Wikipedia

Sarlacc

"Sarlacc's Pit" redirects here. For the Canadian cave, seeWells Gray Park Cave discovery.Not to be confused withSarlak.

TheSarlacc[1](pluralSarlacci) is a fictional creature inGeorge Lucas'ssci-fi actionsagaStar Wars.It first appeared in the filmReturn of the Jedi(1983) as a multi-tentacledalienbeast whose immense, gaping maw is lined with several rows of sharp teeth, inhabiting theGreat Pit of Carkoon,a hollow in the sand of the desert planetTatooine.After thebounty hunterBoba Fettescapes from its maw in "Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land"ofThe Book of Boba Fett(2022) and eventually returns to retrieve his armor, the Sarlacc is killed by his partnerFennec Shandin "Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm".

The original Sarlacc inReturn of the Jedi(1983)

In theoriginalReturn of the Jedi,the Sarlacc is depicted as a barbed gaping mouth in the desert sand with tentacles. The 1997Special Editionof the film addedcomputer-generatedtentacles and a beak to the mouth, which has remained its canonical depiction since. BesidesReturn of the Jedi,the creature and others like it are featured inStar Warsliterature.

Like other aspects ofStar Wars,the Sarlacc became a part ofpopular culture.The creature was incorporated into the merchandising campaign that accompanied the release ofReturn of the Jedi.It is the subject of analysis and humor in works of literature unassociated withStar Wars.[2][3]

Depiction

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The Sarlacc first appeared in the 1983 filmReturn of the Jedi,whereinJabba the Huttattempts to dropLuke Skywalker,Han Solo,andChewbaccainto the creature's mouth; but Luke frees himself and the others with the aid ofLando CalrissianandR2-D2,whilePrincess Leiastrangles Jabba.

According to theStar WarsDatabank,the Sarlacci inhabit remote, inhospitable locations in the galaxy, but defytaxonomic classification,insofar as most texts claim that the Sarlacc is anarthropod(as inThe Essential Guide to Alien SpeciesandThe Wildlife of Star Wars), while its anchored root system andspore-based method of reproduction suggest a plant origin.[4]A Sarlacc reproduces byreleasing spores through outer space,which arrive on a planet orasteroid,and there excavate a pit to capture prey.[5]

Steve Sansweet'sStar Wars Encyclopediadescribes the Sarlacc as an "omnivorous,multi-tentacled creature with needle-sharp teeth and a large beak ".[6]The Sarlacc rests at the base of a giant pit where the entirety of its body is buried except for the gaping mouth, which may reach three meters (10 feet) in diameter.[4]The Sarlacc uses its four legs to anchor itself underground.Astrophysicistand science fiction authorJeanne Caveloscompares the Sarlacc's hunting method to that of theantlion.[7]The Sarlacc's mouth also has similarities with that of thelamprey.

Because most Sarlacci inhabit isolated environments and rely on prey to stumble into their pit, they rarely feed; the digestive system dissolves prey into nutrients over a period of several thousand years.[4]If no living prey is available, a Sarlacc relies on its root system to absorb nutrients. One Sarlacc located on an airless moon feeds oncometarymaterial rich in oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen.[8]

The Sarlacc's stomach is lined with vessels that attach themselves to a swallowed victim and maws for quick digestion or breaking apart of large prey. The maws close when exposed to bright lights. The stomach also containsneurotoxins,which induce hallucinations in prey which "suggest that the Sarlacc somehow absorbs the intelligence of all its victims, who live on in disembodied torment".[4]A Sarlacc can communicate with its victims through this stolenconsciousness:[5]In oneStar Warsshort story, an unnamedJediexplains that "Sarlacci do interesting things withmessenger RNA:over the course of millennia, they can attain a sort of group consciousness, built out of the remains of people they've digested. I talked to such a Sarlacc, once a few decades ago ".[8]

AJawawith thesporeof a Sarlacc from "Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc",Star Wars Tales6(2000)

In theanthologyTales from Jabba's Palace(1995), edited byKevin J. Anderson,Dan'l Danehy Oakes's story "Shaara and the Sarlacc: The Skiff Guard's Tale" is told by one of Jabba the Hutt's soldiers, who tellsBoba Fettthat his sister Shaara and herImperial stormtroopercaptors were thrown into the pit, whereupon the Sarlacc swallowed the stormtroopers, but expelled Shaara, for reasons unknown.[9]In the short story "A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett", byDaniel Keys Moranunder thepseudonymof J. D. Montgomery, Boba Fett struggles to free himself from the belly of the Sarlacc. As Fett is digested, the creature converses with him mentally in the voice of an alien named Susejo, eaten by the Sarlacc four thousand years earlier. Having caused his jet pack to explode, Fett uses aconcussion grenadeto blast himself free.[10]Years later, Fett is recognized by the Sarlacc upon approach.[4]

In thenon-canonicalDark Horsecomic book"Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc", written byMark Schultzand illustrated by Kellie Strom, the Sarlacc seen inReturn of the Jediis the offspring of an older Sarlacc on Tatooine. Shortly after the execution of an unknown alien named Grubbat Fhilch, the Sarlacc releases a spore that attaches to anImperial stormtrooper'sdewback.The stormtroopers hire a group ofJawascavengers to clean the dewbacks, from which one Jawa acquires the spore, and places it in a jar of water. The young Sarlacc escapes from the jar only to be swallowed by a spider-like creature, which it consumes from within, and later forms the Great Pit of Carkoon.[11]

Sarlacci have made minor appearances inStar Warsvideo games such asSuper Star Wars(1992),Shadows of the Empire(1996),Star Wars: Demolition(2000),Star Wars: Bounty Hunter(2002),Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike(2003), andStar Wars: Battlefront(2004). TheMMORPGStar Wars Galaxies(2003) shows one of the smaller Sarlacci in theStar Warsgalaxy on the remote planetDathomir.It has also made an appearance inLego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy,Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga,"Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga"2022Star Wars: Empire at War,MMORPGStar Wars: The Old RepublicandStar Wars: The Force Unleashed(2008), where a Sarlacc much larger than the one on Tatooine is first an ally of a Jedi Knight, and later used as a base for theEmpire(even building structures inside the creature itself). A duel is fought beside the Sarlacc in this game between Starkiller andShaak Ti,until Ti falls backwards into the Sarlacc's open mouth. TheRise Against the Empireplayset ofDisney Infinity 3.0(2015) has the famous Sarlacc and Pit of Carkoon outside Tatooine, around which stand several Jawa, and the player can pick up a Jawa to throw in.

InSuper Star Wars,the "Sarlacc Pit Monster" acts as aBossearly into the game. It is depicted as a large, worm-like creature with tentacles, and shoots rocks at Luke.

The first episode ofThe Book of Boba Fettshows a scene of thetitle characterinside the Sarlacc's innards, as he breathes from a deadstormtrooper's respirator and escapes from the pit by blasting through with his flamethrower. In episode four, The Gathering Storm, the Sarlacc is killed by a seismic charge dropped bySlave I.

Concept and creation

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Concept art for the Sarlacc byIndustrial Light & Magic

The design of the Sarlacc creature—originally called the "SlothPit "[12]—seen inReturn of the Jedievolved during the concept, creation, and filming processes. Early concept sketches portrayed a creature with several moving tentacles and a pronounced beak; butStar WarscreatorGeorge Lucasdid not have the technology or financial resources to realize this concept in the 1983 film.[4]

Special effects artistsStuart Freeborn,Phil Tippett,and the crew ofIndustrial Light & Magic(ILM) constructed a pit in the desert sands ofYuma, Arizona,that contained a gaping mouth with jagged teeth and tentacles. At the time, the pit (with Jabba the Hutt's sail barge) constituted one of the largest motion picture sets ever constructed.[13]Ahydraulicsystem was designed to animate the creature, but the blowing sand clogged the mechanism. The film crew instead used poles and wires to move the creature's tentacles.[4]Lucas was not satisfied with the effect, complaining, "There was nothing alive about the whole thing."[14]

Working on the giant set was an arduous task, according to the crew members involved. Tippett toldStarlogmagazine, "We were working the creature at the bottom of agorge,so we got no breeze. Sand constantly fell down upon us ". In addition to operating the Sarlacc, many technicians were standing in as skiff guards in full wardrobe. Tippett remarks," [We] were covered with [sand and] glue from the costumes. I almost cracked on that one. I think I cried, it was so terrible. "[15]ActressCarrie Fisherrecalled that many of the crew and stuntmen who fell into the creature during filming suffered broken legs and sprained ankles.[16]ILM crew members received some satisfaction when they dismantled the set at the conclusion of filming and sold it to Mexico as scrap. The one condition of the sale was that the materials were not to be resold as souvenirs.[17]

The Special Edition version of the Sarlacc withCGIbeak and tentacles

The Sarlacc design underwent a series of changes when Lucas released the Special Edition ofReturn of the Jediin 1997. Employing the new technology ofcomputer-generated imagery(CGI), ILM amended the creature's appearance with the addition of CGI tentacles and a beak inside the Sarlacc's mouth.[18]According to Lucas, it "just looks much more realistic and more threatening... it helps the scene considerably."[14]Subsequent depictions of the Sarlacc inStar Warsfiction are based on this revised design.

Some of the special effects from the 1983 film were retained in the Special Edition. The tentacle that captures the skiff guard Kithaba and pulls him into the Sarlacc mouth is from the original film, as well as the tentacle that attaches to Lando Calrissian's leg.[18]

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Aside fromStar Warsfiction andmerchandising,popular fiction author Stefan Demetriou uses the Sarlacc as a descriptive term for slowness, a reference to the creature's extended digestive process.[3]

The Sarlacc became part ofReturn of the Jedi'smerchandising campaign that accompanied the theatrical release of the film.Parker Brothersproduced aboard gamein 1983 calledBattle at Sarlacc's Pitthat was sold in the United States and Canada. Players collect points for battling their way throughGamorrean guards,Boba Fett,and aNiktoon Jabba the Hutt's sail barge, pushing them overboard into a cardboard Sarlacc.[19]The game, which sold for only a few years, is a collector's item.[20]

Hollywoodjournalist and humor writerPeter Biskindmuses that George Lucas went to great extremes to remove aspects of sex and sexuality from the plot of theStar Warsfilms. Biskind, however, asserts that Lucas created a "nightmarishly explicit image of threatening female sexuality" in the form of the Sarlacc: "The Jabba episode culminates in an explicitvagina dentatafantasy, as Luke and his pals have to walk aphallicgangplank into the pullulating maw—festooned with long, curved teeth—of the giant Sarlacc in its 'nesting place'. "[2]Premieremagazine reviewer Tim Bissell complained, "Lucas sent his trilogy’s most arresting characterBoba Fettto a "death" so inglorious—falling headlong into thevagina dentataof Tatooine's Sarlacc—that its only payoff was a burp gag. "[21]

In the TV seriesPeep Show,Mark Corrigan references "the pit of Sarlacc" when finishing off the remains of a packet ofcrisps.[citation needed]

In 2018, a cave that was discovered in British Columbia, Canada was unofficially namedSarlacc's Pit.[22][23]

In the TV seriesGhost Wars(2017–2018), Billy McGrath (performed byKim Coates) refers to the inability of people to leave town due to the events triggered by the earthquake. In conversation with town's major Val McGrath-Dufresne (performed byLuvia Petersen), Val points out that he had been able to get into town, so "If there's a way in, there's gotta be a way out", to which Billy replies "Tell that to a Sarlacc."[citation needed]

The front cover ofRandall Munroe's bookWhat If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questionsfeatures aT. rexbeing lowered into a Sarlacc pit.

Legoreleased a set titledDesert Skiff & Sarlacc Pitfeaturing Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Lando, Chewbacca, and Boba Fett.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Sarlacc".StarWars.RetrievedMay 29,2024.
  2. ^abPeter Biskind,Gods And Monsters: Movers, Shakers, and Other Casualties of the Hollywood Machine(New York: Nation Books, 2004), p. 129,ISBN1-56025-545-5.
  3. ^abStefan Demetriou,How to Disappear Completely(Oxford, Eng.: Reverb, 2005), p. 166,ISBN1-905315-06-6.
  4. ^abcdefg"Sarlacc".Star Wars Databank. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  5. ^ab"Sarlacci spores", Stephen J. Sansweet,Star Wars Encyclopedia(New York: Del Rey, 1998), p. 258,ISBN0-345-40227-8.
  6. ^"Sarlacc",Star Wars Encyclopedia,p. 258.
  7. ^Jeanne Cavelos,The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots as Portrayed in theStar WarsFilms and Books(New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), p. 71,ISBN0-312-20958-4.
  8. ^abJ. D. Montgomery, "A Barve Like That: The Tale ofBoba Fett",inTales from Jabba's Palace,ed. Kevin J. Anderson (paperback; New York: Bantam Spectra, 1996), p. 364,ISBN0-553-56815-9.
  9. ^Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, "Shaara and the Sarlacc: The Skiff Guard's Tale,"Tales from Jabba's Palace,p. 345.
  10. ^Montgomery, "A Barve Like That," pp. 355-356,italicsin the original.
  11. ^Mark Schultz, "Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc," illustrated by Kellie Strom, inStar Wars Tales6 (Dark Horse Comics, 2000).
  12. ^Laurent Bouzereau,Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays(New York: Del Rey, 1997), p. 253,ISBN0-345-40981-7
  13. ^From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga,narrated by Mark Hamill (1985; VHS, CBS Fox Video, 1992).
  14. ^abGeorge Lucas, commentary,Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediSpecial Edition (VHS, 20th Century Fox, 1997).
  15. ^Phil Tippett, interview withStarlog,quoted in Lee Pfeiffer and Michael Lewis,The Films of Harrison Ford(3rd ed.;New York: Citadel Press, 2002), p. 132,ISBN0-8065-2364-6.
  16. ^Carrie Fisher, commentary,Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,Special Edition (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2004).
  17. ^Pfeiffer and Lewis,Films of Harrison Ford,p. 132.
  18. ^ab"Star Wars: Episode VI | Return of the Jedi Special Edition - What has Changed?".StarWars.January 15, 1997. Archived fromthe originalon April 7, 2008.RetrievedSeptember 9,2020.
  19. ^Description ofBattle at Sarlacc's PitatBoard Game Geek;last accessed July 10, 2006; instructions available fromHasbro.
  20. ^Geoffrey T Carlton,Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book: Identification & Values(Paducah, Ky.: Collector Books, 2003), p. 273,ISBN1-57432-334-2.
  21. ^Tim Bissell, "The Importance of Being Fett: A brief history of one of the most popular characters in theStar Warsuniverse, "atPremiere Magazine;last accessed July 10, 2006.
  22. ^The Canadian Press (December 3, 2018)."Newly discovered cave in B.C. might be largest ever found in Canada".CBC News.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
  23. ^Little, Simon (December 2, 2018)."Massive, unexplored 'cave of national significance' discovered in B.C. park".Global News.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
  24. ^"Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit 75396".RetrievedAugust 15,2024.

Further reading

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  • Carrau, Bob.The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide.San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001.ISBN0-8118-2869-7.
  • Lewis, Ann Margaret.The Essential Guide to Alien Species.New York: Del Rey, 2001.ISBN0-345-44220-2.
  • Slavicsek, Bill.A Guide to the Star Wars Universe3rd ed.; New York: Del Rey, 2000.ISBN0-345-42066-7.
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