DuracellEnergizer posted:Most Star Wars fans know that Wookiees were originally going to be in ROTJ, but that Lucas changed them into Ewoks. His reasoning behind the change? Well, he wanted the Wookiee/Imperial battle to draw parallels between the Viet Cong/US military conflict during the Vietnam War - namingly that a primitive society could defeat a far more technologically advanced enemy. But since Chewie was shown to have mechanical skills in ANH and TESB (and because the Wookiees were shown to have technology in the Holiday Special, I suppose) Lucas decided to replace the Wookiees with a new species - the dwarfish Ewoks. But Lucas could have still had Wookiees put into ROTJ. Here are two scenarios that could have been used to get around the "Wookiee = advanced" issue: 1. Slave traders visited the Wookiee homeworld and kidnapped Chewbacca, taking him from his home and selling him into slavery. The Wookiees could have been pre-technological primitives, but Chewbacca learned how to operate and fix technology while offworld in service to his owners. 2. A group of Wookiees left their homeworld in the distant past and established a colony on Endor. For one reason or another they lost the ability to operate and create their technology, resulting in them devolving to a pre-technological level. Chewbacca - and his people - would have an understanding of technology, but the Endorian Wookiees wouldn't. I can't see why Lucas didn't go one of these or a similar route while making ROTJ. Resorting to using Ewoks as a replacement was sort of a drastic move.
Gary_Buchenara posted:I think it would've worked well. It wouldn't have been all that hard to retain the primitive v technologically advanced theme with the Wookiees instead of the Ewoks.
eht13 posted:Gary_Buchenara posted:I think it would've worked well. It wouldn't have been all that hard to retain the primitive v technologically advanced theme with the Wookiees instead of the Ewoks. I agree. It also would have been a lot easier to accept Wookiees beating the Stormtroopers than Ewoks doing so.
DarthIktomi posted:We see ONE DEAD EWOK! One of the crazier things Lucas did. Only one! Why, George? I would figure the Empire would kill a lot more of them, if they could kill 32 out of 36 Rebels assaulting the Death Star.
CaptainYossarian posted:Wookiees had already been conceptualised differently so it would seem to be a bit pointless to take the time explaining why there were other Wookiees on Endor.
CaptainYossarian posted:It also serves to highlight the Empire's weaknesses. They didn't simply get beaten by an enemy on a level field, rather they were kept at bay by an unlikely and much more inferior foe because they underestimated them and couldn't deal with the tactics they used.
DuracellEnergizer posted:1. Slave traders visited the Wookiee homeworld and kidnapped Chewbacca, taking him from his home and selling him into slavery. The Wookiees could have been pre-technological primitives, but Chewbacca learned how to operate and fix technology while offworld in service to his owners. 2. A group of Wookiees left their homeworld in the distant past and established a colony on Endor. For one reason or another they lost the ability to operate and create their technology, resulting in them devolving to a pre-technological level. Chewbacca - and his people - would have an understanding of technology, but the Endorian Wookiees wouldn't.
Artoo-Dion posted:Beyond what CaptainYossarian said (with which I agree), both of the above seem contrived and, frankly, clunky. The exposition needed would stop the film dead in its tracks and elicit a "What the...?" from the general audience. The Ewoks are clearly identifiable as "primitives" by appearance alone -- no exposition necessary.
DuracellEnergizer posted:I agree that my second idea would be a little harder to put into play. But it's not hard at all to say that Chewie was a slave who was taken from a planet of primitives until Han freed him or something.
Artoo-Dion posted:It's old SW lore and so I get where you're coming from, but really, doesn't the Ewok idea -- dwarf-sized primitive teddy bears defeating the mighty Empire -- fit better, thematically, than giant Wookiees ripping Stormtroopers' arms out of their sockets?