Following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the Star Wars franchise has been making a more noticeable effort to form interesting connective threads between the movies and other media set in a galaxy far, far away. For instance, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story threw in a few references to the Star Wars Rebels TV show, like including a mention of General Syndulla and even showing the ship that the main characters travel in. A new rumor suggests that Episode VIII will also share a connection to the animated series through creatures called Convorees, which live on Ahch-To, the planet seen at the end of The Force Awakens where Luke Skywalker has been hiding for God knows how long.
Back in December, it was reported that Star Wars: Episode VIII would feature avian creatures designed after our real-life puffins that have razor sharp teeth and "are a mixture of the terrifying and the adorable." Now Making Star Wars is saying that these creatures will be convorees, although their designs may not be exactly the same as they are in Star Wars Rebels, as seen below. The earlier report stated that the avian creatures are "Luke's friends," and they see themselves as the "protectors" of the Ahch-To islands. It was also mentioned that convor (the singular tense) puppets have been constructed, so at least there will be a practical element to them.
While the convorees aren't haven't been majorly integral to Star Wars Rebels' storylines over the last three seasons, they have shown up at key moments, like after Ahsoka Tano's fight with Darth Vader. They were first seen during Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and producer Dave Filoni has suggested there are multiple convor breeds. Assuming this report is correct, Star Wars: Episode VIII will be their biggest opportunity to shine. That said, it's unclear whether there's more to these animals than meets the eye. The Making Star Wars article speculated that convorees could have some kind of connection to the Force, which might provide another explanation for why Luke is on Ahch-To besides seeking out the first Jedi Temple.
Convorees aren't the only cool creatures rumored to appear on Ahch-To during Star Wars: Episode VIII. It was also reported last month that Rey will have to fight a sea monster while on the planet in order to prove that she's worthy enough stay there, putting the young woman through a test similar to how Luke had to fight that imaginary Darth Vader on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back. Ahch-To may look like a beautiful and peaceful planet from above, but its wildlife definitely sound like they shouldn't be trifled with.
Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released in theaters on December 15.
