Hello out there in the Star Wars universe. With Rogue One behind us, we’re still processing all the connections to the OT, PT, and beyond. For today, we’d like to take a look at some recent rumors regarding Episode VIII, and some creatures that may play a role in the film.
Making Star Wars has leaked some details about some creatures on Ahch-To. According to the article, the island that Luke is on is home to some small creatures, about 15 inches (38cm) that are sort of bird-like in nature. The creatures are puppets and possibly CGI, and have sharp teeth. They are described as the Furby’s of Star Wars. If you’ve never seen a Furby, here is a Chewbacca inspired one:
Now, a lot of you might be concerned that this is getting into Ewok territory. This may be a valid and reasonable concern if you don’t like the Ewoks. However, MSW states that everyone that has seen the puppets really speaks of the positively and they like them. Maybe it’s the razor-sharp teeth and the inherent danger that these little guys would present that makes them seem less teddybear-like.
What’s interesting about this leak is that it bears a lot of resemblance to an old 4chan leak. The original 4chan post is here, but the link no longer works. Luckily, some Redditors have saved screen capture of the info. That post has the following info:
Luke has the company of a small animal furry thing on his island, which looks like a cross between a dog, an Ewok, and a lizard.
The similarity is notable, but the MSW article talks about these creatures as being the Star Wars versions of “puffins”, which are native to Skellig Michael. In fact, during the final scenes of The Force Awakens, you can see a number of birds flying around. These creatures could be an attempt to reconcile those real birds with the Star Wars galaxy. Here is what puffins look like:
These birds would be close to the actual size of the creatures on Ahch-To. Here is an artist’s rendition of a “dimorphon puffin”, a cross between a dimorphodon dinosaur and a puffin. It might give a hint of what the Ahch-To creature could look like.
If we are to take the 4chan post seriously, then these guys may have some lizard components to it, and maybe even the puffin beak with teeth looks lizard like. As for the “dog” and “Ewok” comparions, these guys may be furry or something. Definitely these things have “must have Christmas toy” written all over them. It’s also possible that the 4chan post, if true, was based on early concepts that have evolved.
So, what do we expect from this little guy, or these little guys because it sounds like there are a lot of them in addition to Luke’s friend? I would think we will see some comic relief, and possibly a little drama with Rey. That is, according to MSW, the little creatures sees itself as a guardian of the island that at first doesn’t trust Rey. When Rey battles a sea monster, she gains the respect of these little creatures and can walk freely on the island. When we last left Episode VII, Chewbacca and R2D2 were also with Rey by the Falcon, so I also have to wonder if they will encounter these animals. I could see this providing some hilarious comic fun.
This is no doubt dangerous territory. The Ewoks are often much maligned by many Star Wars fans, and if these little Ahch-To bird creatures are too “cutesy” then they could rub some people the wrong way, while at the same time make a lot of younger people happy. Given that the leakers connected to MSW speak of these things positively, I don’t expect them to be too bad.
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