Rancor

For other uses, see Rancor.

"Rancor are emotionally complex creatures."

―Boba Fett's rancor keeper^[9]

Rancors were very large, semi-sentient reptilian carnivores native to the planet Dathomir, although they were also introduced to and present on Felucia, Tatooine, Ottethan^[13] and Koboh.^[14] Rancors were often seen as mindless, violent creatures, due to their extensive use as fighters across the galaxy, but were also capable of being trained and bonding well with their handlers and acquaintances.

Biology and appearance

Muchi-Rampage — Muchi, an adolescent female rancor

Standing around five meters tall,^[1] with their long arms, clawed fingers, immense, toothy jaws, and armored hides (which could withstand much blaster fire), rancors were a sight to behold, and made formidable predators;^[2] however, they were not inherently vicious to sentient life,^[3] despite their infamous and often-intimidating outbursts when threatened or antagonized.^[4] A subspecies known as the jungle rancor populated the planet Felucia.^[3] Rage rancors were taller than other rancor subspecies, and had an even nastier temperament. Shadow rancors, named for their darker hides, had a notorious penchant for destruction.^[4] The proper plural term for a group of rancors in Galactic Basic Standard was a crash.^[15] Rancors had red blood; when the Sith Lord Darth Vader cut into a rancor enhanced via the cyberanimate program, blood flowed from its body instead of the wound cauterizing.^[16]

Behavior

"The Rancor is a truly marvelous opponent. They're not very bright, but they more than make up for that with their ferociousss strength."

―The Trandoshan hunter Charr^[17]

Unidentified-rancor-TBoBF — Boba Fett's rancor

Rancors adhered to a social hierarchy, where an alpha was dominant over the other rancors until otherwise defeated.^[10] Despite their massive size and extremely intimidating appearance, the creatures were, inherently, benign. Wild rancors were eventually domesticated by the Witches of Dathomir, using witchcraft and dark force magick, though they still were formidable animals with a short fuse that could be provoked easily into a violent mood.^[18] Though they were often bred for fighting or battle purposes, rancors could be very loving to their owners and handlers if trained and properly socialized.^[9] Rancor younglings tended to be very energetic and blissfully unaware of their own strength and its effect on others, but they could be easily soothed with a chewing bone or a favorite toy; once they were taught basic obedience, young rancors could calm easily and grow to be very gentle, protective companions.^[19] The mouth and teeth of rancors were often cleaned by scavenging birds, the giants simply laying in-wait for the avian cleaners with their mouths open. However, with larger lifeforms, rancors would eat anything that they were capable of swallowing.^[8]

History

Pre-Clone Wars

"The Force protects me, Terec."
«A pity the same cannot be said for your rancor. The beast is corrupted.»
«Myarga! That was a living being!»
«Bleeding hearts rarely win wars, Marshal. You would do well to remember that.»"

―Avar Kriss and Myarga Anjiliac Atirue^[20]

HuttJediAlliance-2021THR6 — In response to the Drengir threat, Jedi rode rancors into battle alongside the Hutt Clan's forces.

Rancors lived on the planet^[21] that would one day be dubbed Dathomir by the Nightsisters. Before the arrival of the Nightsisters, however, the planet was home to the Fromprath,^[22] who exploited the natural resources of the planet.^[21] Hundreds of years before the Clone Wars, the Nightsisters laid claim to the planet and named it Dathomir. Seeking to claim the planet from the Fromprath^[22] and spurred by their exploitation of natural resources, the Nightsisters formed a symbiotic "alliance" with the native rancors in order to drive out their rivals,^[21] whom they successfully forced into exile.^[23] The Hutt Clan used rancors as mounts for its enforcers, such as Gamorrean Warriors.^[24] During the High Republic Era, when the Jedi Order and the Hutts were forced to make an alliance against the Drengir, the Jedi of the Galactic Frontier would ride rancors into battle alongside Hutt forces. In response to the slaughter on Daivak, Jedi Master Avar Kriss and Jedi Knight Terec rode atop rancors into battle against the Drengir, while Terec's bond-twin (and fellow Knight) Ceret and Hutt leader Myarga Anjiliac Atirue rode beside them on speeders. The Drengir would begin to overwhelm their enemies over the course of the battle, with one managing to extend its tenacle-like vines into the mouth and nostrils of Kriss' rancor, forcing her to jump from the beast as it succumbed to the Drengir infection.^[20]

To Kriss' horror, Myarga quickly executed the rancor when it began to rise against them. After the Drengir suddenly began to scream out, the battle reconvened, with Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis infiltrating the species' root-mind. After discovering the location of the Great Progenitor on the planet Mulita, Terec's rancor reached out and grabbed one of the botanical monsters.^[20] The Jedi and Hutts would launch a massive strike against the Drengir during the assault on Mulita,^[25] in which Trandoshan Jedi Master Sskeer rode a rancor into battle. Although Sskeer tried to cut through the vines, his rancor was subdued by Drengir vines. In the end, however, the battle would end victoriously for the Jedi and Hutts, as the Great Progenitor was forced back into slumber.^[26]

Clone Wars era

The jungle rancor subspecies lived on the world of Felucia; after the destruction of the Felucia Medical Station HCTFF2, Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, and Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano saw a group of such rancors on planet. While they were careful to not scare the creatures,^[7] the jungle rancors lived a relatively peaceful co-existence with the native Felucian farmers.^[27]

Imperial Era

"A rampaging adolescent rancor is not the distraction I was anticipating."

―Tech, on Muchi^[10]

After the rise of the Galactic Empire, Clone Force 99 was hired by Cid to rescue Muchi, an adolescent rancor on Ord Mantell, though they were not informed she was a rancor. Muchi was released by Omega in order to help the squad and some slaves escape from a group of Zygerrian enslavers, and Echo expressed surprise upon discovering that Muchi was the rancor, not one of the slaves.^[10]

RancorOnKoboh-Survivor — On Koboh, Jedi Knight Cal Kestis killed a rancor after the beast attacked him during his search for the missing prospectors.

In 9 BBY, a rancor killed some prospectors on the planet Koboh. The rancor was eventually killed by Cal Kestis when the Jedi Knight was sent to investigate the prospectors' disappearance. Later on, the latter discovered another rancor in the aptly-named Phon'Qi Caverns, that had apparently lived there for some time, feeding upon those unfortunate enough to incur its wrath, including the Bedlam Raiders. Cal reacted with noticeable disbelief upon killing the second rancor. An Imperial was tricked by Turgle, who promised a large quantity of priorite in exchange for credits. In truth, Turgle didn't know where to find the mineral when he made the deal, but thought he would figure it out. This didn't happen, but before the Imperial could do anything about the lost time, the two encountered a rancor. The beast allowed Turgle to escape.^[14]

After the Sith Lord Darth Vader killed a Trandoshan enhanced via the Cylo Directive's cyberanimate program, the Cylo Directive instead implanted the cyberanimate into a rancor.^[28] The system connected directly to the creature's brain to try and circumvent any weakness it could be faced by. In particular, the rancor was equipped with neural dampeners to prevent it from feeling pain, adrenal stimulants, and a plate-reinforced thorax.^[16] In the lead up to the hijacking of the Executor, by which point the rancor was the most recent creation of the labs, the cyborg creature was unleashed against Vader by Doctor Tulon Voidgazer^[28] in what she dubbed experiment 428. The rancor approached Vader via vector e on her order and did not react when Vader cut off some of the creature's hand, as per its neural dampeners, before rushing Vader in a rage upon being shocked by its adrenal stimulants. While Voidgazer regarded that as an unsipirising response, she was pleased by the thorax resisting Vader's Force choke attack. All the same, once she explained the system, Vader bested the beast by throwing his lightsaber into its brain, killing it.^[16]

Rancor-RotJAVA — Jabba owned a pet rancor named Pateesa.

A massive rancor named Pateesa^[29] was kept as a pet by Jabba the Hutt in a shadowy chamber beneath his palace court, to which he fed his enemies or any who displeased him. During the mission to rescue Han Solo, Jabba dispatched the young Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker into the pit. After the terrifying creature ate one of Jabba's Gamorrean guards, the young Jedi defeated the rancor to the shock of all watching. Pateesa's human handler, Malakili, mourned the rancor's death, while an outraged Jabba ordered the public execution of the Jedi and his friends.^[6]

Post-Imperial Era

BobasRancorvsScorpenek-Displate — Boba Fett rides his rancor as it tears apart a scorpenek droid.

In 9 ABY,^[30] the Hutts known as The Twins presented a rancor to Daimyo Boba Fett on Tatooine as tribute and an apology for sending the Wookiee gladiator Krrsantan to assassinate Fett. The rancor was equipped with blinders, which its keeper explained was because a rancor would "imprint" on the first human it saw. Boba removed the rancor's blinders and began to bond with his new creature, asking the rancor keeper to teach him to ride the rancor as the Witches of Dathomir had.^[9] When the Pyke Syndicate began using Tatooine as part of their spice trade, Fett met with Mos Espa's criminal leaders at his palace to try to convince them to join him against the Pykes. During the meeting, Fett's guests were surprised at the rancor that was just below them.^[31]

During the battle that took place in Mos Espa, Fett and his allies were being outnumbered by the Pykes, which was made worse when the Pykes brought in Scorpenek droids equipped with deflector shields, against which their weapons were nearly useless. To balance the fight, Fett withdrew from the battle and returned riding his rancor,^[32] using his bond with the creature and its species' legacy to instill fear into the Pyke forces.^[33] The rancor's appearance changed the course of the battle,^[32] with the creature, interestingly, showcasing a superior combat style to the Scorpenek units.^[33]

BobasRancor-CGSWG — Boba Fett rode his rancor into battle defending Mos Espa.

When bounty hunter Cad Bane, Fett's former mentor and rival who was working for the Pykes, arrived, the rancor was scared away by Bane's flamethrower, and Fett fell from his perch on its back. Without Fett to keep the beast under control, the rancor began to destroy the city. Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, who had been recruited by Fett, faced the rancor and was nearly killed, but before the rancor could kill him, Grogu, a Force-sensitive child of Yoda's race who was in Djarin's care, placed himself between the two and used the Force to calm the beast and put it to sleep, which Grogu also did alongside the rancor due to the tiredness caused by the act.^[32]

In 9 ABY,^[34] the Trandoshan Hunter Charr owned an outfit of rancor bones, which he wore during the Hunters of the Outer Rim tournament at the Grand Arena on the planet Vespaara.^[17]

When the Supreme Leader of the First Order and Master of the Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren, went to a fortress belonging to Gardulla Besadii the Elder on Tatooine while learning about the past of his grandfather, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, in 34 ABY, he faced off against guards of the fortress who were riding two rancors. Ren killed one of the beasts by piercing its skull with his lightsaber and incapacitated the other by cutting off its left leg, which caused the death of the guard standing on it, being crushed by the rancor against the fortress.^[35]

Behind the scenes

Rancor suit btm — The rancor was originally to be portrayed by a man in a suit.

The concept for the rancor in Return of the Jedi was described by its creators as "a cross between a bear and a potato."^[36] George Lucas requested the rancor be "the best" Godzilla-like monster to ever be created, as recalled by Phil Tippett. Much like Godzilla,^[37] the rancor was first to be played by an actor in a suit.^[36] Specifically, the costume called for two actors: one actor controlled an arm, whereas the other controlled the other arm and the rancor's body. After costume tests,^[38] no one was satisfied with the results^[36] even though shooting was scheduled to begin in several days. Visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren had believed the team was on route to a good end product with the suit, especially after lighting, cutting, and camera angles were factored in. However, it was George Lucas himself who decreed the design was not working and would not in the final film.^[38]

After plans for suit actors to portray the rancor fell through,^[38] Tippett and company—as recalled by puppeteer Tim Rose to Star Wars Insider—had intended for the rancor to be portrayed by go-motion,^[39] a form of stop motion animation^[40] that creates smoother results than traditional stop motion, until Tippett saw what Rose's work on Ackbar.^[39] Additionally, as noted by Insider in an interview with Muren and fellow Return of the Jedi visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, there was not enough time in production to film the rancor as a go-motion or stop motion character. In the end, turning to a puppet was a simpler solution that worked with the time constraints.^[38] Both interviews were published in Star Wars Insider 222 as "Inside the Mind of the Puppetmaster" and "Together Again, Huh?," respectively.^[39]^[38] In his interview, Muren recalled that the team had looked for other ways to perform the rancor before finally settling on rod puppetry.^[38] According to the Rose, seeing Rose's work on Admiral Gial Ackbar—whose head Rose puppeteered in close-up shots for the film—and enjoying it so much "influenced" Tippett's decision to change course for puppetry.^[39]

In the end, the rancor was made as a rod-operated puppet.^[36] The puppet was operated by Rose, who specifically described the rancor as an act of Bunraku rod puppetry.^[39] It was filmed with a high-speed camera to slow its movements down to give the illusion of a much larger creature.^[36] Trying to experiment with anything that could to make the rancor, in Muren's words, "more real" and authentic, the team hoped to get the scale and fluidity of the creature across on screen. To those ends, the crew, in addition to shooting it at high speeds, filmed the puppet in reverse—with Tippett himself being the one to move the rancor puppet backwards—and at extremely low speeds. One shot was done in at least ninety takes over the course of what Muren estimated to be around ninety minutes in order to secure all the "little sequences of frames." During the process, the crew knew what the cuts in the scene would be and just had to fit them into the overall edit. Overall, Muren recalled the experience as them "just [shaking] it up."^[38]

Had the puppet not worked, Muren reflected that the crew would have been forced to rely on the lengthy process that is stop motion. While Muren did give Tippett credit for the rancor's strong design, he confessed to Insider that, whenever he sees the rancor pit sequence, all he sees is the effort put into it. As such, he was surprised by how much the scene grabs the attention of fans.^[38]