The Mandalorian just made one of the strangest Obi-Wan theories canon
Did this Mando space monster seem new to Star Wars? It's actually very old.
Where did you dig up that old fossil! In Star Wars: A New Hope, Han Solo aims this insult at Obi-Wan Kenobi, even though the dude was barely like 57 at the time. But if you want to talk about fossils, bones, and Obi-Wan you're in luck; the biggest part of The Mandalorian Season 2 premiere harkens back to Old Ben in the very first Star Wars movie ever.
The Krayt Dragon is a very big deal in the new episode, "The Marshal," but do you remember when Obi-Wan imitated this monster's howl? Here's how The Mandalorian's newest Tatooine monster is actually very, very old. Spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian Season 2 premiere, "The Marshal."
In the first Star Wars movie, Luke Skywalker is knocked out by Tusken Raiders and then rescued by Obi-Wan Kenobi. The venerable Jedi Master later says that the "Sand People are easily frightened, but they'll soon be back, and in greater numbers."
But what were the sand people frightened of? In the Mandalorian Season 2 premiere, we finally got to see a Krayt Dragon, which, previously, was something we only heard and saw the bones of. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan imitated the howl of a Krayt Dragon to frighten off the Tusken Raiders. Now, in The Mandalorian, we can see exactly what they were afraid of.
The funny thing is, up until now, the Krayt Dragon has been referenced a ton but never depicted. Even the idea that Obi-Wan did a "Krayt Dragon Howl" is questionable. If you played the 1996 Star Wars: Customizable Card Game you probably remember a card called "Krayt Dragon Howl," which seemed to cement the idea that yes, Obi-Wan was imitating a giant Tatooine monster that we simply had never seen.
Two references to the Krayt dragon in the Decipher Inc. Star Wars Card Game
In tons of promotional photos from the 1977 Star Wars, you'll find an image of a Krayt Dragon bones in the Tatooine sand. These appear in the distance in several shots in the original film, but the creature itself is never mentioned, nor does Obi-Wan outright say he was imitating its howl. And because the sound effect of Obi-Wan's "howl" was changed in the 1997 (and 2004) "Special Editions" of A New Hope, one could argue that he might not have actually done a Krayt Dragon howl. Plus, old depictions of what Krayt Dragons looked like in-the-flesh are now rendered non-canon thanks to The Mandalorian.
In "The Marshal," we clearly find out why the Krayt Dragons were so feared by the Tusken Raiders, and pretty much everyone else. This also sets up an interesting question about whether or not Anakin or Luke Skywalker ever actually encountered one of these beasts before, and if so, how they dealt with the situation. The Mandalorian has done a pretty good job of giving us a different side of Tusken Raiders, and in helping this group of Tuskens takedown a Krayt Dragon and get their hands on the pearl inside, it's clear Mando now has Tusken allies for life.
This might also remind old-school fans of a character named "Darth Krayt," who, began his life as Tusken Raider but later became a Jedi and then a Sith. This storyline comes from a Dark Horse comic that doesn't count as canon anymore, but considering that The Mandalorian pulled Cobb Vanth's backstory from a 2015 Star Wars book, it feels totally plausible that this Dark Jedi Tusken Raider could exist somewhere in The Mandalorian.
If anything, the Krayt Dragon's appearance in The Mandalorian has proved that there's plenty of interesting creatures lurking around in Star Wars canon, just waiting for their moment in the Tatooine sunshine.
The Mandalorian Season 2 is streaming now on Disney+.
