If you’ve ever come across Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) or Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984), you might have had a moment of confusion – like, wait, are these actually part of Star Wars? And why does no one ever talk about them?
These movies are like Star Wars’ weird little cousins, and their connection to the larger universe is… complicated.
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So, Are These Movies Canon or Not?
Short answer: Nope, not anymore. But that doesn’t mean they were never part of Star Wars.
Back in the day, these Ewok movies were considered part of the Expanded Universe (EU), which meant they weren’t as central as the main films but still counted as official Star Wars content. They were classified as “C-Canon” under Lucasfilm’s old system. But when Disney bought Star Wars and decided to wipe the slate clean, these movies – along with most of the EU – got pushed into Legends. Basically, they don’t count in the current official timeline.
That said, some bits and pieces from these movies have made their way back into canon:
- The Blurrgs, those funny-looking reptilian creatures, show up in The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch.
- The Gorax, a giant monster from Caravan of Courage, has popped up in Star Wars comics.
- The Wisties, those tiny glowing fairies, got a second life in Battlefront II.
- Even Teek’s species made it into Skeleton Crew.
- And if you remember Charal, the spooky space witch from Battle for Endor, she was later retconned into being a Nightsister in Legends, though the modern version of Nightsisters in The Clone Wars looks totally different.
Also, there’s a short story in the Return of the Jedi anthology book From a Certain Point of View where Wicket the Ewok actually talks about these movies like they happened in-universe.
So while the films themselves aren’t canon, there’s a hint that some version of these events might have actually gone down.
The Possible Reason Why These Movies Get Scrapped from Canon
Honestly, I think one reason might be because of how unexpectedly dark Battle for Endor turned out to be.
The first 15 minutes of Battle for Endor are brutal. Cindel Towani, the main kid character, loses her entire family in one go – her parents and brother are murdered right in front of her. And just like that, the movie shifts from “cute Ewok adventure” to “post-apocalyptic survival story.” It’s honestly one of the darkest things Star Wars ever did, especially since this was supposed to be for kids.
A lot of people have compared the movie’s tone to those 80s animated films that traumatized an entire generation (The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH). It’s the kind of movie that parents probably expected to be lighthearted and fun, only to find their kids crying halfway through. Even though the film ends on a hopeful note – Cindel finds a new family with Wilford Brimley’s character, Noah – the damage is already done.
So if you’re looking for a reason why these movies got swept under the rug, I’d say the dark tone might’ve played a role in Lucasfilm deciding they didn’t quite fit the brand.
Wait, George Lucas Actually Came Up With These?
Yep. Turns out, Lucas got the idea after watching Heidi with his daughter and decided to make a Star Wars version of it. So he took the concept – a young girl and a grumpy old guy forming an unlikely bond – and threw in Ewoks, a space witch, and a whole lot of tragedy. That’s how we ended up with Battle for Endor.
And yeah, the decision to kill off Cindel’s family was definitely deliberate. Star Wars has always had a thing for tragic orphan heroes – Luke, Rey, Anakin, Jyn Erso – so Cindel was pushed into that same mold. Except instead of becoming a Jedi, she just kinda… leaves Endor and never shows up in canon again.
Why Haven’t You Heard About These?
If these movies feel like some kind of Star Wars fever dream, that’s because they kind of are. Unlike the main films, the Ewok movies were made-for-TV in the U.S. and only got theatrical releases in Europe and Australia. So if you weren’t around in the 80s or didn’t grow up with them on VHS, you probably never ran into them.
That said, plenty of 80s and early 90s kids watched these obsessively on VHS or Disney Channel reruns. For some, these were their introduction to Star Wars before they even saw the original trilogy. But since they never got the same level of re-releases as the main movies, they faded into obscurity over time.
Fun Fact: These Marauders Look a Lot Like The Lord of the Rings Orcs!
This is one of those random details that might make you do a double take. The Marauders in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor – those weird, brutish villains – bear an uncanny resemblance to the Orcs in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings.
The armor, the hunched-over stance, the general creepiness – it’s all strikingly similar. While there’s no official confirmation that they directly inspired the Orc designs, to many fans, the resemblance is hard to ignore!