Latest ‘The Mandalorian’ Creature Of The Week Was Inspired By Old ‘Empire Strikes Back’ Concept Art
Last weekend’s episode ofThe Mandalorianintroduced us to another terrifying creature in theStar Warsuniverse…and it’s not the Child’s hunger for eggs. After the Razor Crest landed on an unknown ice planet, Mando, the Child, and a new passenger encountered some nasty spiders lurking in a cavern. This is the first time the deadly creatures have been introduced in the live-actionStar Warsuniverse, but their inception goes all the way back to concept art created byRalph McQuarrieforThe Empire Strikes Back.
Lucasfilm’screative art managerPhil Szostakposted theEmpire Strikes Backartwork in question:
Szostaknoted in a post on Twitter that these creatures were initially sketched in February of 1979 forThe Empire Strikes Back. Labeled as a “bog planet tree creature,” they were originally intended to square off against Luke Skywalker in the swamps of Dagobah. In 1993, McQuarrie fully illustrated the creatures forThe Illustrated Star Wars Universe, and then appeared in Kevin J. Anderson’s novelDarksaber, which is now part of the non-canonStar Wars Legends.
The spider-like monster was eventually used as inspiration for the krykna inStar Wars Rebels. AsSzostaknoted to a fan question online, though the creatures in “Chapter 10” ofThe Mandalorianresemble the krykna and are inspired by the same artwork, they are a new creature.
This is far from the first time that classic artwork by Ralph McQuarrie has been used to inspire new elements of Star Wars. Throughout the entirety of the newStar Warstrilogy, there were pieces of old concept art used to create new pieces of canon in the universe.You can’t blame the Lucasfilm team for wanting to put all this outstanding artwork to use. McQuarrie came up with some of the most incredible concepts forStar Wars, and some of them just didn’t fit into the story. In a way, it also keeps George Lucas' influence on Star Wars alive too, especially with executive producer Dave Filoni being well-versed in every facet of theStar Warsuniverse and bringing that knowledge to every episodeThe Mandalorian.
Speaking of Filoni, we’ve yet to see him direct an episode this season, though we know he’s slated to be at the helm of one of them. There’s a chance he could be at the helm of this week’s episode, but we know for a fact it won’t be “Chapter 12” the following week, becauseCarl Weathersrecently confirmed to ET Canada that he directed that episode. Perhaps that’s the episode where his character Greef Karga and Cara Dune (Gina Carano) are returning to the series.
Stay tuned for more information about what’s in store forThe Mandalorianseason 2 in the coming weeks, and stay tuned to theSlashFilm Daily podcastevery Friday for our episode recaps and discussions.
