‘The Mandalorian’ Spiders: Meet the Creatures That Will Skitter Through Your Nightmares

The Mandalorian is a show that gives you Star Wars action two ways: cute and creepy. Well, that’s at least the case this week, as “Chapter 10: The Passenger” has a whole lot that will make you swoon and scream—sometimes at the same time. Oh—SPOILER alert, obviously. You good? Good.

The cuteness this week comes via Baby Yoda (who else?), who gets a whole lot more screen time in “Chapter 10” than he did in “Chapter 9.” But then again, a lot of the Child’s screentime is devoted to him, uh, eating unfertilized frog lady eggs. So… yuck? In any other episode, Baby Yoda’s sinister snacking would probably be the most unsettling development. Not in “Chapter 10,” because “The Passenger” also features giant, man-eating spider-monsters!

And not just giant ones, either. There are medium-sized ones and baby ones, and they all skitter and slash with the same ferocity. It will make your skin crawl, especially if you suffer from arachnophobia (or are just now realizing that you suffer from arachnophobia). But this is not the first time that Star Wars fans have seen spiders like this. If you watched all of Star Wars Rebels, then you know all about the krykna!

Okay, let’s just make one thing clear: the giant spiders seen in The Mandalorian may not be the same ones seen in Star Wars Rebels. Those giant spiders, known as the krykna, lived on the arid planet of Atollon. The giant spiders seen in “Chapter 10” reside on an icy world. Still, the design and behavior of these horrifying beasts are notably similar, similar enough to assume that they’re at least distant cousins. Either way, it’s unsettling to know that there are multiple planets in the galaxy with massive nightmare arachnids.

Fun fact: both of these giant spiders are based on a concept design by Star Wars visionary Ralph McQuarrie, a design he whipped up for a “knobby white spider” that could have been included in the Dagobah scenes of The Empire Strikes Back. The creature wasn’t used but, as Star Wars Rebels often did, the unused concept art was used as a jumping off point for the krykna.

You can watch the Rebels crew battle the giant spiders known as the krykna in the following episodes of Star Wars Rebels:

• 2×20: “The Mystery of Chopper Base”
• 3×3: “The Holocrons of Fate”
• 3×14: “Warhead”
• 3×15: “Trials of the Darksaber”
• 3×21-22: “Zero Hour”

Or if you prefer your crawling creatures in live-action, you can just rewatch The Mandalorian “Chapter 10″—and hopefully only “Chapter 10.” Can we just not with the giant spiders from now on?

Stream "Chapter 10: The Passenger" on Disney+