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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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 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?
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.
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
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
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
@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
@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)
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.
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.
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.
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...
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..
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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!
@@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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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 )
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
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.
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).
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!
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.
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.
Hey Thor- Ewoks were not the problem but a symptom of the problematic calculus in George’s mind at this point in time - enter Gary Kurtz - or rather… ‘exit’ Gary Kurtz, and you lose the other wheel of the bicycle…. What are your thoughts on the impact of the script changes (Rinzler’s making of book) from what would have been a very different movie, had Kurtz been able to sway George? Clone Wars became more and more epic as it matured…. What if Jedi stayed on that track as well-and the PT would also have been vastly different (in the 80’s I thought the PT would be more like Krull in terms of being more medieval fantasy)
I will never understand how people think the Ewoks are out of place. If you imagine they have the strength of a Chimp (they live in trees, they probably do) then their feats make perfect sense. A rock slung by an Ewok or a spear would do insane damage to anything it hits, armor or not, you're going to take the kinetic blunt force of it.
The only part of the ewoks that was bad was their boobies traps. We must either believe that they have these traps, designed to take out significantly larger enemies, premade & scattered through this vast forest or that they somehow set them up at the start of the battle without being detected. I get that they did have to protect their village from larger predators, but it always seemed like the shield generator was a decent distance away making premade traps for defense not hunting an unlikely scenario.
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.
At 10yrs old I loved them, I probably watch ROTJ, 2x a month or part of the movie to this day at 50 and to me just part of the movie don't bother me at all!
For those of you who want to hear Sam Witwer's take on Return of the Jedi, here's a link to that part of the interview. Don't know when this discussion happened, but I greatly enjoy Sam's take on my favorite movie. ua-cam.com/video/aJTsQEoIcvA/v-deo.html
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.
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.
I always liked ROTJ more than ANH. Much better acting from the main cast, better action scenes and even better soundtrack, some of my favorite pieces are from this film (Shuttle Tydirium Aproaches Endor, Han Solo Returns, A Jedi's Fury). The Ewok part where they get captured is my least favorite part of the film but honestly the Jawa part from A New Hope is even worse.
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
If this was true then there would be a consistent set of errors in the Star wars canon starting with return of the Jedi and moving through the prequel and sequel trilogies. Clearly this is not the case. Yes, the ewoks are bad, but they are bad in a different way from the prequel trilogy, which is bad in different ways from the sequel trilogy. Everyone can decide for themselves when they want to get off this train, but every stop is unique.
I took the Ewoks at face value when I was 12. Yeah if I was 15.. I’d probably be pissed. I had a little too much fun playing Ewok Hunt on Battlefront 20 years later 😀
Hey Thor, I never saw the Ewoks in either a positive or negative light. For me, they simply existed and were part of the Galaxy. Even though I go back and forth sometimes over whether or not it would have been better to have Wookiees instead of Ewoks, I don't find them to be cringe or hateable. In my opinion, Star Wars went down the tubes not from the Ewoks but from George Lucas getting disgusted over people constantly complaining about his editorial decisions in the various special editions of the original trilogy and the sharp criticisms leveled against the prequel trilogy, which probably contributed to him selling the franchise to Disney which has been a mixed bag throughout.
I dont really like Ewoks ... never had, they just seems totally out of place. :-/ Not so much to "ruin a movie" tho, that much is kinda ridiculous. BUT! I have seen on youtube some amateur short video (like 5min top) from perspective of last few remaining Stormtroopers who were lost in Endor forest, and were hunted by Ewoks ... during the night. Those thigs are terrifying when you think about it. O_o
They dont damage SW and still the series survives the past of the time when the series start to revive for books ,cómics,videogames and of course the precuels era.
From George's point of view, he was probably surprised that there would be backlash against the Ewoks in Return Of The Jedi because he had Jawas in the first one (1977) and Ugnaughts in the second one (1980). I really think it all boils down to this: what will you choose to be bothered by? If you choose to let Ewoks bother you, then it will bother you. If not, then it won't. It could be that if you were a certain age, say, older than the age group that wouldn't care less about Ewoks, then you perhaps would think lesser of the movie. But I am in that 'older age' category, and it didn't bother me. LOL.
@@miragewizard They were probably unaffected by what was happening. As in the rebellion finding help in places that the Empire didn't think were important.
I do think the Ewoks did show the beginnings of a really bad part of star wars. They very much feel like they were put in to sell more toys. Merchandising is always a big part of franchises, but they felt more forced in than previous star wars movies. And we see in the disney era especially, they love to put in pointless merchandise
I think ewoks beating the empire undermines them as a threat and is directly responsible for most subsequent media portraying the empire is incompetent. I do not agree that the ewoks or RotJ ruined star wars in any way. That being said, this guy directed Dune and Blade Runner so he is absolutely allowed to have his opinion on star wars
I think there is some important context that is probably not addressed in this video. if you were an older Star Wars fan, let’s call yourself in your late teens or later when return of the Jedi came out, that means you were a Science Fiction fan at a time when Science Fiction was not viewed particularly highly. Star Wars was one of the first Science Fiction movies to be taken really seriously and to gain a much wider audience. Star Wars to some extent validated science fiction. I could understand disliking the Ewok, not only because they were not mature enough for the story, but also because it felt like something of a betrayal. Underscore and reinforced earlier notions of Science Fiction being childish, not worthy of serious books or movies. the first and second movies, validated the fans and treated them with respect. The third one, at least in the use of Ewoks, something of a step backwards in that regard.
When I saw ROTJ when I was a kid I liked the Ewoks, but now I fast forward through most of it if I'm watching the movie. It does just seem silly now. But it in no way ruined Star Wars for me. There are worse movies and worst scenes in the franchise. I won't even watch some of the films.
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.
I thought all the fans agreed that the Ewoks/Endor are the weakest part of the ot. Sure it's memorable, and the primitive race conquering the technologically advanced army is a great idea, but that idea could have been executed better. Porgs seem like the modern equivalent to Ewoks.
Nope, I love Ewoks. Special editions are the biggest problem with the OT. Porgs would be fine if they'd had any plot relevance, but they seemed to only exist because they didn't know what to do with Chewie.
He's right. Still, Return is a masterpiece compared with Disney Star Wars. What pissed me off way back when was the stupid revelation that Leia is somehow Luke's sister. Dumb!
I'm not that bothered by ewoks. At worst, they're a minor complaint. I just thought that they held their own too well fighting the empire, but not to a point where it ruined the film. Then again, maybe it's the storm troopers who deserve the criticism. They're known for having bad aim, so they're not the best in battle.
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.
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.
EXACTLY!
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.
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.
And couldn't the armour by the empire withstand rocks throwing by some space teddy bears?
@@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.
@@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.
@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?
@@Thed538dhsk rocks can still do damage to you even if you’re wearing armor blunt trauma is still a thing
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.
I named my dog Wicket so yes Ewoks for life!
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
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
The Death Star was being built there to exterminate the Ewok threat as soon as possible.
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.
....and...millions of kids didn't give a sh1t
@@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.
@@russellharrell2747 Hahahaha...I get sarcasm...Dara Ó Briain told the same story about the prequels...
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.
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.
And...millions of kids didn't give sh1t
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.
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)
Ewoks were the definition of obvious marketing. They rank up there with ET and Gizmo.
The Ewoks are fine there's a lot of people in the Old Republic MMO that like the Ewok companion Treek
😂 She's one.
Of my favorite companions
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.
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.
The Star Wars's downfall started 12 years ago when Disney bought the rights
The downfall of Star Wars was when Disney ignored Georges input for the sequel trilogy and developed their own "plan."
💯💯Definitely. You always let the creator cook.
It was pretty arrogant of Disney to think they could make better Star Wars than the man who created it.
Funny thing is, they never had a plan.
@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
@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)
Revenge Of The Sith(2005) and Ewoks The Battle For Endor(1985)are my personal favorites. They’re great. And the Ewoks are awesome
Didodididoo dididididi didodidido!
😂😂😂
@chasehedges6775 battle of the heroes never stops.
Battle Of The Heroes is 🔥. Amazing piece of music that goes perfectly with the Mustafar duel between Anakin and Kenobi.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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..
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.
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.
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
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.
Lol. Yes. Yes he does. That battle is horrible and unwatchable.
@@John_Locke_108 I always liked it and wouldn't be aware of any hate towards it without the internet drama.
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.
@@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.
You don't need to justify one of the biggest films ever that's 40 year old.
The singing and dancing CGI weevil in Jabba's palace took me out of the movie far more than the Ewoks ever did.
Not quite ruined, but yes, they wrecked the mood and gravity of an otherwise excellent movie.
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.
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.
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!
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.
So you think initially it was supposed to be wookies ? Would have been a lot more cool..
@@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.
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.
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.
You have an opinion nearly 40 years later and with 40 years extra life knowledge?
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
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
I’m the same age as Thor and had a similar experience. Rotj is my favourite one!
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.
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.
The Ewoks are the first sign of a slide Star Wars has been in since 1983, with few exceptions, but they weren’t enough to kill the movie.
How could there be a slide when there was 3 films only and no others planned at the time?
Ewoks were not the moment that Star Wars jumped the shark, but in hindsight, they were an early warning sign.
There was no shark to jump. It was 3 films at the time and nobody knew about about any future projects.
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.
Same here.
Hey Thor.
THIS IS HILARIOUS!! He was 15 years old. He too, was a kid!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It's better to just ignore idiotic statements like this instead of dignifying them with a response.
True 💯💯💯💯.
Everything makes sense if you understand the Ewok Line
This new SW revisionism is damm annoying. Every fooker is a film critic and an expert nowadays.
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.
(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 )
Should have been Wookies.
For anyone that thinks they’re overpowered would you say they’re Beary Sue’s????
I’ll see myself out now……
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
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.
Funny because those Ewoks defeated the Empire on Endor and also ate Storm Troopers and were also gonna eat Han and Luke!!!
It's pretty dark when you read beteen the lines.
"They ewoks were rubbish! But you still liked Jedi..." "Compared to Jar Jar Binks, the ewoks are Shaft!"
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.
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).
We do see one ewok die and his buddy crying over his furry corpse.
@@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🫢
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.
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. 😂
When did 80s kids worry about masculinity?
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!
I loved Ewoks in RoTJ. However after Ewok Adventures came out i realized i was wrong and i actually hated Ewoks in RoTJ
Ewoks The Battle For Endor was good and the Ewoks were cool, imo
Bieber: Lights!! The Ewok Line!!! Denis Villeneuve was born before 1973!!
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.
yes there is truth in that
Ewoks were awesome and still are. What killed star wars for me was disney and their shit story telling.
My ideal date involves food, laughter, and zero expectations of leaving the couch💝
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.
Hey Thor-
Ewoks were not the problem but a symptom of the problematic calculus in George’s mind at this point in time - enter Gary Kurtz - or rather… ‘exit’ Gary Kurtz, and you lose the other wheel of the bicycle…. What are your thoughts on the impact of the script changes (Rinzler’s making of book) from what would have been a very different movie, had Kurtz been able to sway George? Clone Wars became more and more epic as it matured…. What if Jedi stayed on that track as well-and the PT would also have been vastly different (in the 80’s I thought the PT would be more like Krull in terms of being more medieval fantasy)
I will never understand how people think the Ewoks are out of place. If you imagine they have the strength of a Chimp (they live in trees, they probably do) then their feats make perfect sense. A rock slung by an Ewok or a spear would do insane damage to anything it hits, armor or not, you're going to take the kinetic blunt force of it.
I have an ewok (wickett) tattooed on my arm .
The only part of the ewoks that was bad was their boobies traps. We must either believe that they have these traps, designed to take out significantly larger enemies, premade & scattered through this vast forest or that they somehow set them up at the start of the battle without being detected. I get that they did have to protect their village from larger predators, but it always seemed like the shield generator was a decent distance away making premade traps for defense not hunting an unlikely scenario.
Would’ve been so much better had they replaced Ewoks with wookies.
OR, heres an idea: have both Ewoks AND Wookiees on Endor battling the Empire.
He wanted the empire to be beaten by a primitive army the wookies were already shown to be technologically advanced
and....no kids cared at the time
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.
I f*cking love the cute little critters, plus they helped the rebels to defeat the empire! 😎👍
I'm pretty sure the Ewoks were inspired by one of the Vietnamese factions in the Vietnam War.
In one way it did bring Star Wars down to a kid level until you realise they were going to eat the main cast and did eat a few stormtroopers.
At 10yrs old I loved them, I probably watch ROTJ, 2x a month or part of the movie to this day at 50 and to me just part of the movie don't bother me at all!
For those of you who want to hear Sam Witwer's take on Return of the Jedi, here's a link to that part of the interview. Don't know when this discussion happened, but I greatly enjoy Sam's take on my favorite movie.
ua-cam.com/video/aJTsQEoIcvA/v-deo.html
Nope, I love Ewoks. It's a whole David and Goliath thing. Yub, yub, commander.
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.
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.
I always liked ROTJ more than ANH. Much better acting from the main cast, better action scenes and even better soundtrack, some of my favorite pieces are from this film (Shuttle Tydirium Aproaches Endor, Han Solo Returns, A Jedi's Fury). The Ewok part where they get captured is my least favorite part of the film but honestly the Jawa part from A New Hope is even worse.
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
If this was true then there would be a consistent set of errors in the Star wars canon starting with return of the Jedi and moving through the prequel and sequel trilogies. Clearly this is not the case. Yes, the ewoks are bad, but they are bad in a different way from the prequel trilogy, which is bad in different ways from the sequel trilogy. Everyone can decide for themselves when they want to get off this train, but every stop is unique.
I took the Ewoks at face value when I was 12.
Yeah if I was 15.. I’d probably be pissed.
I had a little too much fun playing Ewok Hunt on Battlefront 20 years later 😀
Hey Thor,
I never saw the Ewoks in either a positive or negative light. For me, they simply existed and were part of the Galaxy. Even though I go back and forth sometimes over whether or not it would have been better to have Wookiees instead of Ewoks, I don't find them to be cringe or hateable.
In my opinion, Star Wars went down the tubes not from the Ewoks but from George Lucas getting disgusted over people constantly complaining about his editorial decisions in the various special editions of the original trilogy and the sharp criticisms leveled against the prequel trilogy, which probably contributed to him selling the franchise to Disney which has been a mixed bag throughout.
All I can say is, take it up with George Lucas.
Exactly💯
I dont really like Ewoks ... never had, they just seems totally out of place. :-/
Not so much to "ruin a movie" tho, that much is kinda ridiculous.
BUT!
I have seen on youtube some amateur short video (like 5min top) from perspective of last few remaining Stormtroopers who were lost in Endor forest, and were hunted by Ewoks ... during the night.
Those thigs are terrifying when you think about it. O_o
Bummer, as Villeneuve is one of the few directors who could revitalize SW.
They dont damage SW and still the series survives the past of the time when the series start to revive for books ,cómics,videogames and of course the precuels era.
💯%
From George's point of view, he was probably surprised that there would be backlash against the Ewoks in Return Of The Jedi because he had Jawas in the first one (1977) and Ugnaughts in the second one (1980). I really think it all boils down to this: what will you choose to be bothered by? If you choose to let Ewoks bother you, then it will bother you. If not, then it won't. It could be that if you were a certain age, say, older than the age group that wouldn't care less about Ewoks, then you perhaps would think lesser of the movie. But I am in that 'older age' category, and it didn't bother me. LOL.
I wasn't aware of any backlash till about a year ago. Talk about revisionism of a 40 year old film that everyone loved at the time.
@@adriandenton6637 I always wondered what happened to 'little people' like Jawas, Ugnaughts and Ewoks in the Prequels.
@@miragewizard They were probably unaffected by what was happening. As in the rebellion finding help in places that the Empire didn't think were important.
He's one to talk. After how he ruined Channi/Paul.
I do think the Ewoks did show the beginnings of a really bad part of star wars. They very much feel like they were put in to sell more toys. Merchandising is always a big part of franchises, but they felt more forced in than previous star wars movies. And we see in the disney era especially, they love to put in pointless merchandise
and.....the kids absolutely adored them.
@adriandenton6637 they did, and Lucas and disney have made a ton of money from it, but I think it has hurt the brand overall for the fans
@@roleplayer5564 Brand? Nobody in 1984 outside Lucasfilm were talking about SW as a brand. 3 films and nobody knew about the future.
I never liked the Ewoks, I just skip them when they appear and ROTJ is still my 3rd fav Star Wars movie.
It's a very different opinion, but I definitely disagree with it.
I think ewoks beating the empire undermines them as a threat and is directly responsible for most subsequent media portraying the empire is incompetent. I do not agree that the ewoks or RotJ ruined star wars in any way. That being said, this guy directed Dune and Blade Runner so he is absolutely allowed to have his opinion on star wars
Yes.
I think there is some important context that is probably not addressed in this video. if you were an older Star Wars fan, let’s call yourself in your late teens or later when return of the Jedi came out, that means you were a Science Fiction fan at a time when Science Fiction was not viewed particularly highly. Star Wars was one of the first Science Fiction movies to be taken really seriously and to gain a much wider audience. Star Wars to some extent validated science fiction. I could understand disliking the Ewok, not only because they were not mature enough for the story, but also because it felt like something of a betrayal. Underscore and reinforced earlier notions of Science Fiction being childish, not worthy of serious books or movies. the first and second movies, validated the fans and treated them with respect. The third one, at least in the use of Ewoks, something of a step backwards in that regard.
Sorry for the voice to text catastrophe, but I hope the general message gets through.
I don’t mind them at all. Always thought they were pretty imaginative. Sounds like Denis was in some edgy teen phase.
When I saw ROTJ when I was a kid I liked the Ewoks, but now I fast forward through most of it if I'm watching the movie. It does just seem silly now. But it in no way ruined Star Wars for me. There are worse movies and worst scenes in the franchise. I won't even watch some of the films.
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.
and millions of kids loved every second of it.
I thought all the fans agreed that the Ewoks/Endor are the weakest part of the ot. Sure it's memorable, and the primitive race conquering the technologically advanced army is a great idea, but that idea could have been executed better. Porgs seem like the modern equivalent to Ewoks.
Nope, I love Ewoks. Special editions are the biggest problem with the OT. Porgs would be fine if they'd had any plot relevance, but they seemed to only exist because they didn't know what to do with Chewie.
He's right. Still, Return is a masterpiece compared with Disney Star Wars. What pissed me off way back when was the stupid revelation that Leia is somehow Luke's sister. Dumb!
I'm not that bothered by ewoks. At worst, they're a minor complaint. I just thought that they held their own too well fighting the empire, but not to a point where it ruined the film. Then again, maybe it's the storm troopers who deserve the criticism. They're known for having bad aim, so they're not the best in battle.
Ewok is an anagram of woke. Damn you Lucas!!!11!!!
This was a hangover from the late 1970s Muppets bullshit. Yoda and the Ewoks were 100% lame.
and millions of kids fook1n loved every second of it.