"Dune" Director blames Ewoks for derailing Star Wars (Do fans agree?)

[@kalzium8857]

The Ewoks may be not the best idea, but derailing star wars? No. The Ewoks can be easily ignored in future star wars projects. I mean they stay on Endor.

[@johnbox271]

Ewoks: "The Search for More Money"

[@dereklopez9060]

Some people say the Ewoks was a bit too silly, but I personally don't mind at all. Let's be honest, riding horses on top of a Star Destroyer in TROS was even more ridiculous as they could've just tilted the ship downwards, and all of the Rebels would've fallen to their deaths.

[@Thed538dhsk]

And couldn't the armour by the empire withstand rocks throwing by some space teddy bears?

[@Steel-101]

@@dereklopez9060 I actually liked the armada with the Star Destroyers(with the Death Star lasers). It’s an awesome idea but like you said, it was executed poorly and I agree. It didn’t have a decent buildup throughout the trilogy, it was just a last minute idea.

[@mortemtyrannus8813]

@@Thed538dhsk Eventually, a rock or sharpened stick is going to find a gap in their armour. Especially when you look at how the armour was designed.

[@Thed538dhsk]

@mortemtyrannus8813 so will poor writing. Why would Palpatine as the emperor have the forest moon if Endor be the base instead of fortifying the location on an uninhabited planet with only his soldiers to protect it? It'd be like the US military having its nuke silos placed in a US territory that has hostile yet unpowerful natives?

[@Skölly-b6h]

@@Thed538dhsk rocks can still do damage to you even if you’re wearing armor blunt trauma is still a thing

[@ColeTrainWayne]

I’m tired of EWOK SLANDER, those MFers would be TERRIFYING! I actually like the Ewoks; granted 80s it looks goofy but in terms of SW they’re basically mini primitive Wookies who’re in their Stone Age, they’re also seriously strong compared to a human they were Carrying by Han and Luke easily on those roast turners; sure the bows and arrows and rocks look goofy and ineffective but realistically they would work even on Stormtroopers; Like one of the SCARIEST predators on the world is a Bear; IMAGINE if our bears evolved into a caveman type intelligence

[@Bayard1503]

The Death Star was being built there to exterminate the Ewok threat as soon as possible.

[@ericbrown8627]

They are not called Murder Bears for nothing.

[@tk-6967]

It doesn't just look goofy, the movie treats them as such, and we shouldn't pretend that the film wanted to portray them as brutal. If were are talking in the fandom, it is different, but as a normie/film review take, the Ewok slander is pretty warranted.

[@leebaker5141]

Terrifying 😂😂 stop it dude... stupid dumb slow little teddy bears stuck out like a sore thumb, while they didn't derail the trilogy the hatred is warrented.

[@ryanb9749]

The downfall of Star Wars was when Disney ignored Georges input for the sequel trilogy and developed their own "plan."

[@chasehedges6775]

💯💯Definitely. You always let the creator cook.

[@christopherdavis5297]

It was pretty arrogant of Disney to think they could make better Star Wars than the man who created it.

[@dereklopez9060]

Funny thing is, they never had a plan.

[@ryanb9749]

@dereklopez9060 they did have a plan. And at first glance it made sense. "Hire whoever talented wirters/directors are making billion dollar movies and let them make a star wars." At face value that sounds really good. But the lack of an underlying vision destroyed whatever quality was on the surface

[@ryanb9749]

@dereklopez9060 actually I'd argue that their plan worked for a little while. They created 4 seemingly good movies, and then ruined 3 of them. (Rogue One, Solo, Obi Wan, Solo)

[@Sam-VhosKheella-cj3yu]

The Star Wars's downfall started 12 years ago when Disney bought the rights

[@SendReinforcements]

Ewoks are WAAAAAAAAAY better than Porgs or the crystal foxes when it comes to obvious attempts at marketing. Not to mention that other than the Gungans, the Ewoks are the most in-depth view of an alien culture we see on the big screen (tv shows not included)

[@russellharrell2747]

Ewoks were the definition of obvious marketing. They rank up there with ET and Gizmo.

[@discobroccoli198]

Teddy bears are not cooler than crystal foxes, let’s be real.

[@emberfist8347]

@@discobroccoli198They are. These teddy bears are guerrilla fighters who subsist on other sentient beings. Those foxes just looked silly.

[@MrNisse-ef9by]

The Ewoks were actually a pretty poetic addition to the story. Here you have some unassuming little furballs, that essentially represent "the little guy" standing up to an overwhelming force intent on conquering their territory. This is basically the heart and soul of "Rebellion" itself. When "the little guy" says enough is enough, and fights back.

[@chasehedges6775]

EXACTLY!

[@ExistentHope]

I love that the Ewok symbolizes fighting against the oppressive powers.

[@xtrafunk]

in the context of star wars fans, I think this is very common knowledge - not least of which because Lucas has explicitly framed the Ewoks as a loose Vietnam allegory. to which, yes, there are definitely elements that are clearly borrowed from the real world, mainly at the thematic level in terms of depicting asymmetrical guerilla warfare and hegemonic hubris on the part of the Empire. but "intent on conquering"? nah. Endor was of no real geopolitical importance and in fact chosen as a staging ground for precisely that reason. the Empire's presence was mostly limited to a single shield installation. Moreover the analogy also has a dark flipside, wherein it could reasonably be argued that the rebels themselves were guilty of exploiting and conscripting an indigenous population into a conflict they neither understood nor had any vested interest in pursuing.

[@michaellane5381]

​@@xtrafunkI think on the contrary, the 2nd Death Star was destined to destroy Endor at full operational capacity to maintain secrecy, just as the slaves who constructed it were killed. All the Imperials would have needed to do is transport the slaves onto Endor claiming humane release then blow it up and their mess was cleaned.

[@xtrafunk]

@@michaellane5381 that is neither stated or even implied, nor would it be logically necessary so the whole justification just kind of fails on every dimension

[@arctic_shrew_87]

The singing and dancing CGI weevil in Jabba's palace took me out of the movie far more than the Ewoks ever did.

[@muskatDR]

Something people rarely bring up was that the empire wasnt expecting the Ewok or possibly even aware of their existance. They were expecing rebels and so sent a smaller force down, and since palpatine sent the plans to the rebels it make sense that they wouldnt send a too large force that would alert the rebels that something were up. Before the Ewok shows up the empire has pretty much the rebel soldiers beaten and cornered. Only when an surprise attack hits them the battle turn and the rebels are able to turn the shield off after a delay that almost made the rebel fleet pull back and wouldve if Lando didnt put faith in Han

[@chasehedges6775]

Revenge Of The Sith(2005) and Ewoks The Battle For Endor(1985)are my personal favorites. They’re great. And the Ewoks are awesome

[@ryanb9749]

Didodididoo dididididi didodidido!

[@chasehedges6775]

😂😂😂

[@ryanb9749]

@chasehedges6775 battle of the heroes never stops.

[@chasehedges6775]

Battle Of The Heroes is 🔥. Amazing piece of music that goes perfectly with the Mustafar duel between Anakin and Kenobi.

[@GrievousReborn]

The Ewoks are fine there's a lot of people in the Old Republic MMO that like the Ewok companion Treek

[@blacksun6245]

😂 She's one. Of my favorite companions

[@IzzosPlace]

For anyone that thinks they’re overpowered would you say they’re Beary Sue’s???? I’ll see myself out now……

[@RedLeader327]

😑 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@StarryDrukhari]

The Ewoks were just the most visible symptom of ROTJ's larger problem: its tonal shift. And that tonal shift has contaminated every Star Wars project ever since, with the exception of Rogue One and Andor.

[@richardsylvester4518]

I fail to see how Ewoks have anything to do with Star Wars after 1980. They were part of the origional trilogy and have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the failure of star wars post Disney. Defenders love to go back and rail ok what didn't work in the past as if that's an excuse for modern issues. Past issues should be learned from, not used an excuse for modern failures.

[@jamesmacleod9382]

Well they did have an Ewoks cartoon show in the 80s. The question is, is the show part of canon. I'll leave that to the die hard fans to tussle over.

[@BarefootPeasant]

Not a fan of Ewoks myself, but yeah, RoTJ was definitely a turning point for the franchise. Several decisions deviated from the path that the first two films were on, and for better or worse, set the path for everything else that followed. I agree with Villeneuve that it was not for the better. Michael Kaminski's "Secret History of Star Wars" does a great job referencing interviews that Lucas and others gave right from the beginning, and it's easy to see how and where the story concept evolved.

[@adriandenton6637]

....and...millions of kids didn't give a sh1t

[@russellharrell2747]

@@adriandenton6637this kid definitely noticed that RotJ was….different. Just not as good as the rest of the trilogy. For me it wasn’t necessarily the Ewoks, or all the burping the muppets did at Jabba’s palace, or the way boba went out like a chump, or even the reuse of the ‘blow up the deathstar’ plot. Not even the shoehorned revelation of Leia being Luke’s sister. It’s Chewie giving a Tarzan yell while swinging on a vine. That totally took me out of any suspension of disbelief. Thankfully the throne room scenes and Vader’s funeral helped bring the movie somewhat back from failure, but, man, Chewbacca doing his best impression of Johnny Weissmuller just smacked me in the face when I was 7 watching RotJ in the theater during the premiere weekend. It hit me, right at that moment. This movie, was a joke. George spent millions on a 2 hour commercial for his merch, and to tell the world’s longest joke. Of course I still played with the toys, slept in the bed sheets, put the poster on the wall, and pretended it was all fine. But it wasn’t. Star Wars had changed. And it was over. I just didn’t know it at the time.

[@adriandenton6637]

@@russellharrell2747 Hahahaha...I get sarcasm...Dara Ó Briain told the same story about the prequels...

[@jurassicroom7673]

I named my dog Wicket so yes Ewoks for life!

[@noramarien]

I was your age Thor when the RotJ came out so I saw the Ewoks cute and funny at the time. As I got older, I find the ESB is the best SW film but I still have a love and fondness for the Ewoks. I love the cute, silliness that is often sprinkled through Star Wars since the beginning and I certainly don’t want to deprive future generations of young fans the fun and hope that Star Wars gave me by constantly tearing down the parts that are obviously for the youngest of fans.

[@adriandenton6637]

This new trend of analysing (with nearly 40 years of extra knowledge) an 80s film is weird. The ewoks were fkin great end of story.

[@noramarien]

@@adriandenton6637exactly 🫡

[@MCsCreations]

The Ewoks worked great in my opinion. They didn't defeat the Empire, but they definitely helped (and paid a huge price). But another argument is exactly that they were at their own planet. Their home. So, of course they'd have some small success.

[@theanonymouscritic1710]

I’m just going to say it: I love Denis Villeneuve as a director and I’m a fan of his films but I respectfully and strongly disagree with him on the Ewoks.

[@chasehedges6775]

Same here.

[@WillieHoule]

I am one of the guy who have issue with Return of the Jedi, I love all the stuff about Luke and Vader but Han's rescue from Jabba is kind of a mess that drags on and it ruins Boba Fett with his silly "death". Then when they land on Endor we waste like a third of the movie with the Ewoks singing and dancing until the third act when stuff finally happens. But it does land the ending and it give a powerful emotional conclusion with Vader's redemption and Luke being with his friend celebrating their victory over the empire.

[@adriandenton6637]

You have an opinion nearly 40 years later and with 40 years extra life knowledge?

[@wookieezzz2551]

Yeah even the Boba Fett thing can be excused because George didn't realize how popular and important the character would be going fowards. There's an interview of him saying that he would have changed his death if he knew how important he was. But yeah, Return of the Jedi is goated

[@CrazyxEnigma]

Why was Boba Fett even seen as cool enough to ruin? He was just a guy in armor that stood around and didn't do much of anything before he got a backstory many years after the fact.

[@Regibump37]

⁠@@CrazyxEnigma That might be because we never saw what he did, but rather the presence he emitted in the movie. He was the only Bounty Hunter who had to be warned directly not to kill the crew on the ship, was constantly barking at Vader about his money without being threatened, and fitted in so casually along the Empire (potentially because his original concept was to be an Advanced Stormtrooper). Even then, it’s not fair to say he did nothing. He managed to outsmart Han by predicting how he’d evade the Empire while simultaneously predicting his course quickly enough that Vader could ambush them there. Not to mention that he caught wind of Luke spying on him when nobody else could, with his surprise blaster fire causing him to miss his shot at saving Han.

[@Ryglado]

He’s not wrong. The rot started with Return of the Jedi. The ewoks could have worked but another Death Star was dumb.

[@Pa1ad1no]

Should have been Wookies.

[@abthedragon4921]

This reminds me of the people who are surprised when Gungans are shown to be capable in combat. "Oh, this enemy must have gotten nerfed, they got beaten by a race of Jar Jars." Bro, Jar Jar is an outlier, the Gungans are very capable warriors, artisans and scholars and yeah, when the going gets tough, can be relied upon. While the Ewoks aren't exactly the best in any of those categories, they can be valuable asset under the right circumstances.

[@HighHeelKnight]

THINK, PEOPLE! THINK! 🤔🤔🤔 Would it really have been surprising if a bunch of 7 to 8 foot tall sasquatch warriors attacked the Empire troops? Not to mention the logistical improbability of finding a couple dozen 7 to 8 foot tall stunt men to portray the Woolies. I love the Ewoks. I will always love the Ewoks. I loved them as a child. I love them more as an adult. I them as an aspiring writer myself. Loved the television movies. Loved the cartoon The only way I will stop loving the Ewoks is if I literally experience some kind of cognitive decline or injury.

[@seancrowley3142]

@@HighHeelKnight excellent point. Ewoks beating the Empire is much more surprising and ultimately satisfying, works better for the movie overall than the Wookies would have. Besides, one can easily see Sidious overlooking, ignoring the Ewok population. There is no way he would overlook a population of Wookies.

[@adriandenton6637]

You don't need to justify one of the biggest films ever that's 40 year old.

[@wookieezzz2551]

The Ewoks are an age old story of the smaller group fighting for their homes against invaders. I mean it's essentially Vietnam vs the USA but with teddy bears. Of course the camouflaged 3 ft tall little bears who know the Forrest infinitely more than the invaders with traps set up all around the place who are fighting for their survival are going to take out the invaders. Also plays into the whole Yoda "Size matters not" philosophy

[@whythatspreposterous]

Ewoks work thematically, no two ways about it. Wookies would absolutely wipe the floor with imperial ground troops - they have a massive physical and technological advantage over the Ewoks and the balance of power would be different in the same situation. George might have dialed it too far towards a 'kiddy' vibe in certain parts, with the cuteness and the comic relief etc. But he also made it clear that Ewoks weren't just fuzzy jungle care bears - they'd absolutely skin you like a Predator and eat you for dinner - and they had battle smarts - it was just those elements didn't stand out as much as their fuzziness. But the Jawas - funny, cute little guys, too. R2 also. Yoda... Ewoks weren't a stretch in SW, by any means. Yub nub, however... I'm torn about that...

[@CurlCascade]

I think an extreme comparison is the gungan vs droid battle, Jar-Jars antics don't take away or detract from the cool battle at all, right, right?!? For some people I think their threshold for that sort of thing is just lower.

[@John_Locke_108]

Lol. Yes. Yes he does. That battle is horrible and unwatchable.

[@adriandenton6637]

@@John_Locke_108 I always liked it and wouldn't be aware of any hate towards it without the internet drama.

[@strategicperson95]

Yeah I'm agreeing with that. There's always some levity that is needed for the serious stuff for kids. To those that seem to hate even a little levity, I can only feel sorry for them cause they apparently only want everything "serious". Which is why I laugh at the Battle of Hoth. It's taken so seriously but the events that happen in the battle are so stupid it's more laugh worthy for trying to make take it seriously when there are so many battle mistakes on all sides, and I don't even have to rip into the awful design concept of the AT-AT. This is also why I say people like this aren't Star Wars fans, they're Empire Strikes Back fans. Though they seem to forget Yoda was there for levity too, though they'll come up with in story reasons, which I don't disagree with. But I stick to my stance, these aren't Star Wars fans, they're Empire Strikes Back fans.

[@Solo13508]

My favorite thing with the Ewoks was the Ewok Hunt mode from Battlefront 2. Closest you'll ever get to playing a Star Wars horror game and ironically it's the "teddy bears" who are hunting you down in frightening manner.

[@emberfist8347]

Want to play a Star Wars horror game? I recommend Republic Commando the second mission arc is basically Alien.

[@gnbman]

It's better to just ignore idiotic statements like this instead of dignifying them with a response.

[@chasehedges6775]

True 💯💯💯💯.

[@Bayard1503]

Everything makes sense if you understand the Ewok Line

[@adriandenton6637]

This new SW revisionism is damm annoying. Every fooker is a film critic and an expert nowadays.

[@splurb5000]

I was 20 RotJ came out, the ewoks kind of gutted the movie of any seriousness for me. I never thought of Star Wars as a kids movie but this one seemed aimed at kids more than adults. Empire seemed like a more adult version of the original film, if you were expecting this to continue, RotJ is a huge let down.

[@khal7702]

exactly it depends at what age u saw it

[@John_Locke_108]

Lucas didn't have a choice. The Wookie costumes were expensive plus he couldn't find enough 7 foot actors. So he had to pivot and do ewoks.

[@decay79]

So you think initially it was supposed to be wookies ? Would have been a lot more cool..

[@John_Locke_108]

​@@decay79Yes. I think I got the info from the documentary on Lucas Arts that's on Disney Plus Similar thing happened with the Holiday Special. The Wookies are wearing red robes at the end because they ran out of costumes and couldn't make more because they were out of money.

[@russellharrell2747]

George has been attempting his original idea for Star Wars side the early 70s. The original script called for Wookiees on the moon of Yavin to pilot Star fighters in the battle against the Death Star. The early scripts also had a cloud city and an asteroid chase where the main hero ship hides. He mined those scripts for ideas well into his writing for the prequels as well. His idea to ‘chop the Wookiees in half to make Ewoks’ was born out of this idea that he must make use of all of his earlier material. The aliens in Endor could have been literally ANYTHING, guys in rubber suits, puppets, stop motion, humans painted green, whatever. But he insisted on little people dressing up like tribal teddy bears because he wanted miniature primitive Wookiees.

[@Ryglado]

The movie was going to be a guaranteed box office smash and somehow there was not the budget for costumes? I don’t buy it.

[@JacobHolt-b3j]

@@John_Locke_108, Carrie Fisher when she was hosting some cable marathon of the OT in the early 90’s said originally it was supposed to be Wookiees. Now her claim was it was because George liked the idea of a more primitive alien race fighting the Empire but felt by the third movie that people would not buy Wookiees in that role. Hard to know the real reason for the switch, although I would not be surprised if both were a consideration

[@lordcarnorjax8599]

The Ewoks fighting the Storm Troopers had the initial element of surprise and had the upper hand, causing the Imperials to be disorganised. Once the Imperials regroup and get organised they start kicking the Ewoks ass. It was Chewie, a Wookie, taking over a AT-ST that turns the tide of the battle again to the Ewoks & Rebels favour. Once again the Imperials underestimate their opponents.

[@ankuriboh]

I didn’t really care for the Ewoks and would have preferred Return of the Jedi see them liberate Wookiee forced to work on the Death Star, and tie that into Chewbacca’s history somehow, rather than have the heroes happen upon teddy bears that help beat the empire. However, even after explaining that, I don’t think that Ewoks derailed Star Wars. I think that was Disney having no plan for the trilogy. For context I never saw any Star Wars movie before the fall of 2020 and, according to How I Met Your Mother, if you’re an adult you hate them but if you’re a kid you love them.

[@decay79]

Thing to remember is that it was not an army, it was a let's be honest rather large force there to capture the rebel scum who where there to take the shields down, are there any left tho ? as i recall it we do not see any troopers left after, and matter of fact i believe they are on the evenings dinner plan.. One can then wonder in the tactical brilliance of Palpatine in giving them the actual location of the shield generators instead of a fake location, drawing them in but risking nothing. My problem is not the evoks so much as the whole way too primitive arms v. high tech equipment, arrows should be useless against armor that one would guess advanced.. The rock dropping sure fine, altitude + weight will at the very least knock a guy out of the fight.. But the bows n spears are just silly..

[@blargen6953]

The bows and spears make sense if you consider how strong an Ewok would probably really be. They live in treetops, it's reasonable to assume they have insane muscle strength akin to a chimp. If you got hit by a rock or spear by one of them it's going to do way more damage than a human wielding it, despite the size difference.

[@seancrowley3142]

Fair criticism. I’ve stated before that the idea of a primitive force defending their home is good. Lucas’ execution of said idea could have been better but I definitely get what he was going for.

[@nobiggie7786]

I really don't mind the ewoks, they're fun and cute and surprisingly smart for bears, which is fun to watch!. But I do think they overstayed their welcome, much like Jar Jar. There were just a bit *too* many scenes focused on them for my taste. If a few extra scenes had been cut, they would have been perfectly fine

[@Rathadude]

My problem with his statement wasn't criticism of the Ewoks themselves (I think having issues with their implementation into the story is fair criticism) it was the implication that the issue was simply that he had grown out of Star Wars and was no longer the target audience. It's the classic Star Wars is for kids argument used to explain why something is bad and indeed the person writing the article on theses statements uses Villeneuve's words to suggest Star Wars fans are too harsh on the sequels because they're judging them by adult standards. Which is dumb because for one, there are many people who saw the first Star Wars for the first time as adults and loved it despite not being the target audience. Secondly, those kinds of assertions are underestimating said target audience. People who say Star Wars is for kids seem to be envisioning 6-8 year olds when George Lucas specifically said he made it for 12 year old boys. At that age you start to develop more of your own standards for movies. Just because something is for kids doesn't give it license to be bad. There are stories told for kids that are high quality and sometimes simple stories can be better told than more complex stories written for adults. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is a great example. Like Star Wars it's a simple hero's journey but it's a very good hero's journey.

[@holywarz]

Remember, the wookies were supposed to be in ROTJ instead of the Ewoks, but Lucas decided to shrink them down, make them more cute, and sell more toys. This, and the decision to do another Death Star were, among some other decisions, what caused Lucas and Kurtz (executive producer of the first two) to part ways.

[@adriandenton6637]

And...millions of kids didn't give sh1t

[@jeremyfields9009]

Kasdan even tried to get Lucas to get rid of the Ewoks and the 2nd Death Star. This was truly the beginning of Lucas ignoring his creative partners and doing silly stuff.

[@emberfist8347]

Lucas was forced to use the Death Star for Episode IV he wanted it for the final movie all along.

[@brucewayne1662]

@@jeremyfields9009 What was he supposed to do? A planet/ space station hybrid like they did in TFA? A vacuum cleaner like they did in space balls? Kurtz was let go towards the end of TESB because he let the budget get out of control. Lucas originally had an idea for TWO Death Stars. So apparently he was still listening to collaboraters.

[@jeremyfields9009]

@ Kasdan wanted him to get rid of the two Death Stars, Endor/Ewoks and keep the imperial capital Had Abaddon since it was unique and different. He wouldn’t budge on the Ewoks saying he would have to rewrite the whole story. Also he couldn’t come up with a way for the rebels could defeat the planet without blowing it up.

[@majinmoke]

let’s be real here: the Empire didn’t expect the Ewoks. they underestimated the situation as they tend to do. just as they have underestimated the rebels the whole time. (one of Andors themes) as Luke said “your overconfidence is your weakness” short answer: there’s nothing in that movie that could’ve detracted from all the high points!

[@MrWhiskers65]

As a kid I loved all Star Wars, especially Empire and Return of the Jedi. As I got older I began to love Empire Strikes Back more and Return of the Jedi less… and that’s where I stand today.

[@devilapproved]

Not quite ruined, but yes, they wrecked the mood and gravity of an otherwise excellent movie.

[@seancrowley3142]

Ewoks definitely didn’t ruin ROTJ or Star Wars. They were taking high casualties and being blown apart. But of course they can’t show fur and blood all over the place 🙃 Also, those two Ewok spin off movies were actually really good! Kinda dark for kids but they did produce one of the best bittersweet endings of all time imho. The two movies also expanded on the lore of Endor, really showing just how magical and mysterious the forest moon actually is. It’s amazing to me that Lucas can take a random group of “space teddy bears” and make two movies that are better than anything Disney has done (Rouge One and Andor being exceptions).

[@John_Locke_108]

We do see one ewok die and his buddy crying over his furry corpse.

[@seancrowley3142]

@@John_Locke_108 yes, but that’s the only one that was shown and in “real life” their would have been furry, bloody, burnt bears all over the place🫢

[@jonathanryan9946]

I'm a proud owner of Caravan of Courage and Battle for Endor on DVD. They told a better narrative than either of the last two Sequel films, which were utter messes narratively. Yes, the Sequels we targeted at an older audience, had better budget and even better actors (even if they had just as bad of dialogue)... but still, the Ewok films told their story perfectly fine for their target audience and didn't ruin anything else to do so. Heck, even in RotJ, the Ewoks were a well put together analogy of the local population surprising the technologically superior military. Yes, they'd be destroyed in any follow-up battle once the Empire stopped underestimating them to digress, but still they fit Lucas's core concept well enough... yes, Wookiees would have been cooler than Ewoks, but Lucas admitted he felt it didn't work anymore due to Chewbacca having a bowcaster. Which is understandable. So we just have to accept They're not everyone's preferred way to envision Lucas's idea but they work. They didn't ruin anything, they just weren't what many wanted, which is fine. However saying they ruined Star Wars feels like a strawman fallacy, a deflection to imply everything since Ewoks is terrible so we shouldn't complain. Which it utterly crazy when you examine the logical conclusion of that statement.

[@greyworld6242]

What these furry ass Care Bears did is nothing compared to what Disney has been doing!

[@SecondBreakfastAndThreeH-zo3jp]

A big issue is that Disney continues to copy the annoying kiddie stuff like the Ewoks and Dave Filoni's other cute alien creatures. Same with Grogu, who the majority of fans are sick of. Besides Andor, the maturity and grittiness is gone. The speeder bikes took me out of TBOBF, the Little Leia chase scenes took me out of Kenobi, the Jack Black and Lizzo episode took me out of The Mandalorian, and the kiddie hermit crab creatures and Disneyfied Wargs took me out of Ahsoka. They continue to reach out to kids and casuals while disrespecting the OG fans.

[@michaellane5381]

They NEED to reach out to kids, without them SW is dead in like 20 years, I agree they need some adult oriented content too like a "Blade Runner" type story(not just "adult"/sexy, but themed older or in other genre like Horror or military history).

[@morgansheppy1584]

I’m the same age as Thor and had a similar experience. Rotj is my favourite one!

[@jimmneedle]

Na- If Denis movies were perfect, I'd give him a pass but his movies usually feel like they have been studio noted to hell - so they look beautiful but end up being braindead from plot holes and other issues.

[@luciferfernandez7094]

Yeah, I mean, the ambiguous spiders of Enemy, or torture scenes in Prisoner and Sicario, or the memory loop of Amy Adams - yeah, all typical studio notes to entice bigger audiences - what a hack Villeneuve is.

[@just_delightful]

@@luciferfernandez7094 Having Amy Adams not aged up at the beginning of Arrival may be one of the dumbest cinematic decisions of all time. yeah, that feels like a studio note. In Blade Runner, all the people getting blasted away before the sweat shop scene with no impact on the overarching story, yeah, dumb studio note (and 50 other bad decisions in Blade Runner, beautiful movie but brain dead. Enemy is hardly a "studio" movie so don't be disingenuous with lumping that in. Sicario is written so well that it was impervious to studio interference. Prisoner is ok but guess what, the ending was ruined by a studio note.

[@charliemurphy6457]

I remember hearing that Lucas was originally going to use wookies but felt they were too advanced/capable against the empire and wanted a bigger difference in power between them

[@bobbymauro3721]

Ewoks were no more an issue than Jawas were, and trust me I was there. A lot of people cried when that Ewok died during the final battle. As for Villeneuve, he’s a HUGE SW fan! He would LOVE to drop a trilogy but ZERO chance under the current administration. ROTJ along with DUNE (1 & 2) are amazing movies!

[@rawnchydeard4669]

FFS. KK has done far more to shovel 6 feet of dirt onto the smouldering corpse of Star Wars. It’s literally all her fault.

[@Luks2820]

I don't like them either, even less when I was a kid. Children like badass things like Darth Vader, not teddy bears. But no, they didn't ruin the movie.

[@anthonycrayne2835]

Ewoks were awesome and still are. What killed star wars for me was disney and their shit story telling.

[@terrythompson1873]

Hey Thor. THIS IS HILARIOUS!! He was 15 years old. He too, was a kid!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@IHateHoldo]

Teenager, and by that age, you begin to notice when you're being spoon-fed crap

[@bmarshy]

I agree 100%. Yes the whole opening act with Jabba's palace might feel a little useless in retrospect, and the Ewoks despite the underlying metaphor of how they are a more primitive people fending off a much larger technologically advanced empire, might seem like nothing more than a gimmick for children if you were an older audience member in 1983. But to me, Return of the Jedi is one of the most inspiring movies ever made. The opening act is just pure fun - even the special edition version of the song in Jabba's palace, I love it! After that, Yoda dies and Luke is on his own for the greatest challenge he'll ever face. And when confronted with pure evil, he lays down his weapon in the name of compassion and declares himself a Jedi. And that celebration scene at the end when we get to see all our characters and everyone across the galaxy rejoicing for freedom? And man, that music... It brings me to tears every time.

[@djashovel]

(Star wars vs warhammer ) Impossible. Stars danced at his command, rolled in the palms of his hands, and yet, somehow, those deceitful little specks had hidden something from him! Something enormous, something which could shift the carefully arranged balance he had spent the last four years cementing! And the worst part about it was that he didn't even know, at least not yet, what precisely had been hidden from his sight. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, SheevPalpatine, had been informed of the unexpected gravitational disturbances by a mid level, hyperlane service report. Hundreds of thousands of ancient Hyperlane buoys, most of which had been presumed to be underpowered and non-functional, had come alive nearly all at once. The report showed a cascading effect originating from a point in space a few hundred light years away from Pzob, a backwater world at the very edge of the outermost part of the outer rim. The fact that Pzob had no buoys around it only emphasized the unprecedented magnitude of the disturbance. But even so, this was not something that would have normally drawn his attention. The Dark Lord of the sith was only marginally interested in such spatial anomalies and phenomenon, and not at all if they could not expand his knowledge of the force or be turned to function within his design. A curiosity, and nothing more, that is what his reading of this report would have concluded from it under more usual circumstance. But Darth Sidious had known about the disturbance well before the report had been delivered to his alter ego, for he had felt it through a different vector. The force. Something...dark had just entered into the near boundaries of his soon to be claimed Galactic Dominion, something which screamed and howled in voices the dark lord had never heard before. Sidious felt this could only mean one thing. Rivals! Grim forces of a darker galaxy had arrived to stake a claim on what was already his, and the sense of these newcomers made Dark Lord of this Sith feel power which he had been loath to use before. The intoxicating strength of fear added itself to his dark arsenal, for what he sensed was no mere chaff to be blown away, no jedi-like force to be abused and deceived. Crawling ever closer, the heir of Bane sensed a threat he had thought silenced forever when the crackling power of his own mastery had executed the drunk and foolhardy Sith Lord who'd once called himself Darth Plagueis. Darth Sidious now sensensed the threat of other masters of the darkside, and the plurality he felt approaching only heightened the sense of danger which now permeated his body, like infected veins through the pulsing flesh of a dirty wound. But, even though he had already felt it, the report was important, vital, in fact. Because while Darth Sidious was a master of the Darkside, and deeply attuned to such things, Sheev Palpatine, kindly Supreme Chancellor of the embattled Republic, was most decidedly not. Initially he thought to wait until the Jedi brought the matter to him, thinking they too would sense the arrival of the oncoming threat. But as days dragged by, Sidious found himself vexed by his own competence. Through the use of ritual, subversion, and the council's own arrogance, he had blinded the jedi. Even sitting within his chambers, speaking with him, surrounded by his dwarti statues, the jedi could not catch the slightest whiff of his true nature. While he was a great deal more subtle than these newcomers, he was also a great deal closer to the Jedi, and these outsiders had not even entered the Galaxy...yet. By the time the Jedi realized the threat, it would destroy them just as surely as Sidious himself would have, and that would not do. Thus, the report before him, neatly placed onto his desk, still brightly depicting the data held within as bright, blue holograms. The Reptilian warrior opposite the Supreme chancellor stared at them, and then, through them. "And you really think thiss dessservesss thissss kind of attensstion?" asked the Jedi knight, Renphi. Palpatine smiled calmly and nodded, completely negating his desire to scrunch his nose at the hissing, slurring accent used by the trandoshan jedi. It was bad enough that it had to be a pathetic, parasitic reptile, warming itself on the power of the Republic...did it also need to be a Trandoshan as well? "Most likely not, but I would like to be sure. These readings are quite unprecedented, and it stokes my anxiety to simply allow whatever is causing them to pass us by unobserved." The Secret Lord of the Sith said to him, fingers folded on the wide desk. "Hmmm, I ssssuppossse." The Jedi said. "But why clonesss? Why not ssssend a ssssurvey team inssstead?" He added. Palpatine smiled warmly at the wary warrior. The impertinent fool. The Dark Lord could scarcely wait, sensing the time of his purge approaching rapidly, echoing out into time, in both directions. This Jedi would die soon, like all the others, he could...almost...taste it. Almost hear the echoes of his final cries. "Oh, I shall send scientists and researchers with you as well." The Supreme Chancellor assured. "But, it is unprecedented, so I wouldn't send them out there without protection. Besides, we can never underestimate the enemy we are currently facing. Even if the Separatists have nothing to do with what caused these readings, they have buoys of their own. I cannot rule out the possibility that they will also attempt their own investigation." The Jedi Knight considered for a second before nodding his approval. "I ssssee the wisssdom in thissss." He said. Palpatine's smile reached his eyes fully then. "Good, good!" He added. "Then I'd be glad to send you on your way as quickly as possible! Like I said, we don't want this phenomenon to pass us by. I already have a science team picked out and ready to go. How many battalions do you command currently?" "Currently? Two." Said the Knight. "Make it four, I'll have you reinforced before you leave." The jedi seemed shocked, blinking for a moment before giving a shallow bow of respect to the smiling old man. "Thank you chancccccellor." He said. "Please, do not mention it. Simply promise me you will take care to remain safe! Odd things are said to...linger near the edge of the galaxy. Our war is maybe a month from it's close, and I'd not have you miss it because of a tragedy out in the frontier. Keep your men close about you." The knight nodded. "I will chanccccellor...Do you truly believe it might end sssso fassst?" Sheev leaned back in his seat and nodded knowingly. "Trust me my Jedi friend, I am an expert in such sorry things as war and peace. These matters can move suddenly, and mark my words, it will be over before you know it." ( A small part of episode one and Look up a fan with too much time I highly recommend I highly recommend his work and Definitely react to it )

[@skully5063]

I always loved the Ewoks

[@stevena.7022]

I loved Ewoks in RoTJ. However after Ewok Adventures came out i realized i was wrong and i actually hated Ewoks in RoTJ

[@chasehedges6775]

Ewoks The Battle For Endor was good and the Ewoks were cool, imo

[@bradroberts4202]

I f*cking love the cute little critters, plus they helped the rebels to defeat the empire! 😎👍

[@russellharrell2747]

The Ewoks didn’t ruin Star Wars or RotJ. The second Deathstar ruined it. George going back to the well and remaking ANH ‘only bigger’ started a trend that continued through both the prequels and sequels. The Ewoks did derail the franchise for a while, making up a significant part of the non-action figure merch and having 2 TV movies and 2 seasons of a cartoon. This was the last widely distributed SW media for many years, basically a decade passing until SotE and the special editions, with the nascent EU kicking into gear just before. And the one Ewok that died was blatant manipulation. An entire planet was blown up in the first movie, and I’m supposed to care about this one carnivorous alien bear? Because it’s a cute teddy bear? F that. Yoda died like 30 minutes earlier in the film, and this Ewok getting a fraction of that screen time is insulting.

[@adriandenton6637]

and millions of kids loved every second of it.

[@IHateHoldo]

@@adriandenton6637 good for them

[@RobPaulson88]

If Star Wars wasn’t in the clutches of Disney, Denis Villueneve would make a very good, if not interesting film. Whether or not the Ewok comment upsets you, this man has made some amazing film, you can disagree with people of course. I do sort of have a middle stance, wish they weren’t so prominent but they’re cool if you ask me.

[@KrisBonn25]

Would’ve been so much better had they replaced Ewoks with wookies.

[@chasehedges6775]

OR, heres an idea: have both Ewoks AND Wookiees on Endor battling the Empire.

[@lgiver5148]

He wanted the empire to be beaten by a primitive army the wookies were already shown to be technologically advanced

[@adriandenton6637]

and....no kids cared at the time

[@anthonycincotta9105]

I've always seen the ewoks as an analogy for the empire's (and palatine's in particular) hubris. The empire never considered the ewoks as any serious legitimate threat, and so never even imagined any scenario where they could possibly be a factor in any conflict. As you have said in a straight up protracted battle they get decimated. But that was never the plan. Guerrilla tactics just long enough for the rebel commandos to destroy the shield generator.

[@jonmorgan7621]

Funny because those Ewoks defeated the Empire on Endor and also ate Storm Troopers and were also gonna eat Han and Luke!!!

[@John_Locke_108]

It's pretty dark when you read beteen the lines.

[@alexkogan9755]

No, the Ewoks did not do enough to derail Star Wars. Much as I would’ve preferred Endor being Kashyyyk instead, more good was in Episode 6 to still make it a great finale. Honestly the biggest crime done to the film was all of George’s incessant revisions that made it age worse even compared to the other two films.

[@CrazyxEnigma]

Sounds like a teenager getting mad that his favorite movie wasn't "cool" anymore and had something kids liked instead of it just being for him and his cool friends. Only difference is that teenager became a film director and now that opinion he had when he was fifteen somehow matters now over forty years later.

[@IHateHoldo]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on Ewoks

[@hunted4blood]

Funny, David Lynch (the director of the other Dune) had a similarly negative reaction to being told about what a wookie is by George Lucas.

[@tk-6967]

While as a fan I like the 6 SW films, I can't pretend that ROTJ was actually on the same level as the other 2 OT films, and I think that the criticism of the Ewoks is definitely at least somewhat justifiable if you are viewing the films as movies and not in the fandom way, but to be fair, viewing TPM and AOTC purely as movies doesn't help their case either and ROTJ is still a good movie. I think the director is right that the Ewoks detracted from the movie and had long term ramifications for the franchise, since TPM at the time of release was often suggest to have the same issue as the depiction Ewoks in ROTJ, leading to a lot of negativity around that film. However, I have no idea why that director's Dune film did well; the story was poorly explained, and as someone who normally loves politicking drama, the only good thing I have to say about the film is that it had excellent acting, because the actual writing was plain unfriendly to anyone who didn't know the story. As such, I think it is ridiculous for that man to be claiming that Star Wars was 'derailed' despite George's allowance of great creative freedom to EU writers when he never even bothered to have rails on his 'Dune' movie.

[@GeofftheIronwolf]

The Ewoks are the lowest part of ROTJ. But my god. The very BEST practical effects space battle EVER put to screen. It was so good, all George did was punch up the visuals to make things easier to see unlike ANJ where he redid the entire fighter scene at the end. And ofcourse the final duel. Sure the fighting wasn't prequel quality, but the music and emotion of the duel outstrips anything George did in ROTS.

[@Steel-101]

That guy is way off. The Ewoks added charm to the movie. For a long time I never knew fans had a “problem” with them. The point of the Originals is the Underdog vs a massive evil power. The little guy having a victory. Star Wars only went downhill with Disney.

[@adriandenton6637]

I don't know where this new re-evaluation on the film has come from. I never heard anyone complain about them till about a year ago. It was 1984 and the film was fk1n huuuge.

[@emberfist8347]

I am a major fan of Wicket. I never watched the Ewok cartoons or TV movies but I appreciate for making Endor such a lived-in world. They really fleshed Endor as a moon with multiple biomes and unique flora and fauna. Only Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Naboo and Coruscant are as well-developed worlds.

[@artiemedley9369]

I agree that the Ewoks created such a tonal shift that it solidified Return Of The Jedi being my least liked of the original trilogy. "Derailed" is excessive. My hot take is Return Of The Jedi could've been THE Oscar-nominated picture of the franchise if the Ewoks weren't included. All that being said, as a counter, I thought, "Wow! The Empire Strikes Back was NOT made for children.", knowing that George Lucas meant for this to be kid-friendly.

[@dark_fire_ice]

Makes sense; a guy who doesn't understand the book he failed to adapt, doesn't understand Star Wars. Though yeah the Ewoks were the worst element in RotJ, and the worst parts of Vs films are his inputs

[@aluvrianne]

I was 3 when Return of the Jedi came out and I also had a big-ass teddy bear. I found the Ewoks horrifying b/c teddy bears aren't supposed to have teeth like that! I was convinced Big Teddy was going to take a trick out of the Ewok's book and tie me up just before eating me. Cut to today, I still don't like the creepy little buggers, but they certainly did not "derail" Star Wars.

[@EJ_Crough]

George always needed other folks to temper his ideas for Star Wars to be great. The original movie was said to be a disaster until some major re-edits. Empire was a my favorite and George gave final creative control to that movie's director. We get the first taste of George going 'full George' with Return of the Jedi and I agree it's a bit of a step back in some of its aspects; like the decision to go with Ewoks instead of Wookies.

[@samuelzuleger5134]

"Dead Ewok" is the saddest, and possibly most mature, moment in the OT outside of Luke's specific story beats. Imperials are intentionally obscured so you can kill them without emotions. Rebels have faces, but either don't have names (in the movies) or we just didn't learn about them. And ships are detached from the people on them. While we didn't get to know individual Ewoks, we got a deep look (for SW) at their culture and behavior. They have spouses. They have children. They have homes. And that's what they're fighting for...that and their golden deity. It says, "Freedom has a price," and not everyone gets out of this unscathed...even the teddy bears.

[@michaeljedlowski4227]

"They ewoks were rubbish! But you still liked Jedi..." "Compared to Jar Jar Binks, the ewoks are Shaft!"

[@mleadenham1]

Ewoks were not the moment that Star Wars jumped the shark, but in hindsight, they were an early warning sign.

[@adriandenton6637]

There was no shark to jump. It was 3 films at the time and nobody knew about about any future projects.

[@michaellane5381]

Ewok's aren't just for kids, if you were adult who grasped the concept it is as visceral as Cocaine bear, the Disneyfied teddy bear suits were just made that way for budget and family accessibility, this wasn't like Alien or Predator, 5 year olds were allowed to enjoy it.

[@onliwankannoli]

I’m not a fan of the Ewoks, but those who think space teddy bears derail the movie are insecure in their masculinity. Fight me. 😂

[@adriandenton6637]

When did 80s kids worry about masculinity?

[@IHateHoldo]

What does not liking obnoxious teddybears have to do with being insecure with your masculinity?

[@onliwankannoli]

@@IHateHoldo You can dislike them, I said I’m not a fan of them, but to hate the whole movie because of them is excessive.

[@IHateHoldo]

@onliwankannoli I don't hate them, but the stormtroopers should've at least put up somewhat of a fight against them before being overwhelmed

[@onliwankannoli]

@@IHateHoldo Of course. It’s a bit implausible and silly. The Ewoks could have taken a few by surprise but unlikely as many as shown, and there would have been many more dead Ewoks than just the one, but the movie is selective in what it shows to keep it kid-friendly. Excessively so.

[@MRDLT00]

9:40 Yeah that’s the case, but how the movie is shot and framed suuuure as fuck puts a lot of emphasis on the Ewoks and how big of a “contribution” they made to the fight. If Lucas wanted to present it that it was really the Rebels doing the leg work, then he should have put more of that in the film so the audiences would think that.

[@kuribayashi84]

_Night on Endor_ made Ewoks *terrifying.* Whatever doubts I had about them and their part in the story finally disappeared that day.

[@RedLeader327]

I was a kid (3) when I saw ROTJ for the first time. It was probably the first movie I saw in theaters, idk. I rewatched Jedi many times growing up, and rewatched it a few years back in my late 30s. The ewoks are fine. They didn't ruin anything--it's their moon and where they live. There's a bit of whimsy watching these primitive creatures taking out several AT-STs via log traps, fwiw.

[@TheChristianPsychopath]

Nope, I love Ewoks. It's a whole David and Goliath thing. Yub, yub, commander.

[@lordlaughypants5889]

The best reason for a high profile director to not make a Star Wars/MCU/DCU or any other long going continuous franchise is that it either won't really be their movie, or it won't really be (said franchise) movie. I think the best example is The Last Jedi. If you like the movie that's fine, but it feels disjointed from the previous film because he got his way and made the movie he really wanted to make. If he would have just made a random film that takes place hundreds of years before or after the events of the Skywalker Saga and had no established characters, it might be different.

[@chrisdupont1195]

It's a question of age. I'm 55. I was 14 when RETURN came out. I remember watching it for first time with friends at the local cinema. We were all 14, did we care about the ewoks? No! All we cared about were the speeder bikes, because all we cared about in reak life were mopeds. The second time around, I mostly remember Leia's bikini (I was 16). It's only the 3rd time that I realised how childish and annoying the Ewoks were. There! At 17 or 18, I was done with "kids movies". When the sequels came out, I gave it a shot and then : Jar Jar Binks! I was done for good! Did not go to see episodes 2 & 3. The redemption came with the Clone Wars, then I watched the movies I missed. So, basically, nobody above 55 will ever like the Ewoks, because we were already too old in 1984 to find them cute the first time.

[@Bayard1503]

Bieber: Lights!! The Ewok Line!!! Denis Villeneuve was born before 1973!!

[@socialaccount0000]

I honestly blame Jar Jar if anything. I personally never hated Jar Jar, but it did shake the faith that the modern audience had in George Lucas making a Star Wars movie. This shaken faith then led to the failure of AOTC. By the time ROTS released, it was too late. George Lucas tried to course correct with supplemental material like TCW, video games, etc But by then, George was getting old, he wanted to retire. This desire to retire + Disney swooping in when they did with 4 billion dollars meant that George didnt have the desire to make the Sequels, despite having made a rough draft for the 3 sequel movies. Because George retired and sold Disney, we then got the awful sequel movies. Jar Jar truly was the key to all this, if the audience enjoyed Jar Jar, it wouldve meant they likely enjoyed the prequels more, which likely meant George would've held onto SW, at least a little bit longer.

[@mand4lex]

Barney's (How I met Your Mother) Ewok line actually exists. _If you were a kid when Jedi released, you loved Ewoks. If you were of older age - you didn't._

[@ExistentHope]

The Ewoks were symbolic of tribal vs industrialism military like Viet Cong vs U.S. they meant overcoming incredible challenges to win the battle against the Empire. George Lucas original idea was the Wookies vs the Empire I read.

[@DarkestKnightshade]

People can be mad, but honestly he's right in some ways. Return of the jedi was a conglomeration of several different ideas and didn't work the way the first two movies did and kind of made the empire look like a joke which has continued throughout other media. It's fine to love how well ROTJ ended the trilogy and the story of Luke and vader, but I can see why some teens/young adults like Denis would be disappointed with it coming off the Magnum Opus that was TESB. Teddy bears would have been a wierd addition. I'd say the only pieces of star wars that pull off a truly serious tone without becoming too campy at some point or another are ANH, TESB, and Andor

[@theimperialist2686]

All I can say is, take it up with George Lucas.

[@chasehedges6775]

Exactly💯

[@VINTAGE1959]

I remember, even when I was a kid, the Ewoks were my least favorite thing in all of star wars, next to Boba getting taken out the way he did

[@dejanrancic7409]

In order to derail Star Wars Ewoks would have needed to seriously affect future projects, which they do not in any shape or form. Do they make TRotJ underwhelming compared to Empire? Maybe, but they don't change the overall trilogy and do their part in the film. If Denis Villeneuve, who is a great director, wants to point fingers at movies derailing franchises, he can have a go at TLJ, or explain where was the actual Chani in Dune 2, because that alteration will affect Dune 3.

[@skits_3d824]

Would not be surprised if Luke had force visioned the Ewoks taking on their side so he knew everything would play out. Also to see alien natives was pretty cool as a kid. Not every alien needs to be human or big. Sometimes it's the small and humble that makes things worth while.

[@edrk14]

I do personally kind of agree with Denis. Return of the Jedi was a drop in quality from Empire and was the start of just re doing things that have already been done, like destroying the death star for a second time, and bringing in plot elements like the Ewoks just to sell merch and appeal to kids. It should have been Wookiees! And compared to the battle of hoth, the Ewok battle just doesn't measure up.

[@luciferfernandez7094]

Nah, the problem was Empire Strikes Back: it’s too damn sophisticated, so well written and perfectly executed as fantasy-fiction that we are lucky Lucas didn’t dumb it down in post-production. And we got lucky with Ewoks, Lucas could have came out with kids as co protagonists.

[@PsychedelicDude]

I don't hate Ewoks, and on paper i like the concept of small but strong bears protecting their home; but i do think that they are a tad too silly. It is a little hard to take them seriously. They should have been shown as more competent warriors/hunters and less clumsy while still remaining cute and maybe a tad silly (instead of a tad TOO silly). I don't really mind them, i just wish they were presented/executed better. Or better yet, they should have been Wookies as originally planned. ROTJ is my favorite SW movie regardless.

[@ChairmanKam]

4:36 My big issue isn't with the Ewoks. It's the with Lucas going "This is Vietnam". As my Dad said "So who are the Rebels, the Soviets?".

[@emberfist8347]

That analogy doesn’t really work as the Soviets were only group backing the Viet Cong. The Rebels more obvious analogue is the NVA who had more advanced equipment and did most of the heavy fighting which is how the war occurred historically.

[@ChairmanKam]

@emberfist8347 You're giving way too much credit to the guy (Lucas) that lived under the pop impression that the VC were the primary antagonist. Basically you are proving my point that he didn't think his analogy through. Also let us not forget the Soviets and ChiComs were the real enablers so...

[@formallyknownasj.a.2074]

Thor, I agree with you for the EXACT same reason. ROTJ was the first SW movie I saw in theaters when I was five. ROTJ isn’t the best OT movie but it is my favorite as well.

[@caravaggio2012]

We all know why George picked the Ewoks over the original plan for Wookies... he was seeing the sweet, sweet toy royalties rolling in.

[@raiderlove5923]

The Ewoks in Return of the Jedi is the same as the Gungans fighting the droid army in The Phantom Menace.

[@archangelwarrior2556]

I will definitely say that the Ewoks do not ruin the movie in the slightest. Though, if I recall correctly, the battle of Endor was originally supposed to take place on Kashyyyk with the Wookies. I still argue that this idea was better and would have been a thrill to watch. But who am I to argue with George Lucas. All in all, it doesn't ruin the movie.