Ewok Star Wars Guide: Endor, Movies and Jedi

An Ewok in Star Wars is a member of a sentient, furred species native to the forest moon of Endor. Ewoks walk on two legs and stand about one meter tall, according to the Star Wars Databank. Their introduction to audiences came in Return of the Jedi (1983), directed by Richard Marquand. That combination of a home, a species description and a first screen appearance gives readers a way to identify them without treating every small, furred Star Wars character as an Ewok. For the broader franchise context, see our Star Wars guide.

A species name and a character name answer different questions when identifying an Ewok. Wicket W. Warrick is the individual played by Warwick Davis in Return of the Jedi and the two Ewok television movies. The Star Wars Databank lists Wicket at 0.8 meters tall, a specific measurement alongside the approximate one meter height given for Ewoks generally. Wicket's friendship with Leia Organa provides a personal connection to the Rebel characters in Return of the Jedi, while the broader Ewok community also takes part in the story on Endor. Readers comparing character details can use the individual entry for Wicket and the species entry for the broader description.

Ewoks live on the forest moon of Endor, where Bright Tree Village forms part of their setting in Return of the Jedi. The description matters because a forest moon gives a more precise location than an unspecified forest planet. Endor is the Ewoks' home, and their presence gives the Rebel mission a connection to the people who live there. Their familiarity with the forest and use of tools become relevant when the Galactic Empire's military presence reaches the moon.

The Empire's shield generator also makes Endor important to the Rebel Alliance's mission in Return of the Jedi. The setting therefore brings an inhabited home and a military objective into the same story. Leia Organa's meeting with Wicket W. Warrick gives that encounter a personal dimension, while the ground mission concerns the generator. Wicket is one identifiable Ewok within the community, and Warwick Davis plays him in the film.

Endor is also the setting for the premise of Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. In the television movie, Cindel Towani and her older brother Mace are separated from their parents after their family's starcruiser crashes there. When watching Return of the Jedi, notice both the village and the generator: each explains a different part of why the encounter on Endor matters. The next section discusses the Ewoks' part in the ground battle and reveals its outcome.

Wicket W. Warrick is the Ewok played by Warwick Davis in Return of the Jedi and the two Ewok television movies. His meeting and friendship with Leia Organa give viewers a recognizable individual within the Endor community. The full character name is useful when checking a performance credit, because Ewok identifies his species while Wicket W. Warrick identifies the character. Davis's performances connect the 1983 theatrical film with both later television productions.

The Star Wars Databank lists Wicket at 0.8 meters tall, while its species description gives Ewoks an approximate height of one meter. Those measurements describe subjects at different levels of precision: one refers to Wicket and the other gives a general scale for Ewoks. Both entries also help place the individual character within the species native to the forest moon of Endor.

The television productions are Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, directed by John Korty, and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, directed by Ken and Jim Wheat. The first premiered on ABC in 1984 and the second in 1985. When comparing appearances, follow the character name and the Warwick Davis credit. Release dates and story placement answer separate questions and should be checked for each production.

The two Ewok television movies are Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984), directed by John Korty, and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985), directed by Ken and Jim Wheat. Both premiered on ABC, with the first airing in the United States on November 25, 1984, and the second premiering in November 1985. Warwick Davis played Wicket W. Warrick in both productions. These details help distinguish a Star Wars Ewok movie made for television from the theatrical saga film that introduced the species.

In Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, Cindel Towani and her older brother Mace are separated from their parents after their family's starcruiser crashes on Endor. Cindel is four years old in the premise described by Lucasfilm. The setting connects the family's story with the forest moon identified as the Ewoks' home.

A production detail offers another way to distinguish the first television adventure: Industrial Light & Magic created eyelids for sleeping Ewoks because the original Return of the Jedi masks lacked them. StarWars.com later included both television movies in the Star Wars Vintage Collection announced on April 2, 2021. Use the ABC premiere dates to compare release order, without assuming those dates establish the movies' exact fictional chronology.

Star Wars: Ewoks is an animated series that debuted on ABC in 1985 and returned for a second season in 1986. Lucasfilm places its events before Return of the Jedi, even though the series reached television after the 1983 film. Its format distinguishes it from Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, which are television movies. The shared broadcaster and neighboring release years help place the productions in a viewing history, but they do not make them the same series.

Release order and story order answer different questions about Star Wars: Ewoks. The 1985 debut tells viewers when the animated series first aired, while Lucasfilm's description places its events before those of Return of the Jedi. The film introduced audiences to the Ewoks and their forest moon home, and the series offers another production bearing the species name.

The two television movies also appeared on ABC: Caravan of Courage premiered in November 1984, followed by Ewoks: The Battle for Endor in November 1985. For a viewing choice, use the two seasons to identify the animated option and the movie titles to find the separate television adventures. The series' stated placement does not establish an exact timeline position for the two movies.

The cited Star Wars Vintage Collection announcement does not establish the current canon status of the two Ewok television movies. StarWars.com included Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor in the collection announced on April 2, 2021. That identifies how the productions were presented together, but the collection name alone does not settle whether their events share continuity with the saga films. A definitive canon answer would require an explicit authoritative continuity statement.

The available production details answer other questions that readers may bring to the movies. Lucasfilm identifies their ABC premieres as November 1984 and November 1985, while its animated series description places Star Wars: Ewoks before Return of the Jedi. Those statements establish release information and a setting for the animated series, respectively. They do not give the same kind of information as a statement about the television movies' continuity status.

Both movies feature Warwick Davis as Wicket W. Warrick, the character he also played in Return of the Jedi. That shared performance is a useful way to identify the productions, but the cited collection announcement does not use it to establish their canon status. When choosing what to watch, use the titles and formats to identify the television movies, and treat their continuity status as unresolved by the cited announcement.

The supplied official references do not identify an Ewok Jedi or establish that an Ewok could never become one. The documented details here concern the Ewoks' home on Endor, their appearances and their connection to the Rebel Alliance. A character's presence in a story containing Jedi does not by itself establish that the character is a Jedi. For a specific character, look for separate evidence identifying both the species and Jedi status.

Nubs is a useful identification check for readers thinking of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. StarWars.com identifies Nubs as a Pooba Jedi youngling, so Nubs is not evidence of an Ewok Jedi. That species identification answers the question about this particular character without making a broader claim about every Ewok. By comparison, the Star Wars Databank identifies Ewoks as a sentient, furred species native to the forest moon of Endor.

Wicket W. Warrick is an example of a named Ewok whose documented details include his friendship with Leia Organa and Warwick Davis's performances as the character. Those details identify Wicket and his appearances; they do not establish Jedi status. For the wider franchise context, return to our Star Wars guide, then use the individual production titles when choosing an Ewok story to watch.