WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The finale to the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, featured a Star Wars cameo appearance from a classic Return of the Jedi character. Directed by J.J. Abrams, the most recent addition to the Star Wars canon has been scowled at by critics for, among other things, its over-tributary approach and the resulting atmosphere of fandom servitude. With that said, several familiar faces – and voices – from the two previous trilogies have been included in the cast, including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, and Ian McDiarmid, among many, many others.
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Doused amongst the final adventure of new characters Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) are bits and pieces of recollective memorabilia from across the entire galaxy. This includes 1983’s Return of the Jedi. The original third episode of the franchise and directed by Richard Marquand, Return of the Jedi similarly follows Luke Skywalker (Hamill) on what was then his final quest against Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire.
His crusade takes him, Leia (Fisher), and Han (Ford) across all sorts of terrain, until finally ending up on the Forest Moon of Endor, where a ferociously adorable tribe of native creatures, called Ewoks, help them in their plight against the occupying Stormtroopers. What’s interesting is that the Ewoks returned for a brief scene in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, to symbolize a true end to the saga and everyone that came before.
The Return of the Ewoks
Once Rey, Finn, and the entire onslaught of Resistance fighters come together to defeat the Final Order and the Emperor once and for all on Exegol, The Rise of Skywalker embarks on a galaxy-wide celebratory sweep, sending audiences across several of the well-known planets from across the franchise as they are succinctly and simultaneously liberated. One of these familiar locations is the Forest Moon of Endor, and standing there, watching as the looming destroyer above them bursts into oblivion (and looking just as fuzzy as always) are a pair of Ewoks, including Return of the Jedi‘s Wicket.
Audiences first met Wicket through Princess Leia, who, after crashing her speeder in the forest, encountered the Ewok checking to see if she was still alive. The pair quickly formed an alliance, and Wicket, utilizing his knowledge and familiarity of the environment, informed Leia on how best to attack the Galactic forces. Though they did prove to be at least somewhat useful in battle against the Stormtroopers at the end of Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks have always been a controversial addition to Star Wars. Recognized back in the 1980s as a cheap form of toy advertising and audience manipulation, they’ve since become known as the franchise’s premiere example of this practice.
In the nearly 40 years separating Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, fans have been forced to peer into Star Wars‘ cash-grabbing eyes as useless, but unique-looking characters graced the screen. While George Lucas had his fair share of “cutesy” blunders, this type of marketing was a growing concern after the House of Mouse bought out Lucasfilm and officially took control of the Star Wars series. From the ever-divisive Jar-Jar Binks to Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s Porg birds and even to J.J. Abrams’ pair of personable droids, the franchise’s ploys for cash have not been hard to catch… at all.
Warwick Davis Reprised His Role As Wicket
Of course, simply inserting Wicket wouldn’t have been tributary enough for The Rise of Skywalker, a film that also made sure to include the voice of the late Alec Guinness calling out to its beckoning heroine. To complete this heart-grabbing callback, Abrams brought back the character’s original performer, Warwick Davis, to play the part.
Wicket was actually Davis’ first big screen role, and in the coming years, the up-and-coming character actor would go on to reprise the role in two separate TV movies: 1984’s The Ewok Adventure and 1985’s Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. Airing on ABC, both films took place between the events of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, completely separate from the galactic war they would end up partaking in. Instead, the pair of movies were run-of-the-mill children’s tales, where kids, after getting separated from their parents, wander around aimlessly until finally bumping into these puppet-like creatures. Together, the children and the Ewoks then embark on a wild (if cliched) adventure about what it means to grow up.
Since that point – though the actor didn’t perform in the similarly strange, Ewok-themed animated TV show – Davis has enjoyed a bountiful career, including (multiple) supporting roles in the Harry Potter franchise, the main antagonist part in the ’90s slasher Leprechaun, as well as the titular role of Willow Ufgood in 1988’s Willow.
The Other Ewok Is Played By Davis’ Son Harrison
As if this heartfelt return wasn’t good enough for participating audiences, this quick appearance was also special for the 49-year-old actor. As was mentioned before, Wicket is seen in The Rise of Skywalker standing alongside another Ewok. This is actually the fluffy character’s son, Pommet Warrick, who is, in turn, played by Davis’ real life son, Harrison. Together with his wife, Samantha, Warwick Davis has had four children, though his first two sons, as a result of the married couple having two different causes of dwarfism, passed away shortly after birth. Since then, Davis became the co-founder of Little People UK, a charity organization dedicated to providing support to people and families with dwarfism.
