The Cutest Creatures In The Rise Of Skywalker

Whether you love, hate, or are somewhere in the middle on Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, there's one area in which the final installment in the Skywalker saga unquestionably succeeds: its creatures. Not only does Rise of Skywalker introduce us to a number of adorable new inhabitants of a galaxy far, far away, but it also brings back a number of past favorites — some of which we expected to see, and others who were a delightful surprise. 

Although not every new alien and droid introduced in Rise of Skywalker is of the cuddly variety (some are even downright monstrous), there's no shortage of creatures in the action-packed sequel that we'd want to snuggle — or, in the case of the skittish droid D-O, squee over softly from a safe and respectful distance. Adding to the appeal of the new crop of Star Wars creatures is that most of them were created practically, making them feel as lovably tangible as the creations of the original trilogy. Below, we'll celebrate some of our favorite new non-human additions to the Star Wars universe, as well as some of the franchise's cutest returning faces. 

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Poor Boolio, we barely knew ye. We only meet the Ovissian Resistance informant for a few seconds near the beginning of Rise of Skywalker, as the Millennium Falcon docks briefly with his space station so he can pass Finn a message for General Organa. Boolio's information proves to be crucial for the Resistance, since he not only gives them the data about Palpatine and the Final Order which shapes all of their plans from that moment on, but also tells them about the spy within the First Order who will later save several of their lives.

Unfortunately, although the Millennium Falcon is able to escape the space station after it comes under attack by First Order TIE fighters, Boolio himself is not so lucky. We later find out that Kylo Ren has executed Boolio when he tosses the Ovissian's head onto a First Order conference table in order to make his point. Still, during the few short moments that we got to see Boolio when he was alive, it was clear that not only was he an important member of the Resistance, but he was also pretty adorable in his own right. Maybe not in a cuddly sense, like a puppy, but more like an endearing horned tortoise you can't help but love.

Although the face-tentacled adult Aki-Aki don't seem particularly snuggly, even if they are excellent dancers, the children of the desert-planet-dwelling species are another story entirely. Spotted for a few minutes while Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn, Poe, and Chewie move through the crowds of jubilant Aki-Aki during their Festival of the Ancestors, we see the adolescent Aki-Aki gathered together in what appears to be some sort of classroom, and we can't help but want to pick them up and give them a hug.

With a round-faced appearance that kind of makes us wonder if they might just be repurposed Podling puppets from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the Aki-Aki children seem friendly and inquisitive, especially one particularly outgoing child named Nambi Ghima who introduces herself to Rey. The exchange seems mostly engineered to hammer home Rey's seeming lack of a surname, setting up the film's ultimate twist, but since it gives us a few more seconds with the precious Aki-Aki youths, we aren't really complaining.

It may be stretching the traditional definition of "cute" to include the orbaks on this list, but although the majestic beasts are admittedly a little intimidating, they still deserve some recognition here. A hairy cross between a draft horse and a wild boar, the orbaks were the mounts of Jannah (Naomi Ackie) and her tribe of freedom fighters on the moon of Kef Bir. During the climactic battle of the film, Finn came up with a plan to take a team riding orbaks to destroy the transmission tower that would've enabled the Final Order destroyers to leave the surface of Exegol. But when they realize that the Final Order is transmitting from a destroyer instead, Finn's team changes tactics, and in a stunning sequence, they ride the orbaks across the surface of one of the ships as it hovers in the sky.

From what we can tell, orbaks are very similar to horses in their mannerisms and abilities, so although they're giant trampling battle beasts, we also feel comfortable calling them adorable. Not only do they seem extremely reliable, as evidenced by Finn feeling at ease riding one across a destroyer in the middle of a space battle after a single orbak-riding lesson, but we can't help but think that those hairy hides would be awfully soft and infinitely braidable.

Although The Last Jedi proved to be one of the more divisive entries in the Star Wars franchise, one aspect of the film that it seemed fans could nearly universally agree on was its wide-eyed, perpetually concerned flightless birds, the porgs. Native to the planet Ahch-To, where Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) sequestered himself after his Jedi school was destroyed, the porgs were a prominent presence in The Last Jedi, bearing witness to Rey's rocky Jedi training and eventually even becoming unlikely friends with their would-be apex predator, Chewie. 

Although the porgs were actually created to serve a practical purpose, used to cover up the real-life puffins that inhabit the location where the Ahch-To scenes were filmed, they're now a Star Wars staple, and would've been dearly missed if they had been entirely absent from The Rise of Skywalker. Fortunately, they make a brief appearance when Rey returns to Ahch-To, determined to follow in Luke's path and hide from the world rather than risk turning to the Dark Side. The porgs look on in apparent distress as Rey burns her ship and attempts to toss in her lightsaber, before Luke's Force ghost emerges from the flames and convinces her to reconsider. While in a perfect world, there would've been porgs in every scene, we're glad that we at least got to catch a glimpse of the round little creatures one last time before saying goodbye for good.

In a callback to Return of the Jedi, after the Resistance finally defeats the First/Final order for good at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, we are treated to a shot of a group of Ewoks celebrating on the forest moon of Endor. We haven't seen the Ewoks in the primary Star Wars movies since Jedi, but The Rise of Skywalker did nod to them earlier in the film, when Rey and company travel to a different moon in the Endor system to track down the Sith Wayfinder that can lead them to Exegol. At the time, it's mentioned that the final battle against the Empire was fought in the Endor system, which is of course the one that took place in Return of the Jedi, in which the Ewoks were instrumental in the Rebellion's victory. 

Adding an additional layer of meaning to the Ewoks' brief appearance in The Rise of Skywalker is the person inside the featured Ewok's costume. Actor Warwick Davis, who played Princess Leia's Ewok ally Wicket in Return of the Jedi, donned the fuzzy suit once more for The Rise of Skywalker. So it's not just any Ewok watching Leia's army of Resistance fighters win once and for all — it's the one who helped her win the first time. The Ewoks have always been among the cutest creatures in Star Wars, due to their teddy bear-like appearance and adorable mannerisms, but knowing that Wicket lived to see Leia's vision finally realized just makes their appearance here that much more heartwarming.

No list of Star Wars cuties would ever be complete without R2-D2, the little astromech droid whose sassy beeps and excited dancing have anchored the entire Skywalker saga from the very beginning. Originally brought into the service of Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) way back in The Phantom Menace, R2 has since gone on to serve Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), his son Luke, Resistance fighter and eventual General Poe Dameron, and ultimately Rey as she chooses to carry on the Skywalker mantle at the end of Rise of Skywalker. Through it all, R2 has always been of vital importance to the people he served, carrying secret plans and messages and maps on which entire wars have hinged.

After all of R2's contributions to Star Wars, it's only fitting that Rise of Skywalker gave him some significant emotional beats to close out the saga. It was hard to hold back the tears when C-3PO finally articulated after so many years together that R2 was his best friend, and then later, when R2 repeated it back to 3PO before (mostly) restoring his memory banks. R2 was also the one to pick up on the transmission from Rey via Luke's old X-Wing that showed the Resistance how to navigate safely to Exegol, which was what ultimately enabled them to prevail over Palpatine and his Final Order. Through it all, R2 continued to be his reliably spunky and charming self, remaining true to what we've loved about the sweet little droid from the beginning.