Star Wars is Finally Canonizing its Forgotten Ugly Rat Monsters
Take a peek at the Teek.
Well before The Acolyte, The Mandalorian, and even The Clone Wars, Star Wars was on television thanks to animated series like Droids and Ewoks. The latter, a follow-up about everyone’s favorite cuddly warriors, obviously came after Return of the Jedi, but it also arrived after two live-action made-for-TV movies expanded on that fan-favorite setting, the forest moon of Endor.
Those movies, 1984’s Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and 1985’s Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, are forgotten by all but the most hardcore fans and have largely been ignored by modern canon, but one of their critters will return for the upcoming series Skeleton Crew.
The Teek are super-fast rodents native to Endor.
In an interview with Empire, The Green Knight director David Lowery discussed the episode of Skeleton Crew he directed, which is presumably set on Endor. “I was most excited about having hand puppets on set,” says Lowery. “It’s the most ancient technology being used with the most cutting-edge technology, simultaneously. That combination was absolutely magical. There’s a character in my episode that’s […] the Teek, from Battle For Endor. And it’s just a little hand puppet!”
While the Ewoks are toddling and cuddly, the Teek are rat-like and extremely quick, often seen as a blurry figure running through the forest. They’ve rarely appeared in canon; one of their most high-profile appearances is in the safety video of the original Star Tours ride. Because the Ewok movies are generally considered non-canon, it’s been assumed the Teek are non-canon too, until now.
Charal, an evil witch in the Battle for Endor, was later declared a Nightsister.
It makes sense to bring back the goofy-looking Teek for a family-friendly series, but if the Teek are canon, does that mean the rest of Battle for Endor is, too? The movie, about the Ewoks and a human girl resisting a band of marauders, racked up a surprisingly high body count for a movie aimed at children. A mischievous Teek, confusing just called Teek, helped our heroes, and the film also included a dark side witch who used an artifact called the Talisman of the Raven to shapeshift into a bird.
Charal, the self-declared Witch-Queen of Endor, was the main villain, and was retroactively declared a Witch of Dathomir by supplementary materials and novels. The movie left her trapped in her raven form, so it’s unlikely she’ll appear in Skeleton Crew. But now that we know the Teek are on the table, keep an eye out for any suspicious-looking birds.
