- "More Trandoshans?"
"No. Something bigger." - ―Echo and Hunter hear the mylaya approaching
Mylaya were a type of huge cat-like creature with telescoping ears. They climbed and leapt through the forests of the planet Kashyyyk, where they were used as mounts by members of the Wookiee species. Between 19 BBY and 18 BBY, the residents of one Wookiee sanctuary used a trio of mylaya to transport Clone Force 99 and the Jedi Gungi back to the settlement. They then used the mounts in combat when fighting an Imperial convoy of Trandoshans and clone troopers.
Description[]
Mylaya[4] were a type of huge cat-like beast with wide, telescoping ears.[3] They were fur-covered quadrupeds with thin tails that had bushy fur along the end portion of their length. The creatures' fur could be red, green, or yellow in color, with darker stripes on their limbs and a lighter beard around their mouth, which had dark gray lips and two sharp teeth protruding from the lower jaw.[2]
Mylaya could have a variety of fur colors.
Mylayas also had two black eyes and a large flat nose. Their[2] paws[3] had three long, clawed toes with a fourth, smaller toe near the rear of the palm. They were capable of carrying a Wookiee and two armored adult humans in a saddle on their backs as they leapt and climbed through the trees of the forest planet Kashyyyk, chittering and shrieking as they went.[2]
History[]
In 19 BBY or 18 BBY,[5] the Wookiees of a sanctuary on Kashyyyk used mylayas as mounts to traverse the forest, and after a resident of the sanctuary was freed from captivity at the hands of the Galactic Empire by the clones of Clone Force 99 and the Wookiee Jedi Gungi, he returned on a mylaya with two other mounted Wookiees. The trio then carried the clones and Gungi back to the sanctuary, delivering them to the base of the treetop settlement before bounding up higher into the sanctuary.[2]
The Wookiees of Kashyyyk used mylaya as mounts.
Clone Force 99 chose to help the Wookiee villagers fight an Imperial convoy headed their way and set up an ambush, with several Wookiees mounted in pairs on mylaya in the branches above the convoy's path. Once the clones opened fire from the foliage below, the mylaya leapt down so their riders could also begin firing on the Imperial forces, which consisted of clone troopers and Trandoshans.[2]
One Wookiee was shot from the back of a mylaya stood on top of a wrecked Armored Assault Tank, prompting its rider to charge further into the fray, but soon the Wookiees and their allies pulled back in order to lure the Imperials closer to a nearby netcaster nest. As they pulled the Imperials further in, one of the mylaya leapt down atop another active tank and swiped the Trandoshan on its turret away through the air before leaping away again. The Imperials were then defeated when the netcaster swarmed them as planned.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- "George had this idea that the Wookiees knew these giant tree spirits and so I sketeched this for him, and then you see the little yellow post-it on there is because he didn't like the first head I drew for it."
- ―Dave Filoni
Mylaya appeared in "Tribe,"[2] the sixth episode of season two of the animated television series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which aired February 1, 2023.[7] Although not named in the episode,[2] the creatures were identified in the official promotional assets linked to the show released by Walt Disney Studios via Getty Images on the same day as the episode.[4]
The mylaya were based on a sketch Dave Filoni drew for George Lucas.
The creatures were originally designed by series supervising director Dave Filoni for an unfinished arc of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series set on Kashyyyk,[6] written by Matt Michnovetz.[8] George Lucas had an idea that the Wookiees knew giant tree spirits that they could summon and ride, so Filoni sketched a Wookiee mounted on the creature that would become the mylaya for him.[6]
Lucas did not like the creature's head in the initial sketch, so Filoni covered it with a post-it note and drew a second face that Lucas approved. The original idea was that riding the creatures would represent the Wookiees' benevolent relationship with nature and would have been a religious practice for the species, who would not have liked riding the creatures into battle. Filoni first revealed the concept sketch for the creatures at Celebration Anaheim in 2015.[6]
Appearances[]
Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "Tribe" (First appearance)
Sources[]
The Untold Clone Wars Panel | Star Wars Celebration Anaheim on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (First mentioned)
"Tribe" Episode Guide | The Bad Batch on StarWars.com (backup link)- Riot Racing, Droidekas, and Crosshair's Sneer: Star Wars: The Bad Batch Animation Director Keith Kellogg Talks Season 2 So Far on StarWars.com (backup link) (Picture only)
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Wookiees
Mylayas in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Star Wars: The Secrets of the Wookiees
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "Tribe"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Star Wars: The Bad Batch — "Tribe" (Disney+ audio description)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Walt Disney Studios All Access - ABB-005517 on Getty Images (February 1, 2023) (archived from the original on February 1, 2023)
- ↑ Per the reasoning here, the seventh and eighth episodes of The Bad Batch Season 2, "The Clone Conspiracy" and "Truth and Consequences," can be placed in 18 BBY. Therefore, all Season 2 episodes proceeding "The Clone Conspiracy" occur between 19 BBY, which features the end of The Bad Batch Season 1 according to Star Wars: Timelines, and 18 BBY. The Galactic Empire, the formation of which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 19 BBY, sent Mayday's squad to Barton IV over a year prior to the events of the twelfth episode, "The Outpost." As it occurs over a year into the Imperial Era and is set shortly after the events of "Truth and Consequences," the events of "The Outpost" occur around 18 BBY. Following that logic, the ninth through eleventh episodes ("The Crossing" through "Metamorphosis") are also set around 18 BBY because they occur between the events of "Truth and Consequences" and "The Outpost." Finally, all season 2 episodes set after "The Outpost" occur shortly after its events, thereby placing those episodes around 18 BBY as well.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 The Untold Clone Wars Panel | Star Wars Celebration Anaheim on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ Clone Force 99 Is Back in New Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 Trailer on StarWars.com (December 7, 2022) (backup link)
- ↑
Brent Friedman (@BFree63) on Twitter: "@MattMichnovetz wrote that arc, and he writes for Rebels!" (backup link) (In response to: "Do you know who wrote TCW Yoda/Wookiees arc? BTW, would love if you could write for Rebels!")
