The Bad Batch: Meet the new Dune-inspired monster

Beasts and monsters are a consistent part of Star Wars stories. In the latest episode of The Bad Batch, "The Return," we were introduced to the newest monster in the Star Wars universe, the menacing wyrm creature that the Batch had to contend with.

New episode of The Bad Batch introduces the latest monster to Star Wars

In the episode, the wyrm creature terrorizes the Batch as they attempt to gain intel on the cloning facility that Omega and Crosshair escaped by breaking into an abandoned Imperial base from Season 2, "The Outpost."

This creature thrives underground and goes on the attack once Omega disables the sensor that Crosshair believed was to alert the base when local raiders were approaching. Ultimately, they block the creature by reactivating the sensor, which stops it in its tracks and leads to a funny moment where Batcher barks at the beast as it goes away as if she were the one who scared it off.

This was not the first time that the characters of The Bad Batch had to contend with a giant monster. In season two, episode 11, "Metamorphosis," the members of the Bad Batch encountered the mighty Zillo Beast. A massive, dragon-like creature, the Zillo Beast originally appeared in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where it got loose on the planet of Coruscant. The creature has eyes, sharp teeth, and is not easy to incapacitate.

Another similar type of beast is the krayt dragon, which we most notably saw in The Mandalorian. This beast can spit venom and terrorize the inhabitants of Tattooine. We also saw its skeleton in A New Hope.

The wyrm creature and the krayt dragon especially seem to draw a lot of influence from the sandworm in the Dune franchise. It's fitting that Dune: Part 2 came out the same week as "The Return."

It makes sense why we see so many of these beasts and monsters in the Star Wars franchise. While these creatures fit into science fiction, they are also a hallmark of fantasy stories. Star Wars is just as much fantasy as science fiction, which is why these creatures, as well as the rancor and the beasts in the arena on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, do not feel out of place in the Star Wars universe. They evoke images from ancient mythology of heroes being forced to contend with monsters and beasts as they try to pursue their goals.

The wyrm creature is just the latest creature we have seen that fits this mold. It seems highly unlikely that it will be the last we see in Star Wars media.