Solo: A Star Wars Story

AND when Marvel did the comic adaptation before the films release based on some older story treatements Jabba looked like this.

Yep. That guy got his own action figure in the Black Series and was renamed "Mosep Binneed":

 

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He didn't *always* intend to replace Jabba, that was just an option considered LATER. The way the statements are edited in the documentary are (unintentionally) misleading.
 
Ron Howards new Twitter profile pic. Chewie's seat look dirty from his bandolier...
 

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That would address the "we didn't have the budget" line of argument, but not the "He's too technologically advanced" line of argument.

Like I said, I think the bottom line on why he picked teddy bears specifically was merchandising. You could've done any kind of primitive creature from a story perspective, or stuck with wookiees. Lizard-men like something out of Enemy Mine, (insert color here)-skinned humanoids, pick-your-head-wrinkle Star Trek aliens, whatever. At the end of the day, there's no reason it had to be ewoks...

Why is this such a sticking point? It doesn't matter if it's Ewoks or something else, what matters is that they are a primitive species. Lucas wanted a race of primitives, not an advanced race deprived of their technology. That makes a big difference. If you don't like Ewoks fine, but that doesn't invalidate the theme of primitives vs empire.
 
Why is this such a sticking point? It doesn't matter if it's Ewoks or something else, what matters is that they are a primitive species. Lucas wanted a race of primitives, not an advanced race deprived of their technology. That makes a big difference. If you don't like Ewoks fine, but that doesn't invalidate the theme of primitives vs empire.

Brother robn, it matters because lizard men with primitive technology would've seemed more plausibly able to defeat TKs and AT-STs, than Ewoks. Ewoks are just too short and fat. Heck, they can barely walk. Everyone knows lizard men are stronger than regular men. Remember the Gorn Captain versus Captain Kirk in Arena?

So, when George was faced with the decision of what these primitive aliens should look like, he passed on the more plausible option of lizard men (or something similarly strong and menacing looking), and went for the much less plausible, cuddly Teddy Bear-ish Ewoks. If I know George, he went that route for one reason, and one reason alone: merchandising.

The Wook
 
If it was just for merchandising he wouldnt have made their faces so menacing. Big black eyes and angry mouths are not exactly the standard teddy bear image.

I never felt that their ability to defeat the Imperial forces was over exaggerated either as they are above all things fierce and they used their environment and numbers perfectly. How do you incorporate Lizard people in a grand forest setting? I also never felt the small and diminutive Hobbits were the wrong choice to defeat the forces of evil either.
 
If it was just for merchandising he wouldn't have made their faces so menacing. Big black eyes and angry mouths are not exactly the standard teddy bear image.

Yeah, they were realllly scary.

Lol...come now, they were adorable.

The other characters in the movie were not scared of them. And neither were we.

The Ewoks were silly and adorable--designed explicitly to go for the cute-factor with audiences. And when they made angry faces, no one was frightened or intimidated. We went, "Oh loook, how cute! He's making an angry face! Hahaha haha!! I want one!!!!!".

The Wook
 
I never bought one and I love em.

Its funny how the ones that were not scared of them ended up strapped to poles and being a jungle drum kit as well. George made his point perfectly.
 
Han straight up made the mistake of judging them by their size and *cuteness* and nothing more. Luke made a similar mistake with Yoda...except for the cuteness bit.

I`m sure thats how Tarantino would have played it Indy, but not very George Lucas like.
 
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IMO I think Wookiees would have been the wrong way to go in ROTJ. I think they worked in ROTS because they were technologically advanced and could work with the clones. I watched that the other day for a sec and still like that shot of the Wookiee showing his weapon to the Clonetrooper. If they had used Wookiees in ROTJ the first Stormtrooper would have freaked and yelled "Oh ****! Protect your arms!" :lol
 
Han straight up made the mistake of judging them by their size and *cuteness* and nothing more.

Baloney. Han knew those spears pointed at him were sharp, and was ready to draw his blaster to show 'em who's boss. He didn't misjudge them. His mistake was listening to Luke.

But the point is, it never should've been written that way. It made Han look like a complete wuss.
 
IMO I think Wookiees would have been the wrong way to go in ROTJ. I think they worked in ROTS because they were technologically advanced and could work with the clones. I watched that the other day for a sec and still like that shot of the Wookiee showing his weapon to the Clonetrooper. If they had used Wookiees in ROTJ the first Stormtrooper would have freaked and yelled "Oh ****! Protect your arms!" :lol

Shoulda made them Wookiees imported to Endor as slave labor. The ones our heroes met could have been a gang that escaped and went native.
 
I agree that ROTJ needed a better setup for Han ending up on an Ewok cooking pole. They could have surprised him with a narcotic mist blown into his face. Hit him over the head from behind. Lasso'd him from above with a noose and choked him unconscious. Something.

And he should have been tied up more securely once they caught him.



As for the Ewok design -

I recall the Rinzler ROTJ book saying they started with the raw idea of smaller Wookies. The kept kicking around concept art and the cutest ones were the only ones that didn't look weasel/rat-like. The final design ended up cuter than it started. They all knew it was a problem at the time. Ralph McQuarrie quit the Ewok brainstorming process partway through because he didn't like how cute they were getting.

The Ewoks had been conceived as one of two species to share their role. The other being the bigger "Yuzzums" which were to be some guys walking on stilts. But they dropped the Yuzzums partway through R&D for some practical and photographic reasons and the whole job fell on to the Ewoks.

ROTJ's Ewok problem was a series of smaller decisions adding up to something that nobody had quite intended when they started.
 
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What about the narrative I've heard bandied about for years? That George wanted it to be a planet of wookiees, but couldn't find an adequate number of 7-foot actors. So, knowing that showbiz already had a lot of midgets, he shrunk the characters down and called them Ewoks.

The Wook

Hey, how come no one commented on this post of mine a couple pages back? Am I the only one here who heard this explanation over the years??
 
They could recast everyone in the Solo movie.

Han could be an Ewok.

Lando a Porg.

Chewie a Gungan.

Jabba a Yuzzum.

I've never heard that Wook, though it was certainly possible.
 
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