The designation "krayt dragon" encompassed a variety of sizable, flesh-eating reptilian organisms native to Tatooine, a desert world situated in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. Despite their inherent danger, krayt dragons were pursued for the valuable gems contained within their bodies.
The term "krayt dragons" broadly described several enormous carnivorous reptiles, notably the sixteen-legged, poison-spewing leviathan krayt dragon, the more prevalent and smaller canyon krayt, and the greater krayt, which was larger. Tatooine's folklore also suggested the existence of at least one winged krayt dragon, known simply as Krayt. They stood as Tatooine's top predators due to their immense size and aggressive nature. Their bodies generated krayt venom, which functioned as an acid, aiding the dragons in pre-digesting their prey. When feeling threatened, a krayt dragon could eject this venom from its mouth, disintegrating any organic matter it contacted.
Voracious krayt dragons presented a significant menace to the small Jawas, and their roar alone was sufficient to deter the formidable sand nomads called Tusken Raiders. The colossal leviathan krayt dragon variant was known to take shelter inside deserted sarlacc pits, having devoured the sarlacc previously living there. These krayts also had a tendency to tunnel just beneath the sand's surface, disturbing objects above as they moved. For generations, some Tusken Raiders studied krayt dragon digestive patterns, offering banthas as food to safeguard their settlements and prolong the dragons' periods of dormancy.
Krayt dragons were widely recognized for their pearls, concentrated bodily substances deemed exceptionally valuable. Tusken Raiders also held the belief that dragon bones possessed potent magical properties. During the Invasion of Naboo, a canyon krayt dragon established its lair within the Laguna Caves of Tatooine, an area avoided by rescue teams participating in the Boonta Eve Classic. One particular region of Tatooine was known as the Krayt Canyon.
Following the Great Jedi Purge, a tale emerged on Tatooine concerning the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom local Tusken Raiders believed had vanquished the winged krayt dragon, Krayt. During his seclusion on Tatooine, Kenobi developed a profound understanding of the planet's sounds and sights. Consequently, when Luke Skywalker found himself encircled by three Tusken Raiders in 0 BBY, Kenobi was able to replicate the cry of a krayt dragon, frightening the trio, who recognized Kenobi as a medicine man their tribe leader A'Yark had cautioned them about.
In 3 ABY, a leviathan krayt dragon pearl was pilfered from Tusken Raiders by outlaws. The criminal Kay Vess retrieved the pearl for the Tuskens in exchange for Sullustan Hoss, who was being held captive by the Tuskens. While searching for a tooth from a sarlacc's secondary mouth, Vess encountered a krayt dragon of the same subspecies.
Before the demise of Jabba Desilijic Tiure in 4 ABY, the Hutt kept a juvenile dragon on his LO-KD57 sailing vessel, the Khetanna. The Gran Ree-Yees diverted the dragon's attention with a bone while searching for Jabba's frog-dog, Buboicullaar.
Around 9 ABY, a large leviathan krayt dragon consistently attacked the settlement of Mos Pelgo, as well as a band of Tusken Raiders. To deal with the beast, Cobb Vanth struck a bargain with Mandalorian Din Djarin, where Djarin would assist Vanth in slaying the krayt in return for the lawman's suit of Mandalorian armor. The two later enlisted the help of the aforementioned Tusken Raiders, who tried to feed it a bantha to induce sleep, but the creature instead consumed a Tusken. Running out of options for controlling the dragon, the group allied with villagers from Mos Pelgo, and together they devised a strategy to eliminate the dragon, which involved luring the krayt dragon from its lair toward a series of buried explosives, intended to destroy it from below. The plan ultimately failed, and Djarin was compelled to improvise, utilizing explosives attached to a bantha, allowing himself and the bantha to be swallowed whole by the dragon. Using his jetpack to escape from the dragon's mouth Djarin detonated the explosives, finally killing the dragon. It had a gigantic pearl which was found by the Tuskens as they scavenged its corpse.
Circa 34 ABY, the toy manufacturer Zabaka produced miniature toy versions of krayt dragon skeletons for children at Batuu's Black Spire Outpost.
While a krayt dragon skeleton was featured in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, living examples first appeared in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, which was launched in 2001 within Star Wars Legends. Krayts debuted in Disney Interactive's canonical mobile strategy video game Star Wars: Commander, released on August 21st, 2014 for iOS devices. To commemorate the game's second anniversary, players received five krayt dragon gift units, along with five Droideka Oppressors and five Droideka Sentinels. The krayt dragon made its first live-action appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 opener, "Chapter 9: The Marshal."