Banthas are fictional creatures in the
''Star Wars'' franchise. They are large, quadrupedal mammals with long, thick fur, and are first seen in the film ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' (1977), where they are used as
beasts of burden
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...
by
Tusken Raiders
Tusken Raiders (informally referred to as "Sand People") are fictional creatures in the ''Star Wars'' universe created by George Lucas. They are characterized as a nomadic race who live on the planet Tatooine. They first appeared in the 1977 film ...
on the planet
Tatooine
Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
.
They have since been featured in several other ''Star Wars'' works, including the
Special Edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
version of ''
Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' (1983), the
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term " ...
films ''
The Phantom Menace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1999) and ''
Attack of the Clones
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic ...
'' (2002), and the television shows ''
Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', ''
The Mandalorian
''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, beginning five years after the events of ''Retur ...
'', and ''
The Book of Boba Fett
''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from the series ''The Mandalorian'', taking place in th ...
'', as well as video games and books.
One of the first creatures introduced in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, banthas were created by
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
, who was inspired in part by creatures called Banths in ''
John Carter of Mars
John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabi ...
''.
Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, the film '' ...
designed the concept art for the banthas, with original sketches depicting them as
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
-like creatures before they were changed to be
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
-sized. Art director Leon Erickson led the creation of the bantha costume for ''Star Wars'', the base of which was an
elephant saddle with palm fronds and yak hair to create a shaggy coat, as well as a head mask molded from chicken wire, curved horns made from ventilation tubing, and a tail crafted from wood covered with thick thistles.
The bantha's moan was created by sound designer
Ben Burtt
Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...
, who slowed down a
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
sound originally collected to help create the voice of the
Wookiee
Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...
character
Chewbacca
Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...
. The banthas in ''Star Wars'' were portrayed by a female
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
named Mardji, who was provided by the
Marine World Africa USA
Marine World/Africa USA was an animal theme park located in the Redwood Shores, California, Redwood Shores area of Redwood City, California. The park was named Marine World when it first opened in 1968 before merging with the failing land-animal ...
amusement park. Her scenes were filmed in
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...
in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and Mardji kept shrugging the heavy costume off her body during filming due to the intense heat.
The elephant's gait served as the model for the movement of
AT-AT
All Terrain Walkers are armoured fighting vehicles from the ''Star Wars'' universe that traverse the landscape on mechanical legs. They are used by the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the First Order for ground assault, reconnaissance ...
walkers in ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' (1980), and banthas also inspired the creation of the luggabeast creature in ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015) and the Corellian hounds in ''
Solo: A Star Wars Story'' (2018). Banthas that have appeared in subsequent ''Star Wars'' films and shows were digital creations modeled after the creature from ''Star Wars''. The bantha shares characteristics with several real-life animals, including
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...
,
muskox
The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, i ...
en,
woolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus subp ...
s and
domestic yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
s, and its use of fur to help insulate itself from excess heat is a trait shared by such animals as the
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
,
camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
, and
jerboa
Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts.
When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...
. The bantha has been described as a favorite among fans, as well as the cast and crew of the films;
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 ''Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and h ...
, the actor who portrayed
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...
, called it "one of the best things in the movie".
Biology and characteristics
Banthas are large, quadrupedal
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s with long, thick fur of brown or black. The creatures have long, furry tails,
and a pair of spiraling horns extruded from their skulls,
which resemble those of the real-life
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...
,
as well as the
muskox
The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, i ...
, one of the inspirations behind the bantha. ''Star Wars'' books and media have established biological details about the bantha that go beyond the creature's appearances in the films and television shows. About in height,
banthas breathe
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
,
have a lifespan of 80 to 100 years, a gestation period of 30 months, and reach sexual maturation at 20 years of age. They weigh at birth and reach weights of up to at maturity.
Banthas are extremely strong, capable of carrying up to 500 kilograms of cargo or an average of five passengers.
Their planet of origin is unknown,
but since they could be found on most agricultural systems, it was believed early settlers transported them to new worlds. Works of ''Star Wars'' media have established that bantha remains have been discovered that predate most known species in the franchise.
Although often associated with the planet of
Tatooine
Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
, banthas can be found on many worlds in the ''Star Wars'' universe and have adapted to a variety of climates and terrains,
ranging from deserts to tundra.
Rather than serving as a hindrance in the heat of the desert planet of
Tatooine
Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
, bantha fur helped insulate the animal and keep away excess cold or heat.
This is a characteristic shared with several real-life desert animals, including the
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
,
camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
, and
jerboa
Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts.
When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on b ...
.
Since the heat generated by a sun is absorbed by the fur on the bantha's back, it prevents the heat from penetrating deeper into the creature's skin, helping it survive even in harsh conditions.
Science writer Sandhya Ramesh noted that large bodies have greater thermal inertia, meaning the bantha's large body would be more difficult to heat them up compared than those of smaller animals, making it well suited to survive in Tatooine's harsh environment.
Marcus Schneck of ''
The Patriot-News
''The Patriot-News'' is the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily and Sunday circulation in the United States. It has been owned by Advance Publicati ...
'' has noted the bantha shares similarities to the
domestic yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
, a bulky, hairy animal used by humans for transportation and food.
Bantha horns grow a new segment each year, and the strength of a given creature's horns are indicative of its health and environment: thick, crenellated horns usually signify that the bantha is well fed and healthy, while thin, cracked, or underdeveloped horns indicate the bantha is unhealthy due to drought or famine. Male banthas develop thicker and longer horns than females, and males typically complete two horn spirals over the course of their lifetimes, while females usually only complete one.
The horns of male banthas could reach a width of up to 3 meters at the shoulders.
Bantha horns sometimes become locked when they fight each other, which can lead to exhaustion and death, particularly in difficult terrains like Tatooine.
Banthas have a long tongue that help the animal compensate for its short neck when eating and drinking.
The bantha tongue is highly sensitive, structurally complex, and very strong,
containing gripping knobs at the end and
spiracles along the edges for scenting. The tongue can be used for probing into the ground for food or water,
holding and carrying items, and as a signifier for communications with other members of the species. Banthas also have extremely sharp
incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whe ...
s.
Although only one type of bantha is shown in the ''Star Wars'' film (known as a "common bantha"), other media from the franchise have established that multiple sub-species of banthas exist,
each varying in size, social behavior, metabolic specifics, and coloration.
Among these sub-species are dwarf banthas and dune banthas. Dwarf banthas are smaller and more shy than the common bantha, living in remote outer areas, while dune banthas are more slender and less furry, and able to survive in very high temperatures with relatively little water.
The Kashyyyk bantha is a sub-species adapted to survive on the
Wookiee
Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...
planet of
Kashyyyk
Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...
, which lacks the shaggy coat and horns of a common bantha and instead has large bony plates used as battering rams. The Kilian bantha, a type native to the planet Kilia IV, was another sub-species.
Behavior and culture
According to ''Star Wars'' works, banthas are herbivores, with a peaceful and docile manner,
surviving on grasses and other native flora.
Due to their size and internal reserves, they can survive up to a month without food or water.
Highly intelligent creatures,
they can be found both in the wild and domesticated.
Banthas are extremely social
pack animal
A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft anim ...
s who travel in herds.
which can reach sizes of up to 25 individuals.
Banthas are non-confrontational and usually flee when attacked, fighting only when necessary to defend the herd or their young. When they do fight, banthas attack by lowering their heads and ramming their horns against attacks, and adult banthas form a circle around their calves to protect them from threats.
Despite their gentle temperaments, the size and strength of banthas often lead them to be used as beasts of burden and
animals of war, with riders spurring them to charge at foes and trample them.
Banthas have few natural enemies, and the only creature that hunts them for food are
krayt dragons, massive
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s even larger in size than banthas.
Banthas in the wild belong to a
matriarchal
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general E ...
social system,
and are led by the oldest, strongest, and most capable female in the herd. Matriarchs are most responsible for protecting the others for dangerous predators,
though a lone male bantha often acts as a sentry for the herds.
As the matriarch ages, she relinquishes control of the herd to the next qualified female bantha candidate. If a herd grows too large in size, it will occasionally split, with the second-oldest and strongest female becoming the matriarch of the new herd.
Banthas treat the remains of their ancestors with a sense of reverence, gathering their bones into special areas known as "bantha graveyards" and fondling the bones with their tongues. Mothers have carried deceased newborn banthas many kilometers to these graveyards. Other species consider it bad luck to enter a bantha graveyard.
''Star Wars'' books and media outside the films have established that banthas are an integral part of the culture of
Tusken Raiders
Tusken Raiders (informally referred to as "Sand People") are fictional creatures in the ''Star Wars'' universe created by George Lucas. They are characterized as a nomadic race who live on the planet Tatooine. They first appeared in the 1977 film ...
on Tatooine,
with a deep spiritual and emotional connection developing between each bantha and its Tusken rider.
When a Tusken Raider reaches age seven, a bantha of the same gender is ceremonially presented to the child as its partner in life. The young Tusken cares for and raises the bantha as it grows, and once it reaches maturity, the Tusken rides it and takes it into the desert for initiatory ceremonies and tasks.
When Tusken Raiders marry, the couple's banthas also mate, and when the Tusken couple has children the banthas will often produce offspring as well.
When a Tusken Raider dies, the bantha is sent into the desert to find another bonding partner;
however, the bond between the Tusken and bantha is so strong that banthas would often fall into depression or commit suicide in such cases.
Likewise, if a bantha dies before its Tusken Raider, the Tusken clan would cast that Raider into the desert on a
vision quest
A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood.
Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English- ...
, to either die in isolation or be adopted by another wild bantha.
If the latter occurs, the Tusken is allowed to return to his or her tribe.
No other cultures or species share such a bond with banthas.
Other species have used bantha hides for clothing,
with such items as bantha-skin boots and carrying cases fetching high prices.
Bantha meat has often been processed for food and beverages,
and "bantha steaks" are a common food in works of ''Star Wars'' media.
In one scene from the original ''Star Wars'' film,
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
's aunt
Beru pours a cup of what is known as "blue milk"; it is later established that the milk comes from banthas.
Bantha blue milk has reappeared in several ''Star Wars'' films, books, games, and other mediums, including the film ''
Rogue One
''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by Luc ...
'' (2016), and is sold as a real-life beverage at the
''Star Wars'' Galaxy's Edge, the ''Star Wars'' themed area within
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
. Fictional bantha hides make an alcoholic drink when mixed with fermented grain.
One such drink is called "Jawa Juice", named after the
Jawa alien species,
which is served to
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
at a restaurant in a scene from ''
Attack of the Clones
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic ...
'' (2002).
A flying reptile species on Tatooine known as
skettos would gather loose wool from the backs of banthas for use in building nests.
Tusken Raiders collect the bones of deceased banthas for use as tent supports and other purposes.
''Star Wars'' appearances
Banthas first appear in ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' (1977), the first film in the
original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, during a scene in which protagonist Luke Skywalker is stalked and attacked by Tusken Raiders in a region of Tatooine known as the Jundland Wastes. After observing Luke from afar, the Tuskens mount their nearby banthas and begin their approach to ambush him.
Luke later uses binoculars to survey the area and spots two banthas and a Tusken Raider in the distance, before another Tusken surprise attacks him and renders him unconscious.
Other works of ''Star Wars'' media have established that the specific bantha most prominently featured in the film was a male named R'rrr'ur'R, whose name is similar to the guttural sounds of the Tusken language. According to his backstory, R'rrr'ur'R had been the alpha male of his herd before he was raised by the Tusken Raider RR'uruurrr for the personal use of URoRRuR'R'R, the leader of the tribe.
Later in the film, while Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi are surveying the wreckage of a destroyed
sandcrawler
The sandcrawler is a fictional transport vehicle in the '' Star Wars'' universe that is found on the desert planet Tatooine. The vehicle, as it appears in its major appearances in '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'', is 37 meters long and 18 me ...
, Kenobi correctly assesses that the craft was attacked not by Tusken Raiders but by
Imperial stormtroopers
Stormtrooper are soldiers in the fictional ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in '' Star Wars: A New Hope'' (1977), the stormtroopers are the shock troops/space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the l ...
serving the
Galactic Empire
Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of s ...
. He reaches this conclusion by noting that the
footprint
Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...
s left by the attackers were side by side, whereas Tusken Raiders and their banthas travel in single file to hide their numbers.
Chewbacca's son Lumpawaroo plays with a plush toy version of a bantha in the ''
Star Wars Christmas Special'' (1978),
and comedian
Harvey Korman
Harvey Herschel Korman (February 15, 1927May 29, 2008) was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. His big break was being a featured performer on CBS' ''The Danny Kaye Show'', but he is best remembered f ...
appears in the special as a four-armed alien chef and parody of
Julia Child
Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...
, who cooks a meal called "Bantha Surprise". Banthas have played a part in stories for the ''
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game'' first published in 1987,
including a bantha stampede caused by Tusken Raiders as an attack against the players. The game also introduced the Dim-U, a cult-like sect of monks that worship banthas as deities, believing the creatures' far-reaching presence on multiple worlds was a sign of a message from a higher power.
In the
Special Edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
version of ''
Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' (1983) released in 1997, a shot with a herd of banthas walking through the Tatooine desert was added to the film,
just before the scene in which the
sail barge vehicle of the character
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a Character (arts), fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a ...
passes.
''Star Wars'' creator
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
said he added the shot because it allowed him to expand the environment of the fictional universe and add more nuance to the setting of the film. Banthas appear in two of the
''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy films. In the first film, ''
The Phantom Menace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1999), a bantha can be seen in the background when the characters
Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, played by Liam Neeson. He is a main character in the prequel film trilogy, serving as the protagonist of ''The Phantom Menace'' (1999). He appears briefly as a Force ghost ...
,
Padmé Amidala
Padmé Amidala Naberrie is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in ''Return of the Jedi'', she is introduced in ''The Phantom Menace'' as ...
, and
Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character of the Gungan race from the ''Star Wars'' saga created by George Lucas. Jar Jar appears throughout the ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy – as a major character in '' Episode I: The Phantom Menace'', with a ...
enter the Tatooine city of
Mos Espa
Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
.
In the second film, ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002), a small herd of banthas are present in another scene set in Mos Espa, next to a docking bay where
Anakin Skywalker
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
and Padmé land their ship.
Banthas have appeared in the
3D CGI television series ''
Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', once again on the planet Tatooine,
and have been mentioned in the television shows ''
Star Wars Rebels
''Star Wars Rebels'' is an American 3D animation, 3D animated science fiction on television, science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation and set in the ''Star Wars'' universe. It takes place over a decade after ''Episode ...
'',
and ''
Star Wars Resistance
''Star Wars Resistance'' is an American 3D animated comic science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation. It follows Kazuda Xiono, a New Republic pilot who is recruited by the Resistance to spy on the growing threat of the ...
''. A bantha doll can be seen in the bedroom of Torra Doza in "The High Tower", the fifth episode of ''Resistance'', which first aired on October 28, 2018. Obi-Wan Kenobi walks among a herd of banthas in the 20th issue of the ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' comic book series by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.
In the issue, released on June 15, 2016, Kenobi speaks to the banthas as if they are friends, referring to two in particular by the names Dolo and Nara.
Banthas were also featured in an episode of ''
The Mandalorian
''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, beginning five years after the events of ''Retur ...
'', a ''Star Wars'' television series featured on the streaming service
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
. The episode, entitled "
Chapter 5: The Gunslinger", was first made available on December 6, 2019. In it, the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
and a
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
named
Toro Calican search Tatooine for a mercenary named
Fennec Shand
Fennec Shand is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise portrayed by Ming-Na Wen in the Disney+ television series ''The Mandalorian'', '' The Bad Batch'', and ''The Book of Boba Fett''. An elite mercenary and assassin, she was intr ...
. During the search, Toro looks through a pair of binoculars and spots two banthas and their accompanying Tusken Raiders in the distance,
a first-person camera angle that references a similar shot from the original ''Star Wars'' film when Luke Skywalker observes the banthas through binoculars.
Banthas appear in several ''Star Wars'' video games, including as minor villain characters that Luke Skywalker can fight in ''
Super Star Wars
''Super Star Wars'' is an Action game, action video game developed by LucasArts and Sculptured Software for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope''. It was rel ...
'', the 1992 video game for
Super Nintendo
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
. They also appear as a creature the player-controlled character can ride in ''
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy'' (2003), ''
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy'' (2006), ''
Star Wars: The Old Republic'' (2008), ''
Disney Infinity 3.0'' (2015), and the upcoming ''
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga'' (2020). In ''
Star Wars: Battlefront'' (2004), the player who is killed the most often in some games receives an award called "bantha fodder". The word "bantha" has been used throughout other ''Star Wars'' stories. The hovercraft that Jabba the Hutt used to transport the imprisoned Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca to the Sarlacc monster in ''Return of the Jedi'' was called a "Bantha-II cargo skiff". One alcoholic drink often consumed at the Jabba's palace was called a "Bantha Blaster", and one type of space vessel was named the ''Bantha''-class assault shuttle. Additionally, in the television series ''Star Wars: A Clone Wars'', Anakin Skywalker orders his starfighter squadron to use a single-file starfighter formation known as the "Bantha formation".
A children's story called "The Little Lost Bantha Cub" is featured in the ''
Jedi Academy
''Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy'' is a first- and third-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Xbox in 2003. Vicarious Visions was responsible for the developmen ...
'' trilogy of novels released in 1994,
and a restaurant and entertainment complex called Bantha Traxx appears in the ''Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game'', which included a gift shop that sold toy banthas.
Concept and creation
Banthas were created by George Lucas, who was inspired in part by Banths, lion-like carnivorous creatures in the
science fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...
serial story ''
John Carter of Mars
John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabi ...
''.
They were one of the first creatures introduced in the ''Star Wars'' universe,
with the first use of a variation of the word "bantha" appearing in an early ''Star Wars'' film draft from May 1974, in which an antagonist
Sith character had the callsign "Banta Four". A second version of this draft, dated January 1978, featured a
Rebel
A rebel is a participant in a rebellion.
Rebel or rebels may also refer to:
People
* Rebel (given name)
* Rebel (surname)
* Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution
* American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
starfighter pilot with the callsign "Banta One" during the attack on the
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and Weapon of mass destruction, superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' Space opera, space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, the Death Star ...
.
The first mention of banthas as a creature was in the third draft of the screenplay from August 1975, which described a group of
Tusken Raiders
Tusken Raiders (informally referred to as "Sand People") are fictional creatures in the ''Star Wars'' universe created by George Lucas. They are characterized as a nomadic race who live on the planet Tatooine. They first appeared in the 1977 film ...
riding "monstrous banthas", and includes a scene in which the creatures attack Luke Skywalker after he spots them.
Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, the film '' ...
, a production illustrator on ''Star Wars'', designed the early concept art for the banthas. The original sketches depicted them as
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
-like creatures, but with other attributes ultimately used in the final design, including a shaggy coat and two horns around the animal's mouth. The Tusken Raiders that would be riding banthas were at this time envisioned to be a smaller alien species, and once they were changed to the size of fully-grown humans, the banthas were changed to be the size of elephants.
The bantha was created through the visual effects company
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
.
Art director Leon Erickson created the bantha costume,
leading a crew of six total crew members in the work.
It took about one month to finish it.
The base of the costume was a
howdah
A howdah, or houdah (Hindi: हौदा ''haudā''), derived from the Arabic (hawdaj), which means "bed carried by a camel", also known as ''hathi howdah'' (''hāthī haudā'', हाथी हौदा), is a carriage which is positioned o ...
, or elephant saddle,
with
palm fronds added to create the bantha's shaggy coat.
Yak hair was also used to create the fur.
A head mask was molded from chicken wire and sprayed with foam to create the creature's facial features,
and a beard made from horse hair was added.
The bantha's curved horns were made from flexible home ventilation tubing,
and its tail was crafted from wood covered with thick thistles.
Early plans called for the tail to be carried in the air as the bantha walked, but due to the challenges associated with making this happen, Industrial Light & Magic determined it would be dragged on the ground instead.
The costume ultimately weighed about 300 pounds.
The bantha's moaning sound was created by sound designer
Ben Burtt
Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...
, who had collected a large number of
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
sounds to create the voice of the Wookiee character
Chewbacca
Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...
. Burtt created the bantha's noise by slowing down one a specific bear recording that had been provided to him by documentary producer George Casey.
Filming and production
The first bantha to appear onscreen was in the original 1977 ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' film.
The filmmakers had the option of creating the bantha through
stop motion animation
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
or by filming an
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
in a bantha costume, and Lucas decided on the latter because he wanted a Tusken Raider to jump onto the back of the bantha in the scene, which could not be realistically done using stop motion.
The bantha appeared in scenes on the desert planet of Tatooine, most of which were filmed in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. However, the production team had an insufficient budget to transport an elephant to the North African country, and large storms there would have prevented them from doing so even if they could. Lucas thus elected to film the bantha scenes in the United States, with sound to be added later, so that the scenes could be edited into the Tunisia-filmed scenes in post-production.
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...
in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
offered to provide the scenery for the footage, and arrangements were made for an elephant,
which was provided by the
Marine World Africa USA
Marine World/Africa USA was an animal theme park located in the Redwood Shores, California, Redwood Shores area of Redwood City, California. The park was named Marine World when it first opened in 1968 before merging with the failing land-animal ...
amusement park in
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...
.
The bantha scenes were shot by
second unit
Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...
director
Carroll Ballard
Carroll Ballard (born October 14, 1937) is a retired American film director. He has directed six feature films, including ''The Black Stallion (film), The Black Stallion'' (1979), ''Never Cry Wolf (film), Never Cry Wolf'' (1983), and ''Fly Away ...
.
The elephant used to portray the bantha was a female
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
named Mardji,
who was 22 years old when ''Star Wars'' was filmed,
and weighed about 8,500 pounds.
Her trainer at the time, Bob Spiker, played the
Tusken Raider
Tusken Raiders (informally referred to as "Sand People") are fictional creatures in the '' Star Wars'' universe created by George Lucas. They are characterized as a nomadic race who live on the planet Tatooine. They first appeared in the 1977 fi ...
that rode the Bantha in the first movie installment.
Mardji had previously been trained to perform tricks, such as
water skiing
Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
,
and she had previously appeared in television commercials for
Skippy Peanut Butter
Skippy is an American brand of peanut butter spread manufactured in the United States and China. First sold in 1932, Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel, Hormel Foods, which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013. It is the best selling bra ...
.
The bantha scenes were filmed in mid-January 1977,
in an area of Death Valley known as Desolation Canyon,
which marked the first time Mardji ventured out into the wild.
She reportedly enjoyed the experience, playing in a creek during shooting breaks.
This bantha costume designed for Mardji proved problematic during filming, as the elephant was unaccustomed to the intense heat of Death Valley and kept shrugging the heavy costume off her body, which slowed production.
Crew members were worried the weight of the head mask would cause Mardji problems;
special make-up effects artist
Rick Baker
Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950), known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeu ...
was particularly concerned.
But the elephant experienced more difficulty dragging the costume's tail.
Additionally, although Mardji was trained to tuck her trunk into her mouth to conceal it while wearing the bantha costume,
her trunk would also occasionally fall out of the costume and become visible during shooting.
Mardji's trainer fed her apples as a reward between scenes to help keep her focused and help overcome the challenges from the costume.
Lucas said filming with an elephant was more frustrating than using a visual effect because he felt it limited the environment in which he could place the creature. Nevertheless, Mardji was largely good-natured throughout the shoot, and the footage was captured without major incident.
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 ''Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and h ...
, the actor who played
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...
in the ''Star Wars'' films, first saw the bantha footage while recording dialogue during the
dubbing
Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...
process and was so impressed he asked George Lucas how the creature was brought to life, which Lucas did not reveal.
During one scene in ''Star Wars'', Luke Skywalker looks through a pair of binoculars and sees two banthas. Only one was used in filming due to budget restraints, and the second bantha in the shot was created using optical
compositing
Compositing is the process or technique of combining visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously ca ...
.
Lucas later said he felt a deep connection with Mardji and "fell in love" with the elephant, regularly visiting her at Marine World after filming.
In November 1995, aged 44, Mardji was
euthanize
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eutha ...
d at the
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
because of an untreatable and painful bone condition in her front legs.
Mardji had been having difficulty walking due to the ailments, and had undergone two major surgeries for treatment in the years prior to her death.
When Lucas revised ''Star Wars'' and released a new Special Edition version in 1997, he decided to retain the original shots of the elephant, rather than replacing the bantha with computer-generated imagery. The bantha costume used in ''Star Wars'' was on display at Marine World Africa USA for a time after Mardji's death, but elements of it deteriorated because it was not sufficiently protected, and it was later destroyed.
Mardji's gait served as the model for the movement of
AT-AT
All Terrain Walkers are armoured fighting vehicles from the ''Star Wars'' universe that traverse the landscape on mechanical legs. They are used by the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the First Order for ground assault, reconnaissance ...
walkers in ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' (1980).
The idea was conceived by special effects artist
Jon Berg, who felt the walkers looked so much like elephants that they should mimic their movements as well.
During the production of ''Empire'', Berg and fellow special effects artists
Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, ...
and
Dennis Muren
Dennis Muren, A.S.C (born November 1, 1946) is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Bes ...
visited Mardji at Marine World Africa USA and shot footage of her walking back and forth for use as a reference in creating the walker's movements.
Each appearance of banthas in films and television after the original ''Star Wars'' films were digital creations modeled after the original creature in ''Star Wars'', rather than again using an elephant in costume.
The first such use of digitally-created banthas was the shot of a bantha herd in the Special Edition re-release of ''Return of the Jedi''.
Rick McCallum
Richard McCallum (born August 22, 1954) is an American film producer. He is mostly known for his work on ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' as well as the '' Star Wars'' Special Editions and prequel trilogy. He is best known for his frequent ...
, a producer with the Special Edition films, said the digital banthas allowed for greater flexibility and freedom of movement than the original version, which he described as "laboriously-made creatures that you couldn't sync up". An entirely new digital model for the bantha had to be created for its appearance in the animated television series ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' to match the show's unique visual style.
The bantha inspired the creation of luggabeasts, semi-mechanical beasts of burden used by scavengers in ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), the first film of the
''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy. Concept designer Christian Alzmann said the crew sought to make updated versions of the creatures from the original films, and banthas from the original ''Star Wars'' film helped inspire this approach. Additionally, the use of a live elephant for the original bantha inspired the special effects team behind ''
Solo: A Star Wars Story'' (2018) to use actual dogs to portray Corellian hounds, quadrupedal creatures featured in that film.
Special effects artist
Neal Scanlan
Neal Scanlan (born 1961) is a British special effects artist and make-up artist, best known for his work on the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Anthology films. He won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for ''Babe'' in 1996.
Selected filmogr ...
said the bantha in ''Star Wars'' "set that whole thing up for me. It's our responsibility to carry that magic forward."
Critical reception
The bantha has been described as a favorite among fans, as well as the cast and crew of the films.
Anthony Daniels, the actor who portrayed C-3PO, called the bantha "one of the best things in the movie".
Ted Edwards, author of ''The Unauthorized Star Wars Compendium'', wrote that the shot of a herd of banthas in to the Special Edition version of ''Return of the Jedi'' was "probably the single most striking image added to any of the three films".
Gary Arnold, senior film critic with ''
The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'', said he appreciated that the bantha was not replaced by a digital creation in ''Star Wars'' re-releases like other creatures were, and that it represented an authenticity that fans appreciate. The bantha was included on ''
HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks is an American commercial infotainment website founded by professor and author Marshall Brain, to provide its target audience an insight into the way many things work. The site uses various media to explain complex concepts, termin ...
'' list of "11 Wacky ''Star Wars'' Creatures We Love", calling it "a wacky combination of animal parts in a memorable form".
Brian Linder of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' praised banthas as a positive addition to the ''Star Wars'' universe, writing: "Banthas are the choice beast of burden of the Tusken frickin' Raiders. That alone makes them cool."
Cultural references
The first name of the original newsletter of the Official Star Wars Fan Club was ''
Bantha Tracks
''Star Wars Insider'' is the official ''Star Wars'' magazine. It began in 1987 as the official magazine of ''The Lucasfilm Fan Club'', and was renamed in 1994 to coincide with the release of ''Star Wars: TIE Fighter''.
Its contents include sto ...
'', inspired by the creature.
Originally entitled simply ''Official Star Wars Fan Club'' when first published in 1978, the newsletter was renamed after a contest in the second issue invited readers to submit new names. Preston Postole of
Avon,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, submitted the winning title of ''Bantha Tracks''.
During one scene in ''Return of the Jedi'', Jabba the Hutt insults
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...
by saying: "You may have been a good smuggler, but now you're bantha fodder." The line became a popular one among ''Star Wars'' fans, with "bantha fodder" becoming a well-known ''Star Wars''-related insult.
An Australian punk band called Bantha Fodder takes its name from the line. In ''
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars'', a 2014 ''Star Wars''-themed episode of the animated series ''
Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was originally broadcast as a ...
'', villain character
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz sings a song that ends with the line "Darth Vader can kiss my bantha!" A September 18, 2014 episode of the educational children's television series ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'' featured a ''Star Wars''-inspired segment in which
Mr. Snuffleupagus
Aloysius Snuffleupagus (), more commonly known as Mr. Snuffleupagus or Snuffy for short, is one of the characters on ''Sesame Street'', a long-running PBS/ HBO educational television program for young children. He is a giant anteater-like elephant ...
, a
woolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus subp ...
-like
Muppet
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...
character, appeared as a bantha.
Merchandise
A bantha
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...
was planned for the ''Star Wars: The Power of the Force'' toy line by
Kenner Products
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
in 1985, and concept artwork was prepared for the toy, but it was never produced before Kenner ended the toy line. A bantha figure would not be created until
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
revived the ''Power of the Force'' line in 1995. Several miniature bantha figures have since been released for use in ''Star Wars''
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s, including one by
West End Games
West End Games (WEG) was a company that made Board game, board, Role-playing game, role-playing, and wargaming, war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York City, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Its product line ...
, and a five-inch figurine through the ''
Star Wars Miniatures
''Star Wars Miniatures'' is a 34mm scale collectible miniatures tabletop game based on the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe that was produced by Wizards of the Coast. The game was originally released in September 2004 and continued production ...
'' toyline by
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
. Original t-shirts for official members of the ''Star Wars'' fan club featured a photo of a bantha. In 2014,
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
released a miniature bantha plush toys through its Itty Bittys toy line, sold in a two-pack along with a Tusken Raider. A bantha ride had been planned for ''Star Wars'' Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, but it was ultimately not created. The planned attraction would have allowed visitors to ride on platforms atop large
animatronic
Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions.
It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
banthas, which would then embark on a tour of the area.
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{{Star Wars universe, state=collapsed
Star Wars species
Fictional elements introduced in 1977
Fictional extraterrestrial life forms
sv:Lista över raser i Star Wars#Bantha