I just finished watching Return of the Jedi, and I don't remember actually hearing any of the characters referring to the teddy-bear-like creatures as 'Ewoks'.
Where did that name actually come from?
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15I definitely never thought about this before :p – Sydenam Sep 26 '11 at 08:14
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2Later on, the Ewok TV show's theme tune made their name painfully clear. – Paul D. Waite Mar 11 '13 at 12:42
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4Do we really need an ewok tag? – OghmaOsiris Mar 11 '13 at 14:44
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@OghmaOsiris - The fact that you even need to ask this question suggests you may be on the wrong site... :-) – Valorum Mar 05 '14 at 19:14
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4@PaulD.Waite - Which beggars the question; How do we know it's not pronounced 'E-E-E-E-E-E-EWoks'? – Valorum Mar 05 '14 at 19:41
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5This is true with lots of things in Star Wars. There are lots of minor character names and species that are never spoken on screen. – Ben Miller Sep 06 '14 at 11:55
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1Fun fact: There are words for a certain kind of monkey in at least two Asian languages that sound very similar to "Ewok". In the Shan language of Myanmar there is "ဢီႇဝွၵ်ႈ" and in the Lü language of southern China there is "ᦀᦲᦰᦞᦸᧅ". – hippietrail Feb 21 '16 at 09:08
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According to the Behind the Scenes section of the Wookieepedia article:
A little-known fact is that the Ewoks are never referred to by name in Return of the Jedi’s dialogue; the name only appeared in the script directions, the novelization, the movie’s credits, and other spin-off and promotional materials.
So, the name was set in the script already - just never mentioned.
Additionally, the origin of the name is such that it was intended to be related to the word ‘Wookiee’ (the rainforest scenes on Endor were original going to be on the Wookiee homeworld, and Ewoks were to be a related species to the Wookiees), and it is reminiscent of the Miwok people of Northern California.
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4If the name Ewoks is part of "the movie's credits", it's make that name G-canon. – DavRob60 Sep 26 '11 at 12:00
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4@OghmaOsiris G-canon is essentially Word of George and movies. The various levels of Star Wars canonicity are covered at http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/1806/what-is-the-singular-source-of-star-wars-canonization/1809#1809 – HorusKol Sep 27 '11 at 22:58
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14Interesting fact - Boba Fett was never referred to by name in Empire either. Many of the names we "know" actually came from secondary sources - novels, toys, comics, tie-ins, the Holiday Special (and now I must have a shower), etc. – Mar 11 '13 at 01:48
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2The name annoys me so, because it reminds me that we could have had a climatic end battle with Wookies instead of teddy bears. – joshbirk Mar 05 '14 at 02:46
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They're specifically referred to as Ewoks in the original script...
"A strange little furry face with huge black eyes comes slowly into view. The creature is an EWOK, by the name of WICKET."
...as well as in the end-credits for Return of the Jedi.
Obviously they're also named in the novelisation of ROTJ, interviews with George Lucas as well as enjoying their own films (Star Wars: Ewok Adventures, Ewoks - Caravan of Courage) and animated adventures under the name Ewoks
As to the origin of the Ewoks, the interview with George Lucas (below) makes it clear that the intention was that the Ewok moon was originally planned to be the home planet of the Wookiees but as the film series evolved, the Wookiees ended up being too tall and technologically advanced, leading to Lucas designing a new species.
The name 'Ewok' itself is a corruption of the word Miwok, a tribe who were originally indigenous to the woodland where the Endor scenes were shot.
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Are those end credits from the original film or the New Improved Super Pooper Extra Special Outstanding Gold Collectors Edition New Media? – DVK-on-Ahch-To May 11 '14 at 12:07
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1@Wikis - And yet my answer sleeps with the fishes. Perhaps I should make the red box bigger and hand-drawn. – Valorum Sep 30 '14 at 19:40
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@Richard no, it needs to be pure Javascript CANVAS with an AJAX call to an XML file, which receives its tagging from an Indesign document. – Robert Dec 23 '14 at 15:10
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They were never referred to as Ewoks within the films (though their species name was mentioned in the credits), though they may have been specifically named in the novelizations.
The Ewok's names (like most minor characters) only became known in the Extended Universe and the books. The Ewoks had a leg up, though: marketing. They were almost custom-made to sell toys. LucasFilm cashed in with a cartoon series (I think), live action movies, an extensive toy line, etc.
Jeff
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1Don't know where it's located, but you could probably find a mention of their species' name in the movie's script. – Peter Cassetta Sep 26 '11 at 05:20
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1@Jeff LucasArts makes Star Wars video games. LucasFilm makes movies and TV shows. – Sep 26 '11 at 13:39
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I guess also they could make those two awful spinoff movies based on the ewoks. – Monkeygirl Sep 27 '11 at 11:12
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@Jeff LucasArts (which is mostly defunct since the Disney Acquisition) is the video game developer originally known as LucasFilm Games from 1982-1990. – hobbs Sep 30 '14 at 22:30
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@Jeff - "never referred to as Ewoks in the films", except in the credits, obviously where they're referred to as ewoks. – Valorum Dec 22 '14 at 09:00
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@Richard: Good point, updated. That said, I don't know that the credits truly identified the species, just that a species named 'Ewok' existed. It is possible, given that none of the Ewoks were named, that some movie goers could have misidentified the Sullustan in the Falcon as the 'Ewok' mentioned in the credits. I was referring to an explicit link between the species and the name, not the logical deduction someone who read all the credits could have made. Good catch. – Jeff Dec 23 '14 at 14:51
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Empire was supposed to be based on the Wookiee home world but throughout the series Lucas had the Wookiees gain better technology. He wanted someone more primitive to beat the empire’s troops so he created the Ewoks. The name comes from the Miwok native american tribe and their language is based on the Kalmyk language from Russia.
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1This does not answer this question. Interesting trivia, sure, but not an answer. I'd suggest reading the Tour under the help menu. – Meat Trademark Mar 05 '14 at 05:33
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1“throughout the series Lucas had the Wookies gain better technology” — did he? In the original trilogy the only Wookie we see is Chewbacca, and he just hangs out with Han. – Paul D. Waite Mar 05 '14 at 09:12
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No one mentioned or might not of heard of the spin off movie "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor" it was released in 1985, two years after ROTJ.
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