As if The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda wasn’t already filling the galaxy far, far away’s cuteness quota this fall, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is on its way and with it, perhaps the highest density of adorableness in the franchise’s history. There’s the new droid D-O, the returning BB-8 and the true chosen one R2-D2. Now a new poster for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has confirmed the return of Porgs, Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s reigning champion in cuteness and edibility. Take a look:
There’s a lot going on in this international poster for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from Star Wars’ German Instagram account, but if you look closely you can spot a Porg on the bottom left of the image. The sea-dwelling bird native to Ahch-To is staring out into the distance to the left of new droid D-0 and what appears to be Dominic Monaghan’s unnamed Resistance fighter.
So it would appear that Chewie’s squawking co-pilot who hitchhiked a ride on the Millennium Falcon in The Last Jedi will again be part of the adventure in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Either the Porgs on Ahch-To were not as tasty as they looked or Chewbacca grew to love the little thing. Because he didn’t eat it in the year or so between the Sequel Trilogy films.
Good on that little Porg, who it turns out is named ‘Terbus,’ for making it this far in such dangerous times. I don’t know whether that Porg or his human companions will return to the rest of the big-eyed, puffin-like creatures on Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but Terbus certainly won’t be alone in Episode IX, with characters new and old taking part in the final battle for the fate of the galaxy.
Will the Porg survive and if not, can he come back as a Force ghost? Stay tuned.
As you can see, the return of the Porgs is not the only noteworthy thing about this German poster for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The poster also gives us a look at a few new characters, including the aforementioned Dominic Monaghan. We saw his Resistance fighter with Rose Tico in the final trailer and he is with her again here, so it will be interesting to see what that pair is up to while the trio of Rey, Finn and Poe do their thing.
The poster also shows us Naomi Ackie’s Jannah, who is clearly aligned with the light as well as Keri Russell’s Zorrii Bliss, who is in the red with the dark siders, although her allegiances might not be so clear cut in the film itself. We also get a look at what appears to be Richard E. Grant’s Allegiant General Pryde, who has been absent from the trailers.
And of course we can’t finish the discussion of this poster without mentioning the criminally tardy Knights of Ren, who have also been largely unseen in the trailers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But we see them here and while I think we’re past the point in the Sequel Trilogy where they would play a huge role, and their scale and positioning here does not indicate otherwise, they still look awesome.
The masked warriors look like a group of samurai, which is fitting given Akira Kurosawa’s influence on George Lucas. So we will definitely be getting something from the enigmatic group as this saga comes to a close.
The Porgs return when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker blasts into theaters on December 20. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what big movies are on the way next year and let us know in the poll below who you think is cuter, the Porg or baby Yoda.