Star Wars directors, they're just like us! OK, maybe not in general, but anyone who geeked out a little seeing Return of the Jedi's Wicket back for The Rise of Skywalker has something in common with J.J. Abrams.
Warwick Davis, who turns 50 on February 3, was only 13 when Return of the Jedi came out in 1983. Star Wars: Episode VI introduced his Ewok character, Wicket W. Warrick. Not only did Wicket return, briefly, in Episode IX, he was shown to have a son named Pommet -- played by Davis' own real-life son Harrison. It was a great little addition to the final film in the Skywalker Saga. And it was thrilling for The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams to see Davis get back in that Wicket costume after so many decades:
Oh my God. He was like a little child! I couldn't see much, because it's hard to see out of an Ewok costume because the eyes are misted up. But he was just so, so excited. And this was his idea to do this, and he relished every moment of it. And his gratefulness to me doing it. I was like, 'You don't have to be thankful. I just love doing it. Thanks for asking me.' And, yeah. It was absolutely, absolutely brilliant.
Warwick Davis told Comicbook that J.J. Abrams was effusive with his thanks for bringing Wicket back in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but Davis was quick to return the gratitude to Abrams:
And he's such a lovely guy, as well. There aren't many people in the world that are as lovely as he is. His energy and enthusiasm for Star Wars is infectious. Even if we didn't all love it enough working on it, him being there and [made it] absolutely, absolutely brilliant. He's a great guy and I really, again, will thank him now again for the opportunities of bringing Wicket to the screen. And also involving Harrison, my son, as well.
Warwick Davis continued praising J.J. Abrams when talking to Inverse about bringing back Wicket:
It's thanks to J.J. Abrams and his vision and his enthusiasm and the fact that he is a fan of Star Wars that he did that. There were quite a few little cameos like that in Rise of Skywalker, which I greatly enjoyed seeing as a fan. But yeah, I never thought I'd be bringing that character back, and I also never thought it'd be quite so involved. I was able to consult in recreating that character and that costume because there's very little reference of how the costume was made.
Warwick Davis talked to CinemaBlend about helping behind-the-scenes in the process to recreate Wicket's costume. He also made sure to include Wicket's trademark head tilt -- which he told us was inspired by his own dog. He brought that back for Rise of Skywalker to help fans recognize that particular Ewok as Wicket.
Like Mark Hamill, Warwick Davis got to play more than one character in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker He also played Resistance member Wizzich Mozzer (not to be confused with Ed Sheeran's Resistance member, who is apparently this guy). When Rise of Skywalker gets its home release, Warwick Davis told CinemaBlend there will be a bonus feature documenting his process in bringing Wicket back on screen.
Ewoks have taken a lot of heat from the Star Wars fandom, but as a young girl when Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi came out, I loved them. Hopefully most fans were pleased with that little glimpse of the Ewoks in Episode IX. The Rise of Skywalker is still playing in theaters, and we're not sure yet when it will get its home release, but the Digital release should be first (maybe March), followed by the DVD/Blu-ray.
