Star Wars Creatures from Return of the Jedi

Previously I looked at Star Wars creatures from A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. This time around I’m looking at the creatures from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

All of the creatures in Return of the Jedi are from one section of the film – Jabba the Hutt’s palace. The list of creatures (non and semi-sentients) is quite short compared to all of the new sentient alien species introduced in Jabba’s Palace and Endor. But while Twi’leks, Weequays, and Ewoks are not on this list, the creatures here are some of the most entertaining in the Star Wars galaxy.

RANCOR

The rancor is one of the most memorable of all Star Wars creatures. Held in a dungeon below Jabba’s throne room, the rancor gets to snack on all of those who displease the crime lord. With razor sharp teeth and giant claws only a Jedi Knight has a chance at escaping the rancor. The rancor does have a fan in its human keeper, who is clearly devastated after the rancor meets a gruesome end.

Fun Fact: Rancors are natives of Dathomir, the same planet that the Witches of Dathomir and the Night Sisters called home.

Best Scene: When Jabba’s rancor bites down on a gamorrean guard and then turns his head over to Luke Skywalker with a “I’m still hungry” kind of look.

SARLAAC

Anyone who has been frozen with fear on a high dive at their local swimming pool can identify with the terror of the sarlaac. While the high dive only has water beneath it, the sarlaac is something you definitely don’t want to jump into. Basically a giant mouth, the sarlaac slowly digests the unfortunate beings that fall inside – a process that can take thousands of years.

The sarlaac got a taste of one of the most beloved bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe, Boba Fett, but Fett somehow managed to free himself.

Fun Fact: Sarlaacs live between 20,000 and 50,000 years.

Best Scene: When the sarlaac wraps one of its tentacles around Lando’s leg (not that I wanted Lando to be eaten by the sarlacc).

KOWAKIAN MONKEY-LIZARD

The most famous kowakian monkey-lizard in the Star Wars universe was introduced in Return of the Jedi, Salacious B. Crumb. Salacious was the court jester of Jabba the Hutt’s palace, sitting at his side and tormenting everyone around him with his cackling laugh.

Fun Fact: There is a lot of dispute about whether the Kowakian monkey-lizard is a semi-sentient creature or a truly sentient creature. One thing not under dispute is that they are cruel little guys.

Best Scene: Any scene where he is cackling.

The most surprising sentient creature in Return of the Jedi:

FROG-DOG

The frog-dog not surprisingly looks like a mix between a frog and a dog. Bubo is the frog-dog introduced in Jabba’s palace. Bubo acts like a mindless watch dog for Jabba, but this reptilian beauty is a lot smarter than he looks. In many cases frog-dogs allowed themselves to be taken as pets – although they usually had a larger plan on their minds.

Fun Fact: Frog-dogs do not have a native language.

Best Scene: The wide shot of Jabba’s Palace with Bubo standing watch.

Best creature not seen in the film: 

HOOVER

This cute little Hoover named Attark made it into some promo shots for , but can not easily be seen in the film. If you can find him – let us know in the comments!

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