If you’ve been wondering for the past 34 years what Leia and Wicket the Ewok got up to right after Leia gives him that weird Rice Krispies treat in Return of the Jedi, wonder no more. The latest animated episode of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny dips into the classic trilogy for the first time, with cutesy results. But why didn’t they try to eat her?
On Wednesday, Disney released the third episode of the animated series Forces of Destiny titled “Ewok Escape.” Spoiler alert: Ewoks do in fact escape in this micro-story, despite many old-school Star Wars fans hating the Ewoks almost as much as everyone hates Jar Jar Binks. But, these animated shorts aren’t really for hardcore fans. They’re obviously for kids. So, with that in mind, unapologetically loving Leia’s adventures with Ewoks doesn’t make you a bad person.
Still, two mysteries from Return of the Jedi remain unsolved.
First up, Leia’s special dress. Even though “Ewok Escape” depicts the Ewoks giving Leia the gift of a special dress, it doesn’t explain why the Ewoks have human clothes in Leia’s size just lying around in their huts. Here, the Ewoks give Leia the dress wrapped-up as a little present. But where did it come from? Who made it? If Forces of Destiny gets more episodes set on the Ewok moon of Endor, maybe brilliantly fast Ewok tailors will be introduced.
Second: why didn’t the Ewoks try to eat Leia the way they tried to eat Han, Luke, and Chewbacca? While this can be easily answered by saying, “Leia helped them, so they like her,” it still doesn’t quite ring true. The Ewoks had unconditional love for Leia … or did they? Maybe Leia was bait, a long-con for luring the fresher meat of Han, Luke, and Chewie. Never forget that our heroes were totally going to be “main course” at a banquet. The Ewoks were totally prepared to burn alive Luke, Han, and Chewie, despite Leia’s protests. If Luke hadn’t used the Force to freak everyone out, they would all be dead. Imagine Leia’s relationship with the Ewoks at that point!
In an alternate universe, Han died right here, burned by Ewoks and then eaten.
Additional episodes of Forces of Destiny will continue to be posted on the Disney Channel’s YouTube account. The series will debut on the Disney Channel on July 9.
