The Odd Creatures That Block The Force

More Wacky Creatures From The Expanded Universe

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • Updated 2 years ago • 3 min read

That is not how the Force works…or is it?

Star Wars Legends have a lot of strange and wacky things. Many of them are not always what many would consider in line with the mainstream lore of the Star Wars universe. Of course, that is a debate for another time. There are a few creatures that many would argue contradicted the way the Force. One of these creatures is simply known as the Ysalamiri.

The Ysalamiri, first introduced in 1991’s Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire, are creatures purposely designed by the author to block the Force. It is the kind of creature that some would consider goes against the nature of the Force itself as described by the movies. The creatures in question are used by the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn in his campaign against the New Republic. Their first purpose is to circumvent the Force powers of the insane clone Jedi Joruus C'baoth. The other is to quickly grow clones without them suffering madness.

Ysalamiri are interesting creatures of Star Wars coming from the planet Myrkr. They have the unique ability to create special anti-Force bubbles around themselves and anyone in their vicinity. Their unique traits, in some ways, might go against what the Force is all about, at least according to how Yoda describes it. The Force is “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” Everyone and everything should naturally have the Force in them to a certain degree as they are all bound to the Force in one way or another. So it is odd that the Ysalamiri have the ability to repel the Force as if they were deflecting an energy field. After all, the Force is supposed to be a part of everything and everyone.

Of course, these creatures were made in the 1990s after the original trilogy was all wrapped up and done with. The ability to make all sorts of weird stuff was more tolerated during those times than it is today since the Star Wars franchise had yet to cement itself in the wider lore. Back then, there was a lot of loose-goosey when it came to the Force. Much of its properties had not been determined, allowing authors to add all sorts of weird and more creative science fiction elements in order to foment their story.

Anything was possible back then.

Timothy Zahn created the Yslamari to serve his story. He was pretty much allowed to do whatever he wanted even if that meant going against what the movies indicated. The idea of an interconnected continuity back then was something that Lucasfilm and the other powers that be did not really mind at the time. Things like the Yslamari could in some ways contradict how the Force worked or at least how Lucas perceived the Force at the time. In the old days, how the Force operated depended on who was writing the story. Sometimes, it was full of magic. Other times, it was mere telekinesis. Consistency and an idea of an interconnected universe were not really in the cards just yet.

Regardless, the Ysalamiri are interesting creatures in the Star Wars universe. They stemmed from the wacky creative freedom that many authors were allowed to have back then. The nineties were an interesting time for Star Wars with a lot of room to explore, making the galaxy far, far away that much more interesting to traverse and expand upon.

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