Star Wars has now disproved this terrible Return of the Jedi theory

After over four decades, Star Wars has finally addressed a lingering question about the fate of the Ewoks following the destruction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. While fans have long speculated about the aftermath, the real question isn’t about the Force ghosts that appear differently depending on which version of the film you watch, but rather about what happened to the Ewoks and the Endorian ecosystem after the battle.

In the 1990s, astrophysicist Curtis Saxton did a deep dive into the Star Wars universe and concluded that the destruction of the Death Star would have disastrous consequences for the native Ewok population of Endor. Saxton suggested that the entire ecosystem of the forest moon would be severely impacted. He argued that the massive explosion and its aftermath would make it impossible for creatures larger than a few kilograms to survive and that the environment would suffer significant damage, possibly leading to a sort of ecological collapse.

However, 40 years after the Rebel Alliance’s victory over the Galactic Empire, Star Wars has officially challenged Saxton’s gloomy predictions. In the short story Lost in the Woods by S.T. Bende, published in Star Wars Insider #221, it’s revealed that the Ewoks and the forests of Endor were just fine after the Battle of Endor. The Rebellion and the Ewoks continued to thrive, undeterred by the chaos of the Death Star’s destruction.

We already knew that Endor wasn’t hit the hardest by the debris, thanks to The Rise of Skywalker. In that film, it’s revealed that much of the wreckage from the Death Star crashed on Kef Bir, an ocean moon, where Rey, Poe, and Finn visit in one of the movie’s action sequences. The moon, with its scenic landscapes, becomes an important location, suggesting that Endor itself was relatively untouched by the fallout.

Some of the Star Wars expanded materials have hinted at the lasting effects of the Death Star’s explosion, like the impact it had on the local gravity and strange phenomena occurring in that area of the galaxy. Saxton had theorized that such intangible effects would be difficult to measure but would definitely leave their mark, and this is something that seems to be acknowledged in the broader Star Wars lore.

As a fan of the Ewoks, I’m personally relieved that Star Wars has kept the fairy-tale narrative intact. I’m glad the story didn’t take the dark turn of imagining Wicket and his companions struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic environment after playing a key role in destroying a mass-destruction weapon. The Ewoks’ victory over the Empire remains a heartwarming and enduring part of Star Wars lore.