With a loyal fan following and even entire sections of the Disneyland and Disney World theme parks, “Star Wars” is without a doubt one of the biggest and most famous franchises in the world. Before Disney acquired the rights to “Star Wars” in 2012, the franchise had already produced six motion pictures and a television series. Since then, a number of fresh movies and television shows have been released, including the most recent canon film trilogy.
The bizarre creatures that appear in “Star Wars,” whether in the movies or on television, may vary from cute to downright terrifying. The Ewoks of the planet Endor were first featured in “The Return of the Jedi” of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, and viewers fell instantly in love with the charming teddy-bear-like animals.
The Porgs are one of the most recent teeny, immensely adorable additions to the movies. They originally debuted on the planet Ahch-To in “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi,” where Luke Skywalker lived in seclusion during his self-imposed exile. The tiny, bird-like creatures with large eyes that cover the island and lack beaks are evident in practically every scene.
Porgs played a specific role in The Last Jedi
Porgs are lovely, but it’s not a coincidence that they didn’t feature in any movies until “The Last Jedi.” The Porg was created for a very clear purpose. The actual creatures are really a camouflage for an actual animal that didn’t belong in the “Star Wars” setting. Off the coast of Ireland, on the island of Skellig Michael, which was used for filming “The Last Jedi,” puffins often gather there as a natural refuge. Porgs were created to hide the large number of puffins that resided at the filming area.
Rian Johnson, the film’s writer and director, understood that it would be practically difficult to cut out each individual puffin, so he came up with the idea to replace them with Porgs. The Porgs blended seamlessly into the plot because “Star Wars” is already the home to several alien animals. Their appearance is influenced by a variety of species. In an interview with StarWars.com, Porg concept artist Jake Lunt Davis revealed which species made the cut. “It was influenced by a puffin, a seal, and a pug dog. the large eyes of a seal or the large eyes and somewhat comical or unattractive face of a pug dog. Pug dogs aren’t necessarily adorable by nature, after all.”
In addition to providing fans of the franchise with something they never realised they needed—another charming species among the many planets of “Star Wars”—creating the Porgs relieved one of the stresses of filming on location.
