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In Star Wars: A New Hope, when Luke finds R2-D2 (who runs away to find Obi-Wan), it says something that C-3PO translates. Here is the conversation.

Luke: What's wrong with him?

C-3PO: There are several creatures approaching from the southeast.

Luke: Sand People. Or worse!

So, which worse thing was he expecting here? It should be something that is worse than Sand People, but what was it?

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    First thing that pops to mind are Imperial Soldiers
    – BlueMoon93
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 11:18
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    starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Creatures_of_Tatooine
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 14:53
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    I'm not sure he expected Imperials. I believe that there was no Imperial garrison on Tattooine at the start of A New Hope.
    – Lars Mekes
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 14:59
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    @LarsMekes Yet Luke hated Empire so much he wanted to join Imperial Academy with Briggs and then deflect to rebels to fight the Empire. So he had some knowledge (maybe experience) of the imperials being baddies.
    – SZCZERZO KŁY
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 15:46
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    I always thought he said, "Sandpeople. The worst." As to what he's referring to? Anything you consider worse than Sandpeople. Anything.
    – Django Reinhardt
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 21:55

3 Answers 3

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Most likely he's thinking of a Krayt Dragon.

From Ralph Mcquarrie's artwork, imagine a Komodo Dragon the size of a whale. They're noted as being incredibly dangerous predators.

We see a skeleton of one while C-3PO is wandering in the desert before the Jawas pick him up.

Obi-wan Kenobi mimicked the bellow of one in order to frighten off the sand-people just before his first appearance in the film.

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  • Yes you are right they are probably more visible than the sandworms in the films.
    – mathreadler
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 19:45
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    Just speculation, but since JAB mentions Dune.. Arrakis had relatively temperate polar regions with a variety of species living there (such as the Desert Mouse that Paul Muad'hib was named for) In extended canon, the Fremen were actually terraforming the planet and introducing wildlife and plants to "make the desert green" so these weren't native. but still an interesting point. Relating it back to SW, I suggest that Tatooine's Polar regions may be the natural home of creatures like Banthas, and consequently the Krayt Dragon has lots of big slow prey.
    – Ruadhan2300
    Commented Dec 14, 2017 at 16:36
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    @Ruadhan2300 The sand worms of Dune are not typical creatures. Water is actually toxic to them, which becomes an issue once the Fremen start terraforming. Additionally, they are responsible for the spice creation, that prescience causing drug. I'm only in the third book (Children of Dune), but if I had to guess, they are "other worldly". That said, your "polar region" theory seems reasonable enough.
    – user60027
    Commented Dec 15, 2017 at 1:32
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Perhaps he was referring to the guy from the stories. You know, the one who butchered a whole village of Sand People - children too. That guy was awful. He just went there and killed them all. They also said it was civilised because he used a weapon that cauterized the cut. Man, that guy was bad.

But, Luke was probably referring to Imperials. It makes sense in the pyramid of "worseness". The hive of scum and villainy is not as bad as Sand People, but they are not as bad as Imperials either. So, from the start, you (the viewer) have this feeling that the Empire is bad.

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    I don't think he would refer to the empire as bad since he wanted to join the academy. Afair he meant the imperial academy
    – Clayn
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 15:49
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    He meant to join it, train there to know their tactics and then deflect to join rebellion. It was explain in the novelization (based on screenplay) and his talk with Briggs was cut out from the final (not really) movie.
    – SZCZERZO KŁY
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 16:08
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    I agree with the other comments that the good people of Tatooine lived in such a backwater of the galaxy that they wouldn’t expect Imperial soldiers except on military maneuvers, but +1 for the Legend of the Rogue Jedi. I love the idea that it might have persisted for ~1.5 decades!
    – Gaurav
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 16:28
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    @Clayn: in the movie when he's talking to Ben: "I can't get involved! I've got work to do! It's not that I like the Empire. I hate it! But there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."
    – whatsisname
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 17:33
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I was thinking of sand worms which appear in the Jedi knight games. They are big and really nasty.

enter image description here

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  • Of course, that's not Tatooine, that's Blenjeel, an entirely different planet covered in sand and rock and not much else.
    – Ruadhan2300
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 1:57
  • @Ruadhan2300 : Yes that particular mission in Jedi Academy may be on Blenjeel, but they exist on many sandy planets.
    – mathreadler
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 5:25

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