List of sandworms in fictional works

The iconic sandworms of Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe were introduced in the 1965 novel "Dune", the "best-selling science fiction novel of all time."cite web | title="SCI FI Channel Auction to Benefit Reading Is Fundamental" | url=http://pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4302|quote="Since its debut in 1965, Frank Herbert’s "Dune" has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling science fiction novel of all time ... Frank Herbert's "Dune" saga is one of the greatest 20th Century contributions to literature."|accessdate=2006-07-13] Widely considered to be among the classics in the genre, the "Dune" series has been suggested as an influence for many other fictional works created since. George Lucas has noted Herbert's work as one of many inspirations to his "Star Wars" series, [Roberts, Adam. "Science Fiction". New York: Routledge, 2000. pp. 85-90 ISBN 0415192048] [ [http://www.moongadget.com/origins/dune.html "Star Wars" Origins: "Dune"] ] and the concept of giant sandworms has appeared in numerous incarnations.

Film

* In 1983's "", Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are to be thrown into a pit containing a carnivorous Sarlacc while on the desert planet of Tatooine. The Sarlacc is depicted as a ravenous mouth in the sand, ringed with teeth.
* In the 1988 Tim Burton film "Beetlejuice", sandworms exist on Saturn (called "Sandwormland" in the cartoon series) presented as a desert planet to which the dead are transported if they leave the location of their "hauntings."
* In the 1990 film "Tremors", a small town in Nevada is beset by a number of giant sandworms. They move quickly under the sand, and respond to vibrations on the surface.
* In the 2002 film Men in Black II, Agent J (Will Smith) rides the alien named Jeff, who looks almost identical to the original sandworms, albeit a lot smaller in size, of the 1984 Dune film by David Lynch.
* In the 2007 Japanese CGI anime film Vexille apeared metalic sandworms, created from remains of androids and self-improving by hunting androids in desert around Tokyo.

Games

* In the Nintendo GameCube game "F-Zero GX", a sandworm can be seen jumping the track in the background during Lap 1 of the first Sand Ocean level.
* The Nintendo 64 game "" features a boss which resembles a pair of gigantic sandworms called the Twinmold.
* The Nintendo GameCube game "" also features a sandworm-like boss in a sand arena, this one called Molgera..
* The Nintendo 64 game "" features an area in the seventh level which contains an enemy called the Subterranean, a variety of giant worm that burrows through the ground and surfaces to attack the player.
* Final Fantasy V has a sandworm boss. In the next game in the series, Final Fantasy VI, there are desert sandworm enemies who more closely resemble Shai Hulud. Later games in the series have similar looking enemies, commonly called "sandworms".
* The video game character Shadow the Hedgehog has an enemy known as the Sandworm. This Sandworms resembles a "Dune" sandworm, with the exception that STH's Sandworm has a single eye where its mouth would be, and also spits out smaller, missile-like worms.
* In Shadow of the Colossus, the tenth colossi is similar to a sandworm in that it burrows under the sand and is sensitive to vibrations.
*In the video game "", there exist Sandworm-like creatures called Amorbis who are the guardians of the Dark Agon Temple.
* The computer game "" features a mission set on the desert planet of Blenjeel where the player must evade numerous giant worms called Sand Burrowers which are virtually identical to those in "Dune".
* The MMORPG "Guild Wars" features a giant worm-like enemy named Wurm that travels beneath the desert sand, only reaching the surface for attacking unprepared travellers. As the game progresses, player may encounter a few variants of this creature that are able to travel beneath earth, snow, or even volcanic rocks. In the third chapter of the series, Guild Wars Nightfall, players can obtain the ability to ride a special type of worms called Junundu throughout a deadly, sulphuric desert region.
* "World of Warcraft" also has a giant sandworm called "Ouro" as a boss in the dungeon Ahn'Qiraj that a 40-man raid must conquer. He drops various items relating to "Dune" such as the Jom Gabbar, a reference to the Bene Gesserit gom jabbar. The "World of Warcraft" expansion, "", features another giant sandworm named Hai'Shalud.
* In the 2007 third-person shooter video game "", there is a type of Akrid called the Undeep that resembles a massive worm, and attacks on an open snow plain which the player has to traverse.
* Sandworms are common enemies in "Phantasy Star IV" and the "Final Fantasy" series.
* In "Gabriel Knight 3", Gabriel jokingly asks John Wilkes if he is looking for giant sandworms as Wilkes takes seismograph readings. The icon used to prompt Gabriel to ask the question is a picture of a Dune sandworm with splayed trifaceted jaws.
* In "", there is a doodad in the desert tileset that appears to be the skeleton of a sandworm.
* In "Starcraft 2", a planned Zerg unit is called the Nydus Worm, which burrows out of the ground and resembles a Sandworm. It provides transportation for Zerg units.
* In the PC game "Overlord", an area of the game called "The Ruborian Desert" is infested with creatures that resemble sandworms. They are large enough the devour the player's entire horde of minions, and are attracted to any sort of movement on the sand. There is also a giant skeleton of a creature similar to a Dune sandworm that is part of the map.

Music

* The lyrics "Walk without rhythm, and you won't attract the worm" in the Fatboy Slim song "Weapon of Choice" (2000) are dialogue from the 1984 film "Dune", referring to the sandworms.

*The hardcore band Shai Hulud is named after the worms in Dune.

Television

* In the 1997 "Sliders" episode "Paradise Lost" , the Sliders arrive in a small town in a parallel universe where radiation causes an earthworm to mutate into a large, man-eating worm. This creature secretes a substance which gives the townspeople a long lifespan with all the vigor of young adults.
* In Episode 22 "Alternative" of the anime "Trigun" (1998), the team are pursued by sandworms who are also unable to move where there is bedrock.
* In the 2003 "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" episode "Mandy the Merciless" parodying "God Emperor of Dune", Mandy is an immortal giant worm who takes over the world with her "cinnamon mines," and makes clones of Billy in the distant future.

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