Starweirds were ancient beings deeply connected to the Force, regarded as both immensely powerful and dangerous. These entities possessed the ability to attack by generating a potent sonic wave, reaching sound levels comparable to a starfighter's engine. This assault inflicted severe pain on their targets, potentially causing bleeding from the ears. Inflicting lasting harm on Starweirds proved exceptionally challenging, as blasters demonstrated limited effectiveness. Even with significant physical trauma, such as impalement, a Starweird could relentlessly pursue its prey. They dwelled in the vacuum of space and were believed to be extinct until the later years of the Imperial Era. During the Clone Wars period, one such creature was imprisoned within the Jedi prison known as the Sason Temple on the planet Sason by Jedi Masters Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti. Sometime between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, the unscrupulous archaeologist Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra and the Jedi Luke Skywalker inadvertently freed the Starweird. This occurred while Aphra was attempting to retrieve Kythoo's Bell, which she mistakenly believed to be a Jedi artifact, but was actually a security measure designed to maintain the Starweird's confinement. Following a difficult battle, the pair managed to subdue the creature.
The Starweird, though initially without a name, was first revealed through a variant cover created by Kyle Hotz on April 10, 2023, during Celebration Europe. Its reintroduction into canon occurred in the thirty-third issue of the 2020 comic book series Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, penned by Alyssa Wong, with illustrations by Minkyu Jung, and published by Marvel Comics on June 28, 2023. The species received its official designation in the thirty-fourth issue of the same comic series, also written by Wong and released by Marvel on July 19, 2023.
Within the Legends continuity, the Starweird originated as a creature concept for the 2004 sourcebook Ultimate Adversaries. This book was authored by Eric Cagle, Michelle Lyons, Michael Mikaelian, Steve Miller, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Wil Upchurch, and published by Wizards of the Coast as a component of the revised edition of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Andrew Jones provided the illustration of the creature for the sourcebook.