Warning - This article contains minor spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 2.
It's clear that The Mandalorian is taking a deep dive into the Star Wars lore like never before, highlighting references and callbacks as much as they could in each episode. During its successful debut season, the hit Star Wars series was jam-packed with Easter eggs, but the latest season appears to take it to a higher level by reintroducing characters like Boba Fett into the fold, while also hinting at the live-action debuts of Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren.
On top of those developments, The Mandalorian Season 2 is seemingly showing off one giant creature after another during its first set of episodes. During the debut episode of the latest season, The Mandalorian showcased the Krayt Dragon, while also teasing the importance of its pearl to the Tusken Raiders.
Now, the new episode featured the live-action debut of another interesting creature from the galaxy far, far away.
NEWS
The second episode of The Mandalorian Season 2 heavily featured a familiar creature from Star Wars lore in the form of the Krykna. These spider-like creatures were prominently showcased in several episodes of Star Wars: Rebels.
Interestingly, these creatures were based on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back concept art from Ralph McQuarrie, and it was revealed that they were supposed to be featured as one of the life forms on Dagobah.
WHAT THIS MEANS
While it seems that "Chapter 10: The Passenger" is only a filler episode for The Mandalorian Season 2, the presence of the Krykna no doubt stands out. These spider-like creatures delivered several intense moments during the episode while also showcasing the survival skills of Mando amid the chaos.
The Krykna served as the perfect creature to give off a creepy vibe in an enclosed snowy setting, giving the runaway duo (and Frog Lady) a run for their money. The creature's aggressive and menacing nature pays true homage to their animated counterpart from Star Wars: Rebels. If anything, the inclusion of these spider-like creatures isn't surprising, since Rebels creator Dave Filoni also appeared in the episode as one of the X-Wing pilots.
Part of the fun of being included in the Star Wars universe is the good amount of creatures that characters can encounter throughout the narrative. The Mandalorian appears to thrive on that front, especially after its main storyline is heavily focused on traveling throughout different planets in order to find other Mandalorians and, of course, the Jedi.
All in all, it will be interesting to see if any more creatures from the Star Wars franchise will be featured in the upcoming episodes of the hit Star Wars show.
