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." 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, and the concept of giant sandworms has appeared in numerous incarnations.

Film

• In 1983's Return of the Jedi, 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.
• The 2000 Japanese anime Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust briefly features immense creatures called "sand mantas" - essentially a gigantic manta ray that "swims" under the sand, travels in large groups, and is able to leap into the air and travel some distance over the sands.

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 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask features a boss which resembles a pair of gigantic sandworms called the Twinmold.
• The Nintendo GameCube game The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker also features a sandworm-like boss in a sand arena, this one called Molgera..
• The Nintendo 64 game Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 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, who can be instantly killed with the aqua-breath water spell. In the next game in the series, Final Fantasy VI, there are desert sandworm enemies who more closely resemble Shai Hulud, and take great damage from ice and water spells, but not to the extent of the one in Final Fantasy V. Later games in the series have similar looking enemies, commonly called "sandworms", but they are more resistant to water.
• 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 Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, there exist Sandworm-like creatures called Amorbis who are the guardians of the Dark Agon Temple.
• Antlions, from the computer game Half-Life 2 bear some similarities to Sandworms, being creatures which burrow underground, are attracted by vibration and are adverse to water. However, large thumper devices within the game drive away Antlions, at least in a radius around the thumper, rather than attracting them, as in Dune. When their target runs into the thumper's range, the Antlions will follow, but as soon as the thumper strikes the ground, they shriek in pain (possibly from sensory overload) and back off.
• The computer game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy 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, The Burning Crusade, features another giant sandworm named Hai'Shalud.
• In the constructible strategy game Pirates of the Mysterious Islands, there is a Super Rare Sea Monster named Shaihulud.
• In the 2007 third-person shooter video game Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, 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 Starcraft: Brood War, 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.

Television

• In the 1997 Sliders episode "Paradise Lost" , the Sliders arrive in a small town in a parallel universe where radiation 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.