Return of the Ewok

Return of the Ewok is a 24-minute mockumentary starring Warwick Davis, the actor who played the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and the Ewok spin-off films. It was created by Davis and David Tomblin, Return of the Jedi's first assistant director. Tomblin directed. Lucasfilm Ltd. planned to use the movie as a promotional film for Return of the Jedi, but post-production on the film was never completed.

The film is set in both the "real world" and the fictional locations of the Star Wars universe. Real-world locations include an airport, Elstree Studios and the actors' dressing rooms, while the fictional locations include Dagobah, the Death Star II, Jabba's Palace, and the forest Moon of Endor. Throughout the film, these two realities are intermixed to produce an alternate reality.

Plot summary

"There comes a time in every man's life when he must go out into the world to seek his fame and fortune."

―Warwick Davis

Return of the Ewok focuses on the fictional account of Davis's decision to become an actor and act as Wicket in Return of the Jedi. It also follows his transformation into Wicket. The film was shot on Tomblin's own 16mm camera and created during production of Return of the Jedi. As Warwick and as Wicket, he visits and interacts with many of the cast and crew of the movie and then characters of the movie. As Warwick, he goes to Elstree Studios where he interacts with the cast, both in and out of character. At one point, he even interacts with Luke Skywalker as he jumps out of a movie screen. As Wicket, he goes to Dagobah to see Yoda, and the Death Star he sees Darth Vader, and is chased by Boba Fett.

Production

Return of the Ewok was conceived by David Tomblin and funded by George Lucas. According to Warwick Davis, "[Tomblin] kept thinking of it in the night, he used to jump up and write little bits. Eventually, he ended up with this whole story, and we made this little film." Tomblin told Starlog magazine: "At lunch times, I would rush around and try and shoot pieces for it."

Legacy

The original 16 mm print of Return of the Ewok is said to be lost; for years, Warwick Davis's VHS dub was the only known copy. In 1999, he loaned this copy to Lucasfilm so that they could make their own copy. The 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy included a bonus disc that contained an easter egg of bloopers, which included a high-quality clip from Return of the Ewok of Wicket being chased by Boba Fett on the Death Star. In April 2005, a four minute edit of the film was made available on the official Star Wars website for members of the Hyperspace fan club. (That year, the film was entered in the Lucasfilm-sponsored Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, for which it won the Pioneer Award.) High quality clips from the film were used in "Warwick & Son', a featurette included with the 2020 home video release of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.

Davis first publicly screened the film at the first Star Wars Celebration in 1999. This was followed by screenings at both Celebration II in 2002, and Celebration III in 2005. His first UK screening of the film was at the National Space Centre in Leicester for the Star Wars day convention on November 12, 2005.

In 2011, Davis co-created and starred in the HBO/BBC TV series Life's Too Short, which also uses a mockumentary style to follow the actor as an adult.

Credits

By type

Cast

Crew

Uncredited

Cast

Warwick Davis – himself Roy Kinnear – the talent agent Robert Watts – the producer Harrison Ford – himself Mark Hamill – himself Carrie Fisher – herself Anthony Daniels – C-3PO David Prowse – himself and Darth Vader Jeremy Bulloch – Boba Fett Frank Oz – performing Yoda Tim Rose – performing Salacious B. Crumb Peter Mayhew – Chewbacca David Tomblin – the choreographer and the voice of Darth Vader and Boba Fett Sue Davis – Warwick's mother Ashley Davis – Warwick's father Kim Davis – Warwick's sister Chelsea Football Club – themselves Buboicullaar – himself R2-D2 – himself Jabba the Hutt – himself Amanda Noar – Jess Laudica – uncredited actress Max Rebo – himself Droopy McCool – himself Sy Snootles – herself Snipp Nkik – himself assorted people at the airport – unknown, uncredited

Sources

• The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
• "Wicket Unleashed" – Star Wars Insider 31
• "Return of the Ewok" – Star Wars Insider 46
• New Star Wars Insider Uncovers "Return of the Ewok" on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Warwick Davis at Celebration II on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• starwars.com at Celebration III - Mystery Ewok Theater 2005: Return of the Ewok on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Hyperspace Video: Return of the Ewok on Hyperspace (content removed from StarWars.com; backup link)
• "Skywalking" – Star Wars Insider 87
• "Warwick Davis Presents: A Star Wars Acting Master Class" – Star Wars Insider 143
• Caravan of Courage: Celebrating 30 Years of an Ewok Adventure on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• Warwick Davis: A Career from Endor to Hogwarts on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• Carrie Fisher: The Princess Diaries | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)

External links

• Return of the Ewok at the Internet Movie Database
• Entry - At the BFI Film and Television database

In other languages

• español