Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Guide to New Creatures

The release of a new Star Wars film inevitably brings the introduction of never-before-seen species, from the adorable (but annoyingly inescapable) Ewoks to the far more formidable wampas. Director Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi is no different.

Creature designer Neal Scanlan oversaw the creation of 180 new species for the sequel, which arrives in theaters nationwide on Friday, although he's conceded that not all of them may make the final cut. Some will appear only in the background, while others will undoubtedly be left on the cutting-room floor. But we know at least four new species have prominent roles.

Porgs

Adorable and mischievous, Porgs are native to Ahch-To, where Luke Skywalker has lived in self-imposed exile for years. "They are sea birds," Johnson said. "Their coloring varies. Males are slightly larger than females. They can fly short distances. They're inquisitive." Their young are called "porglets."

Porgs are already immensely popular, having appeared in trailers and in animated shorts. However, not everyone loves them. Star John Boyega, who plays Finn, has described the little creatures as "freaky" in groups, although he also acknowledged that they're "very, very cute."

The birds are inspired by the puffins native to the island of Skellig in Ireland, the filming location for Ahch-To. The production sometimes employed puppeteers and other times used CG to bring the Porgs to life.

It's unknown what role they play in the film's large plot, but a Porg styled after Chewbacca does appear alongside the fan-favorite Wookiee on the Millennium Falcon in the trailers, so it seems that at least one will break free from Ahch-To and explore the galaxy. Regardless of how much they end up factoring into The Last Jedi, Porgs have already made their way into children's books and toys, so they're not going away any time soon.

Caretakers

The Caretakers are also native to the ocean world of Ahch-To. Scanlan described the Caretakers as "an extrapolation from the Porgs and have bird-like feet, but they’re a further developed race." Johnson has called them a sort of "fish-bird."

The Caretakers maintain the structures on the island where Luke lives, including the first Jedi temple. The females of the species are dressed in nun-inspired garb, and communicate with Luke through "a blubbery sort of Scottish fish talk." They also may eat Porgs, opening up some pretty dark possibilities for Luke and Rey's dinners on the island.

There's some indication that the Caretakers aren't big fans of Luke, but whether there will be any conflict between him and the Caretakers remains to be seen. Still, they have seemingly played a big part in his life as an exile.

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Fathiers

Introduced in the film's Chinese trailer, fathiers are "space horses" used in high-stakes -- and high-speed -- races in Canto Bight, the glittering casino city of Cantonica. The trailer shows the enormous creatures, which stand 3 meters high at the shoulder, wreaking havoc through Canto Bight, crashing through a window into casino, a move likely no one was betting on.

Vulptices

Vulptices -- the plural of vulptex -- are fox-like creatures that sport crystalline fur. The name vulptex is, fittingly, adapted from the Latin word "vulpes," which means "fox."

The species is native to the planet Crait, once home to an outpost of the Rebel Alliance during the early portion of the Galactic Civil War, although it was long abandoned by the time The Last Jedi begins. In the absence of people, the vulptices reside in burrows and in the planet's abandoned tunnels.

To bring the vulptices to life, Scanlan and his team attached clear drinking straws to a dog in a custom-built suit and filmed it running around in order to understand how the species' crystalline fur would move and look. They then created puppets that were digitally scanned for use in the film.

Vulptices will play some role in the confrontation between the First Order and the Resistance on Crait. Scanlan remarked that the vulptices will use their luminescence to aid the movie's heroes when they need it most.

As the trailers for The Last Jedi have done a good job of keeping many of the movie's secrets under wraps, more creatures will likely make an appearance, but these are the four that are most likely to play a big role in the film.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata, Benicio Del Toro as 'DJ,' Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo and the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa. The film opens Friday nationwide.