Early STAR WARS Ewok Concept Art is Very Different and Warwick Davis Discusses The Early "More Primitive" Designs

For those of you who don’t really go digging for original Star Wars concept art, I’ve got some early Ewok character designs to show you today that come from artists Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, and Nilo Rodis-Jamero.

A lot of these designs are so different from what we ended up seeing in the movie. Some Star Wars fans don’t care for Ewoks, but for me, Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars film that I saw and I got to see it on the big screen at a drive-in movie theater! I loved every moment of that experience. I loved the Ewoks!

One thing I’m sure most of you know is that George Lucas told Rolling Stone in 1983 that the original plan for Ewoks was "a short Wookiee." He explained, "In the original film, the giant end battle was the crux of the whole movie: a sort of primitive society overcoming this huge technological society. In the early versions of the script, those primitives were Wookiees."

It took some time to figure out the design of these characters. In another interview with TheForce.net before The Phantom Menace was released in theaters, Warwick Davis shared his thoughts on Ewoks and what he thinks about some fans not liking them. He said:

"Well, I can see both sides. I love the Ewoks – let's face it, I am a bit biased, Ewoks are the reason my career as an actor is where it is today (no jokes please). However, I can also understand the argument of those who say that they're too cute and don't fit into the 'Star Wars' look.”

He then went on to talk about the early concept art and the more primitive designs, saying:

"I personally like the early concept drawings for the Ewoks that were more primitive. When the costumes were designed, various changes had to be made to accommodate the actors, so a compromise was reached. Even if the look did not make it through to the finished film, George's concept of primitive creatures bringing down the technologically advanced Empire certainly did, and it works great."

You can check out some of that early concept art below of the Ewoks. Some of these designs are really weird and fun!