The Zillo Beast, sometimes referred to simply as "the Beast," was a semi-sentient, reptilian species endemic to the planet Malastare. The Dugs believed this gargantuan creature to be extinct long before 21 BBY; during the Battle of Malastare, however, the seemingly last specimen alive was inadvertently unearthed by an electro-proton bomb used by the Galactic Republic.
Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine sought to use the Zillo Beasts' indestructible hide to aid the Grand Army of the Republic. Shortly after the creature was brought to Coruscant for study, however, it broke free from its restraints and rampaged through the capital. In the end, the Jedi and Republic army were left with no other choice but to kill the Zillo Beast using a powerful toxin, the same one that had compelled it to ravage Coruscant, but in larger doses. After the creature was killed, Palpatine ordered it to be cloned. All cloning attempts failed until after the formation of the Galactic Empire and the appropriation of Kaminoan cloning technology, when doctor Royce Hemlock finally succeeded in achieving a breakthrough and successfully cloning several beasts which were transported and contained in the Tantiss Base inside Mount Tantiss.
One Zillo Beast lived in Wild Space where it was worshiped as a god by the Benathy, though it was later killed by Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren and a warlord in the First Order.
The Zillo Beast rampaged across Coruscant.
The Zillo Beast was a gargantuan serpent-like creature. At 97 meters tall, the Zillo Beast towered over all species on its native planet of Malastare and was considered at the top of its food chain until its presumed extinction. Its lengthy, whip-like tail contained eight sharp spikes, and the beast itself uniquely possessed a third arm protruding from its back. Juvenile Zillo Beasts notably lacked the third arm, which only started developing as the beast itself grew in size. The Zillo Beast had two glowing green eyes and was able to see in total darkness. However, it lacked eyes until it reached adulthood. It also had powerful claws and jaws that could bite through metal. It possessed a lengthy whip-like tail that was covered in enormous spikes.
Its heavy plated armor was invulnerable to explosions, blaster fire, and even lightsaber strikes. When battling against what was believed to be the last Zillo Beast in existence, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker discovered that gaps in the creature's armored plates could be exploited to damage or stun the creature. During the battle against the beast, clone troopers were able to subdue the creature by using RX-200 Falchion-class assault tanks aimed at the gaps in its armor to put the beast to sleep for transport to Coruscant.
While in captivity on Coruscant, Doctor Sionver Boll observed that the creature was possibly sentient. This deduction was reinforced by the creature's hostile behavior towards Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, whom the beast had observed ordering Boll to kill it via hologram. After breaking out of its containment facility, the creature terrorized the planet in an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Chancellor, whose face it recognized as a holo-board and later in the Senate Building. It was later killed by poison gas fired by Republic Gunships whilst climbing the Senate building, but Palpatine ordered Boll to clone the creature.
Zillo Beasts fed on electric energy, with the electro-proton bomb able to wake the supposedly final Zillo Beast from its slumber. Zillo Beasts could feast on numerous sources of electricity, including the types found on starship power conduits and planetary power grids. Upon direct contact with a powerful electric source, they would immediately begin regenerating damaged limbs and grow in size until reaching their full strength.
Zillo Beasts were amongst the most fearsome of all reptiles and were considered untamable. Zillo Beasts were stubbornly solitary, only meeting with other members of the species when the need for breeding became very necessary. When their young were born, one parent would raise the newborn while the other typically returned to isolation.
The scales, teeth, and tail spikes of a Zillo Beast were used as decorations in the Ubrikkian Floating Fortress of Garnac's hunting guild.
A cloned Zillo Beast breaks loose on Silla.
During the Imperial Era, the Galactic Empire utilized Sionver Boll's research and finally managed to clone several beasts using the original specimen's DNA with technology recovered from Kamino and Doctor Royce Hemlock's expertise. The resulting specimens were transported to the headquarters of the cloning program on Mount Tantiss, in the planet Wayland, where they were contained in an underground facility; at least one managed to escape mid-transit on Silla, but was quickly recontained. One such beast continued to be experimented on in the facility with weapons similar to those of the RX-200 Falchion-class assault tanks.
During the same time, a Zillo Beast was worshiped as a deity by the Benathy on their homeworld Benath. During a battle between the Galactic Empire and the Benathy, Darth Vader was unable to defeat the creature. However, years later, his grandson, Kylo Ren, would successfully kill the beast by diving into the mouth and destroying it from the inside. With their god dead, Ren made the Benathy swear loyalty to the First Order.
The Zillo Beast appeared in the episodes "The Zillo Beast" and "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back" from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. Star Wars creator George Lucas felt the Zillo Beast would dislike Palpatine and chase him. Dave Filoni joked with Lucas that the Zillo Beast could sense Palpatine was a Sith Lord, and was actually trying to warn the Coruscanti.
When asked about the Zillo Beast's potential return in Star Wars Rebels following the cancellation of The Clone Wars, Filoni stated during an interview with StarWars.com that a comeback wasn't possible because its scale was too challenging for the production and they had no reason for why the Galactic Empire would clone it. Though he suggested the possibility of introducing a baby specimen rather than a mechanical one, no Zillo Beast appeared in the show before its ending aired in 2018. Despite Filoni's prior statement regarding the lack of a reason for the Empire to clone the Zillo Beast, the episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch entitled "Metamorphosis" revealed that the creature was, in fact, involved in the Empire's cloning program.
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