45 Years Later, Star Wars Returns 1 Unexpected Empire Strikes Back Creature to the Big Screen

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Star Wars has announced that a creature last seen in live-action in The Empire Strikes Back will reappear in the 2026 film, The Mandalorian & Grogu. The official story details and trailers suggest the movie will feature many memorable creatures from the Star Wars universe, offering fans a nostalgic experience.

Star Wars recently released a new trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu, and a quick scene showed Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin without his helmet, facing off against a dangerous, snake-like creature in the water. While the trailer didn’t reveal what happens, fans quickly identified the creature as a dragonsnake – a reptile that originally appeared in The Empire Strikes Back.

In the 45-year-old film, a strange snake-like dragon appeared on the planet Dagobah. Fans may recall that shortly after Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing crashed in a swamp, R2-D2 fell into the water. While trying to escape, he was briefly pulled under by a reptile before being quickly ejected back out.

The creature seen on Dagobah is a dragonsnake – the same type of monster briefly shown in the trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu. Dragonsnakes originally come from the planets Dagobah and Nal Hutta. Since the trailer footage didn’t seem to be filmed on Dagobah, the scene may have taken place on Nal Hutta or another planet altogether.

The creature known as a dragonsnake first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and has only been shown once in a live-action Star Wars film. It did make another appearance, however, in the animated series Clone Wars.

In a Season 3 episode of a show called “Hunt for Ziro,” Obi-Wan Kenobi came across a dragonsnake while looking for Ziro the Hutt on the planet Nal Hutta. This dragonsnake seemed to be a juvenile, much smaller than the one featured in The Mandalorian & Grogu.

Dragonsnakes haven’t been shown on screen in live-action since 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, so many viewers were surprised to see one in The Mandalorian & Grogu, and even more surprised by how it appeared. In Empire, the creature was mostly hidden underwater, with only its head and a small part of its body visible.

While The Mandalorian & Grogu isn’t the first time the series has referenced The Empire Strikes Back (it’s bringing back a dragonsnake after 45 years!), it will be the first time audiences see the creature fully realized in live-action Star Wars.

The full trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu can be seen below:

Din Djarin’s Massive Advantage Against the Dragonsnake

The new trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu hints at a huge battle between Din Djarin and the dragonsnake. But dedicated Star Wars followers already suspect Din has a significant edge, making it difficult for the creature to win.

As shown in The Empire Strikes Back, dragonsnakes can’t digest metal. That’s why the dragonsnake on Dagobah spit out R2-D2 after attempting to eat him.

Fortunately, Din Djarin’s armor is made of Beskar, an incredibly strong metal. Dragonsnakes can’t digest regular metals, and Beskar is far too tough for them to even try.

Din Djarin is likely in for a tough battle with the dragonsnake in the new season of The Mandalorian & Grogu. Dragonsnakes are known as some of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, and he might not be able to defeat it in a direct fight. It’s even possible the creature could swallow him whole.

Because the Mandalorian wears Beskar armor, the creature might either be forced to expel him – perhaps in a way similar to how the creature in The Empire Strikes Back ejected R2-D2 – or he could fight his way free and then defeat it.

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2026-03-07 19:08