Legends spoke of the Summa-verminoth, a colossal species capable of traversing space, said to inhabit the Akkadese Maelstrom surrounding the planet of Kessel. Often misunderstood, these beings possessed numerous eyes and utilized electrified tentacles to capture their prey. During the events following the Raid on Kessel in 10 BBY, Beckett's gang, while aboard the Millennium Falcon, inadvertently roused a summa-verminoth within the Maelstrom. Han Solo, then serving as the ship's pilot, led the creature on a harrowing chase, ultimately drawing it into the Maw's gravity well by using the Falcon's escape pod. The immense gravitational forces of the Maw then proceeded to tear the flesh from the summa-verminoth's skeleton, resulting in its complete annihilation.
Summa-verminoth were enormous, space-dwelling species that made their home in the Akkadese Maelstrom, a dense collection of celestial bodies encircling the planet Kessel. Reaching a length of 7,432 meters (equivalent to 4.618 miles), these creatures were characterized by their multiple eyes and a multitude of large tentacles. These tentacles were equipped with both powerful suckers and electrified stingers, which the summa-verminoth employed to ensnare prey and satisfy their insatiable hunger.
A particular subspecies of the summa-verminoth had adapted to life in the Red Honeycomb Zone, located within the Unknown Regions, a passage through the Galactic Barrier. This subspecies evolved the ability to launch psychic attacks, enabling it to hunt others of its kind. Sometime between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, Darth Vader and Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon encountered this subspecies during their journey to the Sith planet Exegol.
The often misunderstood summa-verminoth, owing to their immense size and voracious appetites, became ingrained in the legends of potential encounters within the Akkadese Maelstrom by starship crews. Back in 10 BBY, Han Solo, along with the rest of Beckett's gang, inadvertently woke up a summa-verminoth near the Maw Cluster during their escape from Kessel aboard the Millennium Falcon. This particular creature had been drawn to the Maw countless ages ago. The Maw had captivated the creature, leading it to eventually fall into a dreamlike state fueled by intense longing. Awakened by hunger, the massive creature gave chase to the ship and its crew, until Solo skillfully maneuvered the Falcon close to the gravity well. He then deployed the Falcon's escape pod, which the creature pursued instead, directly into the gravity well. The summa-verminoth was ensnared by the well's gravitational force, and its skin was torn from its skeleton, before its entire body was ultimately consumed.
The summa-verminoth made its initial appearance in the 2018 Star Wars Anthology film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Affectionately referred to as "Space-o-pus" by the film's production team, the summa-verminoth was not part of the original script, but was a later addition that received approval from director Ron Howard. The creature's demise, featuring the graphic removal of its skin from its skull, was conceived by design supervisor James Clyne as a deliberate homage to the Indiana Jones franchise.