Star Wars projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Andor are all about the lengths the Empire will go to keep its power. Whether it’s inciting violence on a peaceful planet like Ghorman or blowing up its own base on Scarif to keep its secrets safe, Emperor Palpatine and his lackeys never take an option off the table. That’s why it’s so surprising that they let the Rebellion grow right under their noses and left the first Death Star vulnerable to attack. Luke Skywalker and his buddies destroy the superweapon and allow the galaxy to take a sigh of relief; however, the Empire can’t help itself, building a second Death Star that could be even more powerful than the first.
Palpatine rushes construction on the second Death Star in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi because he needs to get the momentum back on his side. To avoid detection, the Imperials choose to build the Death Star II above the forest moon of Endor. Eventually, the Rebels catch wind of the Empire’s plan and send a ground team to take out the shield generator protecting the weapon. The Empire foresees this, but they don’t expect that the creatures native to Endor already have experience fighting off bullies.
The Ewoks Give the Empire Fits in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
After the Bothans give their lives to acquire the information on the second Death Star, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa travel to Endor to strike back at the Empire. After they land on the ground, they’re spotted by scout troopers, who want to report back to their bosses. The heroes jump on speeders and go after them, but Leia ends up on her own. A little creature known as an Ewok finds her and takes her back to their village. Meanwhile, Han and Luke are searching for their friend when they end up in a trap, which allows the Ewoks to capture them. After making the Ewoks believe that C-3PO is a god, the furry natives agree to help the rebels fight their oppressors.
The Empire prepares for an attack by the Rebellion, and when Luke leaves the planet to meet with the Emperor on the Death Star, its odds look pretty good. What the Imperials don’t account for, though, is the Ewoks’ arsenal, which takes down AT-STs with ease and causes trouble for the rest of the troops on the ground. Without the Ewoks, there’s little chance the rebels win the day, but Wicket and Co. aren’t the creatures they should be thanking.
The Ewoks’ Traps Aren’t Meant for the Empire
Return of the Jedi makes it seem like the Ewoks live a relatively peaceful life when the Empire isn’t around. However, it turns out they’re constantly living in fear of Gorax, giant creatures that live in Endor’s caves. The Gorax terrorize the Ewoks at every opportunity, destroying their camps and leaving devastation in their wake. One of the ways the Ewoks adapt to life with the Gorax around is to build their settlements in the trees, higher up than their enemies can climb. They also set up traps all over the planet with the goal of taking out the Gorax before they can get to them. And the Ewoks’ countermeasures prove effective because they allow them to get the drop on both the Empire and the Rebellion.
The Gorax don’t appear in Return of the Jedi, but one of them is the main villain in Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. While that movie is no longer canon, the Gorax didn’t get the short end of the stick, showing up in at least one official reference book. The Star Wars: Battlefront games also allude to the existence of the Gorax by making cave systems explorable parts of the Endor map. It feels unlikely that Endor will ever be a major part of a galaxy far, far away again, but if it shows up again in a future project, the Ewoks better have their heads on a swivel.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is streaming on Disney+.
Did you know about the Gorax that live on Endor? Would you like to see them appear in a future Star Wars project? Let us know in the comments below!
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