In Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope’s original script, it was implied that the dianoga in the Death Star’s trash compacter once had mysteriously dark origins. Dianogas are large and sentient, squid-like creatures with seven tentacles and single eyestalk hailing from the planet Vodran. This dianoga is best remembered for nearly killing Luke, dragging him down into the murky sewage, and she might just seem like an ordinary monster, but she’s fascinatingly special. Nnedi Okorafor’s short story “The Baptists” from the anthology collection, From a Certain Point of View revealed that this dianoga’s name was Omi, and she lived an unexpectedly extraordinary life until the Death Star’s destruction.
Naturally, the sequence with the dianoga in the trash compacter was something different early on in George Lucas’ drafts. He changed a lot over his various revisions from the Wookiee’s initial framing as the film’s storytellers to the franchise’s title with this first film being called The Adventures of Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills: Saga I: The Star Wars at one time. These details have resurfaced especially thanks to the original Chewbacca, the late Peter Mayhew, who tweeted out every page of an earlier draft, revealing various ways the film evolved. The dianoga, in particular, was set to play a very different and more intriguing role.
The Original Star Wars Script Hints The Dianoga Was Unnatural
In Lucas’ early visions, the dianoga – then called a Dia Nogu – was going to be part of a longer sequence, and it wasn’t going to be stuck away in the Death Star’s garbage chute. Initially, Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie were to encounter it in an underground dungeon, and its full “jellyfish-like form” was going to be revealed as the script describes. While this was changed logically due to special effects limitations, the film’s dianoga was just as big though audiences didn’t realize it. However, what really set it apart was how it was described with Han saying “It’s not a natural creature…”
Luke naturally reacted to the monster’s sudden appearance by shooting it, but the laser-bolt passed right through, hitting a wall, as if the dianoga were a ghost. It’s even described as only having a faint outline – although that’s in line with its canonized ability for camouflage. Nevertheless, this scene was set to be more horrific as the monster utterly terrified Chewbacca, and it attempted to hunt the heroes. The Dianoga was going to be something far more sinister and enigmatic than a simple eyestalk poking up out of the muck, thus leading to questions about its origins and relation to the mysteries of the Force.
How The Ancient Sith Created Dark Side Creatures
The subsequent expansion of Star Wars lore might suggest that the dianoga was a product of the dark side. The Sith have created monsters before, and “The Baptist” did define this dianoga as Force-sensitive, so there’s precedence. If it’s the case, this would make the dianoga the first of such creatures introduced into the franchise. The best examples can be found throughout Legends canon in which ancient Sith engaged in Sith Alchemy to create and enhance terrifyingly powerful beasts. A prominent example includes Sith Lord Exar Kun who on Yavin 4 used the dark side to make monsters like Sith War behemoths and twisted Rancors. These creatures were called Sithspawn.
While these elements were decanonized, some aspects have found their way into the main canon. The sourcebook Nexus of Power revealed that the Jedi Temple’s detention center was initially built to house Sithspawn. If it were true then that the dianoga was a Sithspawn, it would certainly be another example of how her presumed creator, Palpatine was truly the greatest Sith. However, “The Baptist” showcases this dianoga’s origins on her homeworld and how she found herself on the Death Star in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. Nevertheless, the species could still hail from ancient Sith. It’s an unexpected mystery that would be fascinating to learn the answer to.
