Sarlacc

"In its belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a&hellip;thousand years."

- C-3PO translating for Jabba the Hutt The sarlacc was a dangerous, carnivorous creature, as well as one of Jabba the Hutt's favorite pets, that inhabited the Great Pit of Carkoon in the Dune Sea of Tatooine. It shared common ancestry with other known species, including the rathtar, blixus and vixus.

Towering at a hundred meters in height, its entire body was buried in sand, save its massive mouth and beaked tongue. The sarlacc had several appendages that branched off from its buried body, and many stomachs. The creature swallowed its prey whole, and rows of hundreds of spear-like teeth kept the victim from climbing back out.

The sarlacc was mentioned on a bill seen in the Power Sliders diner.

After Luke Skywalker killed Jabba's rancor as part of his rescue of Leia Organa, Han Solo and Chewbacca, Jabba became outraged and ordered that they all be fed to the sarlacc. Luke described this as being the last mistake that he would ever make, but Jabba was unimpressed and had the group escorted out. Upon arrival at the Great Pit, Skywalker, using his recently developed skills as a Jedi Knight, effected the group's rescue, and a number of Jabba's guards ended up becoming victims of the sarlacc instead. The bounty hunter Boba Fett was also knocked into the mouth of the sarlacc by Han Solo.

Biology and appearance
Sarlaccs would begin their lives as spores and were able to travel great distances. When a male and female encountered one another, the smaller male would parasitically feed off the female, diminishing her size while increasing his own. Once the male reached the female's original size, he would burst, releasing millions of spores into the air and atmosphere.

Once sarlaccs reached their maturity after 30,000 years, they would burrow themselves nearly 100 meters below the surface, feeding on creatures unfortunate enough to fall into their mouths. Victims of the sarlacc would be injected with immobilizing neurotoxins that caused constant pain, and, while still conscious, would be digested for millennia.

Behind the scenes
The sound of the sarlacc in Return of the Jedi was created from sounds of alligator hisses, as well as the sounds of some of the Jedi crew's stomachs after eating pizza.

In the re-release of Return of the Jedi, the sarlacc in the Pit of Carkoon was revised to include a beak-like tongue and extra tentacles. According to Lucas, this was done because he never felt the creature seemed alive in the original film.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Tarkin
 * A New Dawn
 * Lost Stars
 * Battle to the End
 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Chewbacca, Part III
 * Star Wars 4: Skywalker Strikes, Part IV
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
 * Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!