthas to varactyls and wampas. However, The Clone Wars, with its own feature film and six seasons of 121 episodes, has infused the Star Wars universe with a menagerie of remarkable beasts many times over. In this series we will explore these unique monsters, brought to life by supervising director Dave Filoni, lead designer Kilian Plunkett, and the talented team at Lucasfilm Animation, beginning with season one of The Clone Wars.



Neebray

In The Clone Wars feature film, Anakin Skywalker leads a Y-wing squadron through the Kaliida Nebula, where they are nearly gobbled up (and some ships significantly damaged) by a pod of giant neebray mantas. The flying creatures have six eyes, sharp teeth, four translucent wings, and come in several colors. While massive adult mantas live in the vacuum of space, baby neebrays grow up on the moons of Rugosa and Rishi, Tatooine, and other celestial bodies. It may seem strange for adults and their young to live in such vastly different environments, but in the real world this is common in fish, amphibians and some birds. In addition to the feature film, small neebrays of varying breeds also cameo in “Ambush” (S101), “Shadow of Malevolence” (S103), “Rookies” (S105), and “Jedi Crash” (S113).



Rishi Eel

Rishi eels are ferocious predators living in canyon tunnels on the Rishi moon. These terrifying worm-like creatures attack and then disappear without warning. Their two clusters of five red eyes and gaping mouths make them exceptionally creepy. In “Rookies” (S105) an 11 1/2-foot blue-and-purple eel used his four sharp mandibles to gobble up the clone trooper Cutup — armor and all! Captain Rex later shoots and kills the eel, and then slaps his bloodied blue hand on Echo’s helmet. This leaves a permanent mark that becomes Echo’s personal insignia.



Kwazel Maw

This giant bioluminescent swimming “caterpillar” is befriended by Jar Jar Binks, who names him “Boogie” in “Bombad Jedi” (S108). The strange creature, who seemed more likely to eat Jar Jar at first, becomes an unlikely ally in the Gungan’s desperate fight against the Separatist droid army on Rodia. Fortunately for Jar Jar, his new friend is nearly 290 feet long and swallows the enemy droids whole!

The kwazel Maw was designed by Russell Chong and based on an unused creature concept by Ralph McQuarrie for Dagobah, in Episode V.



Roggwart

Roggarts are fierce, rancor-sized monsters with long claws, powerful jaws and forked tails. General Grievous kept a pet roggwart named Gor in “Lair of Grievous” (S110). Native to the planet Guiteica, roggwarts are a favourite pet of Kaleesh warriors, as Grievous once was. The general had his droid assistant, A4-D (a personal plastic surgeon for the cyborg villain), surgically enhance Gor with an armored exoskeleton and cybernetic arms. Gor lived in Grievous’ castle dungeon on the moon of Vassek, where he attacked Jedi intruders.

Gor went through several radical design variations by the animation team, before arriving in his final form, including a fearsome beast that resembled a man-eating mole-cricket.



Gundark

In The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo tells a recovering Luke Skywalker that he looks “strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark.” For a long time Star Wars fans wondered what that ferocious creature actually looked like. We finally see a canonical gundark for the first time in “Dooku Captured” (S111). In the episode, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi encounter a gundark nesting in a cave and barely escape. Pairs of gundarks are later seen in “R2 Come Home” (S222), and “The Disappeared Part II” (S609).

Gundarks have six limbs. A gundark climbs using its larger, muscular arms but runs on its hands and feet to maintain balance. All four hands each have a set of four fingers, but their feet only have one toe with a single, enormous claw. Crimson-colored gundarks have a dark, hairy mane and thick hair on their larger forearms and tail. Their most fearsome qualities, apart from their nasty tempers, are their razor-sharp claws and teeth, which they use to tear apart their prey.

The Clone Wars’ gundark designs are closely based on depictions in an early role-playing source book. One of the most significant differences is the double-nose, which artist Kilian Plunkett borrowed from tauntauns.



Gutkurr

Nasty gutkurrs are native to the planet Ryloth. A bit like a cross between a velociraptor and an insect, gutkurrs waddle on two legs and hook their prey with a pair of short, clawed arms. Their outer shell is covered in spines and sharp teeth hang from their gaping mouths, below vacant red eyes. At more than six feet, these mindless beasts devour hapless, but apparently yummy, twi’leks and clone troopers. The unscrupulous TX-20 Separatist tactical droid uses them as a trap in “Innocents of Ryloth” (S112).



Skalder

Skalders are thick-skinned herbivorous animals living on the planet Florrum. Jar Jar Binks and a squad of clone troopers ride the friendly animals and chase down a group of weequay pirates on speeder bikes. The herd animals are built a bit like rhinos, with a pair of small tusks, and also closely resemble prehistoric animals called Placerias. Skalders were designed by artist Sergio Paez, and appear in “The Gungan General” (S112) and “Bound for Rescue” (S508).



Mastiff Phalone

Resembling a griffin, mastiff phalones are feathered, bird-like animals. Though they have beaks and wing remnants, they run on four legs. Their long claws, powerful limbs and toothy beaks make them dangerous predators, attacking Jedi and clone troopers who crash-land on the planet of Maridun. Fortunately for them, Lurmen immigrants set our Jedi and clone friends straight, teaching them how to outsmart the mastiff phalones without actually having to kill them. These beasts only appear (alive, that is) in “Jedi Crash” (S113).



Narglatch

Narglatch are fierce blue cats that live on the icy world of Orto Plutonia. With a mane of quills, powerful limbs, knife-like teeth and claws, narglatch are deadly hunters, fast runners and a substantial threat to clone troopers. Narglatch are sacred to the Talz (a species first appearing in the Mos Eisley Cantina scene of A New Hope), who both ride them and eat them. Apparently narglatch must form the base for a tasty broth on a cold Orto Plutonian evening, which Talz might suck with much relishing through their tiny proboscis mouth.

Narglatches first appeared in the 1999 video game from Lucas Learning, The Gungan Frontier. They were based on an unused design concept by artist Terryl Whitlatch for Episode I, which was later featured in her book, The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide. Narglatches are frequent visitors to The Clone Wars, appearing in “Trespass” (S115), “Slaves of the Republic” (S412) and “Bound for Rescue” (S508). They also appear in the form of dead specimens and Republic Gunship nose-art in quite a few episodes too.



Reeksa Plant

Reeksa are giant carnivorous plants that grow in the canyon bases of Iego. They resemble a man-eating (or Jedi-eating) Venus flytrap with a nasty disposition. Anakin and Obi-Wan might never have encountered this unpleasant flora, but it just happens that their roots are an important ingredient to the Blue Shadow Virus antidote in “Mystery of A Thousand Moons” (S118). Sadly, Reeksa plants have only one episode credit to their herbal career.



Xandu

Xandus are large bat-like creatures with six purple eyes, long fangs and a double set of wings. Obi-Wan and Anakin, in search of Reeksa roots, catch a ride on an uncooperative xandu to the canyon floor in “Mystery of A Thousand Moons” (S118). At nearly 12 feet tall, getting carried off by a xandu could be a terrifying experience for the uninitiated—but perhaps not so much as when they smash you unceremoniously against the cannon wall, and then devour you slowly back at their cliff-side nest.



Blurrg

These endearing creatures have vintage origins within the Star Wars universe, first appearing in the 1985 TV movie, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. Originally they were crafted as stop-motion puppets for the film, and later appeared in a wide variety of video games. Their name alone is enough reason to love them, but Ewoks and marauders on Endor, as well as Twi’leks and clone troopers on Ryloth, all appreciate them as reliable mounts. The friendly creatures are equally useful for pulling carts and farm-work as well as charging armies of battle droids. Blurrgs have appeared in “Liberty on Ryloth” (S121), “Supply Lines” (S303) and “Slave of the Republic” (S412).



Author of DK’s Star Wars: What Makes a Monster? and Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide, follow Adam Bray on Twitter at @authoradambray.

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