Ewok

Biology and appearance

Ewoks were intelligent humanoids, with an average height of approximately one meter. As omnivores, they were completely covered in fur, with brown and black being the most prevalent colors. While most Ewoks had uniformly colored fur, some exhibited striped patterns. They possessed large, expressive eyes, small humanoid noses, and hands featuring two fingers and an opposable thumb. Despite their diminutive stature, Ewoks possessed considerable physical strength, capable of overpowering combat-trained humans. Furthermore, they possessed the ability to see in darkness and utilized their heightened senses to detect concealed adversaries.

History

Liberating their home

When the Galactic Empire initiated operations on Endor's moon with an occupation, they demolished an Ewok village to construct a shield generator complex. This action forced the survivors to relocate to a nearby village, Bright Tree Village, under the leadership of Chief Chirpa. Princess Leia Organa, a member of a Rebel strike force, encountered and befriended Wicket W. Warrick. Following their meeting, Organa and Warrick witnessed a confrontation between a pair of Imperial stormtroopers and two other Ewoks, but the Rebel princess and Ewok successfully defeated the soldiers.

Organa was then welcomed as a guest in the Ewok village. However, simultaneously, another group of Ewoks captured her fellow rebels, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, R2-D2, and C-3PO. Upon seeing the protocol droid C-3PO, the Ewoks recognized him as the Golden One, a figure they believed had brought balance to Endor millennia ago. Despite the objections of Wicket and Organa, the Ewok shaman Logray attempted to sacrifice them as a feast in honor of C-3PO. However, Skywalker's utilization of the Force to levitate C-3PO, coupled with the droid's warnings, ultimately swayed Chief Chirpa's decision.

That evening, C-3PO recounted the adventures of the Rebel heroes to the Bright Tree's Council of Elders. The Ewoks embraced the Rebels into their tribe and pledged their allegiance to their cause. Numerous Ewok tribes participated in the ground battle to destroy the Imperial shield generator on the forest floor. Their primitive weaponry proved effective against the stormtroopers and the Empire's scout walkers, although they suffered significant casualties from Imperial blaster fire. Their contribution was instrumental in the destruction of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station and the Rebel victory at the Battle of Endor. According to legend, it marked the first time in generations that the Ewoks had engaged in combat. Later that night, the Ewoks held a grand celebration that resonated throughout the forest.

After the Battle of Endor

An Ewok Civil War erupted, compelling C-3PO and New Republic Captain Jaxxon T. Tumperakki to embark on a diplomatic mission to Endor in an effort to resolve the conflict. By two years following the Battle of Endor, many Ewoks had transitioned into caf farmers. Furthermore, at least one Ewok, Peekpa, had secured employment with the New Republic as a slicer.

When a galaxy-wide uprising against the First Order commenced, Endor was among the worlds to rise up. Warrick and his son, Pommet Warrick, witnessed the destruction of a First Order Resurgent-class Star Destroyer through a Holdo maneuver.

Ewoks in the galaxy

Despite their rudimentary technology and isolated homeworld, Ewoks were not entirely unknown in the broader galaxy. During the Clone Wars, "Ewok Jerky" was available for purchase at Power Sliders, a diner situated on the planet Abafar. In addition, certain Ewoks had been known to leave their homeworld and had been sighted throughout the galaxy even before the Clone Wars.

As a form of compensation for their role in saving Endor, some Ewoks volunteered to travel offworld to assist Rebel veterans in their recovery, collaborating with Doctor Arsad as "therapy Ewoks." Therapy Ewoks were offered to individuals who had experienced the horrors of war, such as witnessing tragedy, and required assistance with their healing process. Those who found this option unappealing were sometimes provided with a therapy droid instead.

Culture

By the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Ewoks had evolved to a level of civilization where they participated in religious, artistic, medical, and even political endeavors, communicating in their native language of Ewokese. Nevertheless, their primary focus remained on the daily acquisition of food. They had developed expertise in pottery, hunting, the construction of intricate wooden structures, and the creation of fire. While the majority of their lives were spent in the treetops, certain members of the tribe were required to venture onto the forest floor to gather berries, collect herbs, and hunt. During the warmer summer months, some Ewoks resided in fishing villages or hunting and farming lodges on the forest floor. They utilized ponies and bordoks to transport supplies between settlements, while remaining vigilant against formidable predators and other sentient beings, such as the Yuzzums. Existing in harmony with nature, Ewoks dwelled high among the trees of Endor's forest moon, in villages constructed among the closely spaced trees. The canopies of the towering trees were populated with watchers who could alert the tribe to approaching gorax or condor dragons, and could employ gliders to patrol the lands beyond their immediate village. Bachelors, conversely, often lived on the ground, maintaining watch for even greater threats, such as Duloks, who frequently emerged from the swamps to prey on Ewoks and lantern birds.

The Ewoks were profoundly spiritual. They held the surrounding giant trees in reverence and believed themselves to be descendants of the "Great Tree," a sacred tree within the forests. The legend of the Golden One recounted a deity that granted the Ewoks the ability to live in light. Following the arrival of C-3PO and his rebel allies, which led the Ewoks into the Battle of Endor, the legend proclaimed that the Golden One had returned to answer their prayers. The conifer trees inhabited by Ewoks were also resistant to fire and served as a natural insect repellent.

The fundamental design of a tree village incorporated a "Central Village" of thatched-roof huts situated on the primary limbs. These huts were elevated sufficiently above the ground to be beyond the reach of predators. Suspended bridges connected the gaps between trees, linking distant huts. Knotted rope ladders provided access both upwards and downwards. Food, kindling, and other provisions were stored beneath the floor of the Ewoks' dwellings, while woven sleeping mats and furs were kept in the lofts above. Hoods, capes, and tools adorned the walls.

Within Ewok society, the chief, the medicine man, and the Council of Elders held the most prominent positions, with each individual Ewok tribe governed by a distinct council.

The Ewoks delighted in singing and playing music during celebrations, festivals, and rituals. During the Ewok and Rebel celebration following the destruction of the Death Star II, an Ewok in Bright Tree Village utilized a collection of Imperial stormtrooper and naval trooper helmets as drums, producing a diverse range of tones.

The Ewoks employed an array of weapons, encompassing nets, knives, stone spears, slingshots, bows, arrows, wooden battering rams, rolling logs, and catapults. During the Battle of Endor, they hurled large rocks at stormtroopers, employed ropes to unseat scout troopers from their speeder bikes, and toppled and crushed the larger AT-STs with logs. Notable hunters would slit the throats of Imperial officers with their knives.

Furthermore, they possessed at least a basic understanding of walker movements, as evidenced by two Ewoks piloting an AT-ST alongside Chewbacca shortly after hijacking it.

Behind the scenes

George Lucas envisioned a primitive race overthrowing the Empire in what was originally intended as the concluding episode. Initially, he had planned to use Wookiees, but he ultimately decided against it after establishing that Chewbacca was already proficient with technology. His solution was to conceive a new race called Ewoks, a name derived from "Wookiee" with the syllables reversed and modified to resemble the name of a Native American people, the Miwok.

In the audio commentary for the 2004 re-release of Return of the Jedi, as well as the documentary Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, Lucas also identified the Viet Cong as the primary inspiration for the Ewoks, particularly in their defeat of the Galactic Empire.

Stuart Freeborn designed the Ewok masks. At one point during filming, the Ewok actors staged a strike, donning t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "REVENGE OF THE EWOKS." After their coach driver, who had agreed to let the actors onto set early for their strike, arrived with an empty bus, the actors emerged from a hill and began shouting "revenge." Margo Apostolos, who portrayed the Ewok warrior Tokkat in the film, recounted the event as a memorable experience to Star Wars Insider, noting that their protest frightened the crew. The Ewoks are never specifically named in the dialogue of Return of the Jedi; the name only appeared in the script directions, the novelization, the movie's credits, and various spin-off and promotional materials.

Ewoks are featured in the 2017 video game, Star Wars Battlefront II. In multiplayer modes such as Galactic Assault and Co-op, Ewok hunters serve as the Rebel Alliance's infiltrator class, available for players to select. Battlefront II also includes Ewoks in a game mode called Ewok Hunt, where a group of players are chosen to play as Stormtroopers on Endor, while the remaining players become Ewoks. The Stormtroopers are tasked with defending themselves against the attacking Ewoks while awaiting the arrival of an evacuation shuttle.