The Last Jedi: Head of Lucasfilm Creature Workshop Talks Porgs, Crystal Foxes, and BB-8!
Star Wars has always been known for it’s unique array of creatures and droids. The Last Jedi will continue that trend, and now the head of the Lucasfilm Creature Workshop Neal Scanlan has opened up about porgs, one in particular, crystal foxes, and BB-8 in the upcoming movie.
In an interview in the upcoming issue of Empire, Neal Scanlan reveals a bit about the new creatures we’re set to meet when The Last Jedi hits theaters in six weeks, as well as revisiting a now familiar friend in BB-8! The information could be considered spoiler-ish, but it is not leaked information so Lucasfilm is okay with the public being aware of these facts.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!
PORGS
Porgs, indigenous to Ahch-To, are related to the caretaker species on the island. It turns out the caretakers are just a more evolved or developed race, being sentient beings. Scanlan on the thought process that went behind the association between the species:
“With Ahch-To, it felt like the only creatures that would ever exist on this island were those indigenous to it, where very few other species and DNA would have reached them. So they’re an extrapolation from the porgs and have bird-like feet, but they’re a further developed race.”
You may recall in an article we posted about a month ago, that new books revealed that caretakers may actually eat porgs! You can check out that full article here.
Perhaps one of the most memorable (adorable) scenes from the full trailer of The Last Jedi, was Chewbacca’s roar echoed, or attempted, by a porg sitting in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Well Scanlan has a bit more to reveal about this specific porg, with an explanation as to why this one in particular may have struck the friendship cord with Chewie:
“that porg in particular shows some very Wookiee traits in the way he’s coloured; his patterning is very similar to Chewie’s.”
Maybe team “Chewie eats porg” can move on to other wild theories? It looks like Chewie may have a new buddy in The Last Jedi, one who has a big vest to fill!
CRYSTAL FOXES
Perhaps overshadowed by the cuteness of porgs and the rampant fandom thanks to porgnation, The Last Jedi will also introduce us to these mysterious yet majestic looking crystal foxes on Crait.
Scanlan touches briefly on these creatures, saying:
“The theory is they’ve fed off this planet for so long that their fur has become crystalline. They’ve taken on the very surface of the planet they live on.”
These mysterious creatures sound almost like long-term chameleons. We know that the “foxes”, first shown to us in the D23 behind the scenes reel, will be brought to life using both CGI and animatronics.
In the trailer which debuted on 10/9, it looks like these foxes are taking cover in side the Resistance Base, perhaps running from the incoming assault of the First Order. This would lead us to believe they are not dangerous creatures, but time will tell.
BB-8
It’s kind of interesting that BB-8 is already considered a Star Wars veteran, now that he is entering his second film. But he has surely not been forgotten by fans, and if Rian Johnson’s quotes about him at Star Wars Celebration are any indication, BB-8 will provide this dark entry in the saga with enough levity to break up the weight of the film. Scanlan briefly describes one scene in which BB-8 may be playing a little cat and mouse with a certain new adversary.
“There was this one scene in particular where BB-8 is in disguise and has to try and make his way without being recognized. It just seemed so threatening that his doppelgänger would be the very one that may or may not discover him.”
This sounds like it has the makings of being quite the entertaining break in the dramatic weight of The Last Jedi. Rian Johnson has previously said that BB-8 will be the Buster Keaton of this film, and that JJ’s advice to him was that you can never have enough BB-8. We look forward seeing him back in action!
For the complete article be sure to get the new issue from Empire.
Carrying on the tradition of fun creatures and droids in Star Wars, The Last Jedi hits theaters in a little over six weeks! We look forward to seeing our old friend BB-8 back at it, as well as meeting some new creatures along the way.
You can find me on Twitter not eating porgs @JohnnyHoey and we’ll be covering this on the Resistance Broadcast @RBatSWNN!
For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.
John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast
"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
Surely there are more imPORGtant Star Wars news stories!
I’m sorry, it’s just this article looked a little lonely without any comments.
I remember seeing that Porg catching picture before, but its just occurred to me that one Caretaker appears to have a Porg bagpipe!
Love that fox as well, looks amazing.
I thought the same thing at first, but it looks more like a fish to me with the distinct fins.
Ah yes, I can see that as well. Good catch – pun intended.
I’ve seen a photo and short clip of Chewie with a Porg feather sticking out of his mouth. Can’t wait to see what that is all about.
I feel like they weren’t happy with the animatronic foxes so they replaced them with CGI. The CGI foxes look nothing like the animatronic one’s and I am happy about that. I prefer the design shown in the trailer so I am realyl happy about this 🙂
I hope R2 doesn’t have to be covered by a tarp again.