The knobby white ice spider, also known as the Maldo Kreis ice spider,[3] was a species of spider[4] that lived in ice caves on the planet Maldo Kreis. The spiders ranged in size from very small to starship-sized, and attacked Din Djarin's ship, the Razor Crest, after Grogu consumed one of the eggs found in the planet's ice caverns.[2] Similar arachnid species could be found on several other planets across the the galaxy;[5] spice spiders, located on the planets Aaloth[6] and Taul,[5] and the Krykna spiders[7] of the world of Atollon, were similar to the knobby ice spiders, as were the[5] similarly named[4] knobby white spiders, which were native to the planet Dagobah and grew into gnarltrees.[8]
Unlike most spiders, the head of the knobby white ice spider was in the center of their body, hanging downward and ending in a circular mouth comprised of outer, grasping teeth and inner rows of smaller teeth, presumably to grind up their prey. They could produce and shoot webbing from their mouths and they had green blood. The species laid soft-shelled eggs in which their young would hatch. The eggs themselves were filled with green juices, slime, and webbing, and were edible by Yoda's species. Smaller members of the species could be killed with most common weapons or even by hand, as demonstrated by Din Djarin crushing a spider that tried to attack him with his bare hand. The larger, mature ice spider had eight legs, while the smaller, younger creatures had only six legs.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
Ralph McQuarrie's art of the "knobby white spider" for the The Illustrated Star Wars Universe
The ice spiders appeared in Chapter 10 of the 2019 Disney+ television series The Mandalorian,[2] which aired on November 6, 2020.[9] It was identified as such in the episode's descriptive audio.[2]
The ice spider scene in Chapter 10: The Passenger bears resemblance to a similar scene in the horror film The Mist, which featured Star Wars actor Sam Witwer.
They were based on a piece of concept art by Ralph McQuarrie[10] that had already been retooled three times before: in the Legends[11] and canon continuities as the knobby white spider, which is in fact a phase in a gnarltree's life cycle,[8] and in the canon continuity as the spice spider of Taul[12] and the krykna, a spider-like creature found on Atollon.[7] In 2021, the Star Wars: The Mandalorian Handbook reference book confirmed a connection between these species.[5] The Star Wars Insider article "Fon Davis: Model Shop Role Model" mistakenly calls the ice spiders the krykna.[13]
Appearances[]
- The Mandalorian Season 2 Junior Novel
- The Mandalorian – The Graphic Novel of Season 2
The Mandalorian — "Chapter 10: The Passenger" (First appearance)- The Mandalorian Season 2 2
- The Mandalorian Season 2 3 (Mentioned only; in the opening crawl)
- Star Wars Galaxy of Creatures — "Ice Spider"
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8
The Mandalorian — "Chapter 10: The Passenger"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
ice spiders in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars: The Mandalorian Handbook
- ↑ The High Republic: Tempest Runner
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars Rebels — "The Mystery of Chopper Base"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 20 (Guide to the Galaxy: Dagobah — The Cave of Evil)
- ↑ Everything New You Can Stream on Disney+ in November 2020 on D23.com (backup link)
- ↑ Phil Szostak (@PhilSzostak) on Twitter: "@Aviriia They are new! Both inspired by the same design." (backup link) (In response to "Can you confirm if the creatures were Krykna or that it are completely new creatures inspired by the ralph mcquarrie art?")
- ↑ Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
- ↑ Star Wars Special: C-3PO 1
- ↑ "Fon Davis: Model Shop Role Model" — Star Wars Insider 223
