Though the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi are widely remembered as the cutesiest part of the original Star Wars films, it’s often forgotten that these furry little critters who helped bring down the Empire are actually flesh-hungry people-eaters.
For those of you who haven’t seen the 1983 film in a long time, let us stress that this is not speculation but something that’s spelled out to us in the movie when these adorable little teddy bears capture and attempt to cook Luke and Han. But while our heroes manage to get out of this predicament and make friends with the Ewoks, this new theory on Reddit suggests that previous visitors to Endor may not have been so lucky.
This post from user Premeddit is concerned with a dress that Princess Leia is seen wearing after she arrives in the Ewok village. The Redditor points out that since a rebel soldier is unlikely to have a pretty dress packed for such a dangerous mission, nor is she likely to spend time sewing a new outfit for herself, this dress was almost certainly given to her by the Ewoks.
Judging by the primitive clothing worn by these animals, Premeddit argues that it’s also unlikely that they tailored a dress for a person of Leia’s size, which leads us to the conclusion that the Ewoks got this clothing from somewhere else. From here, the user infers some gruesome origins for the outfit, speculating that its previous owner was a woman of Leia’s size who was killed and eaten by these creatures.
As dark as it sounds, this theory honestly seems pretty in line with what we see in Return of the Jedi. Between this grisly piece of speculation and the various Stormtroopers killed at the film’s climax, the message is clear: don’t mess with Ewoks.