Porgs Will 'Have Their Place' In The Last Jedi

When Disney and Lucasfilm unveiled the first full-length trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, fans were captivated by the action sequences, stunning landscapes, and a final moment that left most with their mouth wide open in shock. But what drew viewers in even more so than all of that was a shot of the adorable new-to-the-silver-screen creatures called Porgs. Fans caught a glimpse of one sitting beside Chewbacca about halfway through the footage, a moment that raised an important question: How will Porgs be used in The Last Jedi?

Director Rian Johnson has the answer. Speaking recently with Yahoo! Movies, Johnson stated that Porgs will have a (small) role in the movie, and explained how the creatures came to be. 

The filmmaker pulled inspiration from puffins, a species of sea birds, that inhabit Skelling Michael, the island off the coast of Ireland that was used as Luke's hermitage in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. "I was like, 'Oh, this is part of the island; we need to find the Star Wars version of this," said Johnson. 

He then indicated that the Porgs don't "play a big part in the story," but will bring a welcome dash of humor to the otherwise intense upcoming installment. "I knew I wanted to find any source of comic relief I could on the island. And so they were very useful in terms of that," Johnson said.

But as useful as the Porgs will be in getting laughs from moviegoers, some couldn't help but wonder if they will be hit with backlash from fans, as many cute creatures in the Star Wars universe (most notably the Ewoks) have received mix reactions. Thankfully, from Johnson's vantage point, those concerns don't hold up because everyone seems to have fallen in love with the Porgs. 

"It wasn't until we got the actual puppets on set and the whole crew reacted with 'Oh my god, they're adorable!' and also then a few people in the crew were giving them that suspicious side-eye of 'These are cute, but are they too cute?'" Johnson laughed, recalling the on-set memory. "But the overwhelming reaction on set was everybody loved the Porgs. And I love 'em." Johnson then added that he understands if "people are a little wary of cuteness in the Star Wars universe," but he "personally love[s] them" and believes they "have their place in the movie."

We'll see exactly how the Porgs fit into the Skywalker Saga when Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15.