It’s intriguing to find out what kind of inspiration went into the making of various science fiction creatures in the movies since some of them appear so outlandish that imagination alone isn’t able to explain them away, especially since they happen to resemble certain creatures that are found in nature. Some of them are pretty obvious once the comparison is made, but others might take a good stretch of the imagination to see since there isn’t a clear-cut line between the two. That’s the great thing about imagination and perspective though, one doesn’t really need to understand why it made sense to someone, they’re only required to enjoy it. If a person does want to go deeper and try to comprehend the meaning behind the inspiration though then there are usually plenty of people that are willing to discuss various movie ideas and will gladly get into a friendly discussion about the different aspects of the movie that they enjoy. When it comes to character creation there’s usually a good story to be had since some of the things we see in science fiction movies are just incredibly out there.
Here are a few Sci-Fi creatures and their inspirations.
5. The Predator looks like some sort of mutated crab.
While this has never been confirmed the description has been used for their ships and the creatures themselves. It might be kind of odd to use a creature that’s completely sentient and is more akin to human beings than most things on this list, but the predators do look pretty strange. From their strange dome down to their pointed mandibles, they’re one of the oddest creatures to have been created in a long time. The worst part though is that as odd as they look, they’re absolutely lethal since they’re raised as hunters and taught to hunt for the glory as much as the actual kill. And some of them are absolutely ruthless.
4. Godzilla is based on dinosaurs.
This should be a no-brainer really since the likeness is hard to get past, though Godzilla does look a bit more refined, as he has no feathers and has an obvious level of intelligence that might have existed in some dinosaurs but feels unlikely if what we’ve been told about them is even halfway true. Plus, Godzilla is more like a dinosaur that’s been fed growth hormones for most of his life since the giant lizard is easily several times bigger than most dinosaurs, and might even put the sea-dwelling mosasaur to shame depending on the battlefield. But the prehistoric feel is there, and it’s pretty obvious that as a titan he’s been around for a while.
3. The Graboids from Tremors are based in part on snapping turtles.
Looking at a snapping turtle and then looking at a Graboid from Tremors is kind of a hard distinction to make. The beaks are pretty close until the graboids open their mouths. But hey, that’s the way inspiration works, some people see what they need and their minds start working in a way that some might not be able to understand. Last time I checked snapping turtles did not burrow beneath the ground to come up and snag people and animals to tear them apart, but the resemblance is still there in a way, as is the vicious nature of both creatures. That’s the great thing about learning what inspired the creatures though, it comes as a revelation of sorts.
2. The Xenomorphs are based on a parasite.
Much like the xenomorphs, this parasite lays its eggs in its host, but apart from a few things about their appearance and the laying eggs portion of their character, the two are quite different since the xenomorphs are a lot more vicious and tend to be great survivors. The thing about parasites though is that they are uniquely terrifying since no one wants to think about anything laying eggs inside their body, and they want to think even less of the eggs hatching and something coming out and eating them alive from within. On the count, the xenomorphs are perhaps some of the most terrifying creatures in all pop culture.
1. The Sarlacc pit from Return of the Jedi is based on antlions.
Antlions are nasty-looking little creatures that sit at the bottom of small pits in the ground and feed on anything that falls down them. Thankfully they’re pretty small so they’re a danger to insects, but not much else. But their appearance is still enough to have inspired the dreaded Sarlacc, the creature in ROTJ that so many were afraid of. The funny thing is that in Star Wars these creatures are fed upon by the powerful krayt dragons that we haven’t been given a good look at as of yet, apart from the comics. Maybe one of these days.
It’s fun to see how certain creatures are made.
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