It's quite possible that nothing being shown off from Star Wars: The Last Jedi is being talked about quite as much as the alien creatures known as porgs. They're cute and furry and a merchandising dream. And it's not only Star Wars fans that like them. We've seen in some footage of the new film that Chewbacca also becomes attached to the little guys, as one is with him in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Now Neal Scanlan, the head of the Star Wars creature shop has revealed that Chewie's attachment comes from something that the Wookie and this particular porg have in common. They share a very similar coloration. According to Scanlan...
That porg in particular shows some very Wookiee traits in the way he's coloured; his patterning is very similar to Chewie's.
It seems that this similar pattern is the reason that Chewbacca and this particular porg will become friends, leading to Chewie taking the little guy with him when he eventually leaves the planet. It's difficult to tell in the one image we've seen that the porg and the Wookie look similar, but it's not difficult to believe.
For what little it may be worth, the fact that this particular porg looks similar to Chewbacca would seem to indicate that the rest do not. There will be some variation in color and pattern among the porgs when we meet them on the planet Ahch-To. If nothing else that will lead to a variety of different plushy creatures one can pick in stores.
Many have been critical of the porgs as characters, mainly because the little guys are so cute that they seem to have been designed more with merchandising in mind than to be alien creatures in a movie. While nobody involved with Star Wars: The Last Jedi has any illusions regarding the porgs ridiculous cuteness, Rian Johnson has assured those concerned that the creatures have their place in the film.
Porgs were designed as a galactic version of puffins, the small fish-eating birds that inhabit the island where the filming of Luke Skywalker's new home took place. They're also very round, and fairly cute, depending on your point of view. Since the real world had such creatures, it was decided that the alien planet would have their own versions. While the porgs are small and furry, they're also somewhat bird-like, as are several of the other creatures on the island. The porgs are, according to Empire, apparently related to the larger Caretaker creatures in some evolutionary way.
Will porgs be popular like Wookies or derided like Ewoks when it's all said and done? We'll find out when we finally meet them when Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15.
