‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Director Rian Johnson Explains The Porgs

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, audiences worldwide immediately fell in love with the adorable new droid BB-8. Countless merchandise features the ball-shaped astromech droid as he went on a life-changing adventure with his new friends Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega). Now, BB-8 may have to step (or roll) aside because Star Wars: The Last Jedi will introduce audiences to creatures that are just as adorable in their own right: the Porgs.

Based on some of the promotional material for the upcoming film, it is known that Porgs are a species of penguin-like creatures that are caretakers on the island in Ahch-To – the planet where Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has remained in after his nephew Ben Solo (Adam Driver) betrayed him and became Kylo Ren.

So far, fans have only gotten a glimpse at the Porgs from some of the marketing. In particular, Porgs are seen in the behind-the-scenes reel released at the D23 Expo earlier in the summer.

Besides their fluffy wide-eyed nature, it turns out that Porgs have interesting functions of their own. On his official Twitter account, director Rian Johnson gave details regarding the nature of these winged creatures:

“They are sea birds. Their coloring varies. Males are slightly larger than females. They can fly short distances. They’re inquisitive.”

With the marketing campaign for The Last Jedi well underway, expect to see plenty of Porgs in new trailers, TV spots, posters, promotional images and of course, toys. Even though the eighth chapter in the Skywalker saga looks to be the darkest of this sequel trilogy, there still needs to be an element of fun and perhaps these creatures can be a major reason as to why the film will be an enthralling time at the theater.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in our galaxy on December 15, 2017.

Source: Rian Johnson