Season 3 of Star Wars: The Mandalorian TV Series has kicked off with an explosion the size of Alderaan. As a result, two new LEGO Star Wars sets were revealed this week – 75346 Pirate Snub Fighter and 75363 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter Microfighter. Both include members of fascinating alien species.
If you’re just getting started collecting LEGO Star Wars sets from The Mandalorian streaming series, what alien species can you expect to see and collect? Here are their backgrounds, culture, skills… as well as their appearances in LEGO sets.
Nikto
First Star Wars Appearance: Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
First Set Appearance: Nikto Guard in 75024 HH-87 Starhopper
In Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3, trouble lurks around every corner of the galaxy. Perhaps none are so infamous or tragic as the Nikto, a species native to Kintan. Their entire race was enslaved by the Hutt Clan, with many Nikto working as Hutt enforcers long before and during the Clone Wars. After Jabba the Hutt’s demise at the hands of Princess Leia, the Nikto broke free and independently established at least one Nikto crime cartel during the New Republic era.
Centuries of service to the Hutt Clan prepared the Nikto well for criminal activity, though some became famous Jedi, such as Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di. It’s perhaps unfortunate that Ima-Gun Di was never released as a minifigure given his sacrifice for Ryloth, but at least space pirate Vane and an unnamed Snub Fighter pilot are on their way. They appear in the newly-revealed 75346 Pirate Snub Fighter, which releases May 5.
Klatooinian
First Star Wars Appearance: Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
First Set Appearance: ‘Kithaba’ in 9496 Desert Skiff
The green-blooded Klatooinians feature bulldog-like snouts and furrowed brows, appearing notably in Season 1, Episode 4 of Star Wars: The Manlorian as raiders on a peaceful village. Their unmatched physical strength led them to become bodyguards, henchmen and even skilled bounty hunters, though several were also sold into slavery for manual labour.
Notable named Klatooinians include Jedi Knight Tarados Gon, Klatooinian slave and Jabba’s skiff guard Kithaba, and gorg seller Bolza Grool from Star Wars: Resistance. Perhaps their most famous appearance comes from the aforementioned episode of The Mandalorian, in which some pilot a repurposed walker in the 2019 set 75254 AT-ST Raider.
Ugnaught
First Star Wars Appearance: Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
First Set Appearance: ‘Ugnaught (Dark Blue Overalls)’ in 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber
The reliable and incredibly hard-working Ugnaught are a well-known species among Star Wars fans. Despite their diminutive size, several notable Ugnaught found their muse in manufacturing and industry. As a matter of fact, many were employed in Cloud City on the gas planet of Bespin by the eccentric Lord Ecclessis Figg, who granted them their freedom from slavery and freedom of the city in exchange for their help in building it.
Ugnaught first appeared in Star Wars: Episode V Empire Strikes Back, with further appearances in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and of course in The Mandalorian, with the slow-spoken yet noble Kuill. Members of the Ugnaught species appeared in 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City and 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber before Kuill appeared in 75331 The Razor Crest, a massive model of Din’s famous spacecraft, with a brand-new head mould.
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Mythrol
First Star Wars Appearance: The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 1
First Set Appearance: ‘The Mythrol’ in 75331 The Razor Crest
Unlike the other sentient species on this list, Mythrol were first detailed in The Mandalorian, and so, there is little information on their culture and lifestyle. This species is amphibian with vibrant blue skin, and with faces adorned with gills and ridges. Mythrol molted when they were young (they were then referred to as ‘fledglings’) and could live for a few hundred years – if they were lucky, in a universe where crime and war run rampant.
The character known as ‘The Mythrol’ in Star Wars: The Mandalorian was a timid yet troublesome young Mythrol with a bounty on his head – enough to attract Din Djarin, the title character from the series. He appears in 75331 The Razor Crest, ready to pester him with claims of credits for his release and vacc tube break requests.
Yoda’s species
First Star Wars Appearance: Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
First Set Appearance: ‘Yoda’ in 7103 Jedi Duel
The most notable species is saved for last. Yoda’s species is mysterious and intertwined with the Force, as seen with Jedi Master Yaddle, Yoda himself and the unforgettable Grogu. Also known as ‘The Child’ and ‘Baby Yoda’, Grogu has made quite a name for himself as an adorable alien infant who’s nonetheless immensely powerful.
Though Yoda’s initial LEGO appearance was made for a set from Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, modern sets tend to include him from his appearance on the swamp planet of Dagobah. Grogu currently appears in seven sets, including the newly-revealed 75363 The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter Microfighter, which releases August 1. Sadly, Yaddle is nowhere to be found, despite her recent appearance in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.