Star Wars fans have a bad history with cute things. Cuteness first hit the franchise in a big way with the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, and to those who didn’t see the film as kids, they tend to be seen as a low point for the series (though for someone like me, I loved the hell out of them and their Ewok Adventure movies).

With that in mind, you can understand the uneasiness fans had when the idea of Porgs was first announced. Cute little island creatures? No, thanks!

Speaking with Yahoo! Movies, director Rian Johnson discussed where the idea for these island creatures came from — which came when he discovered puffins while on the islands of Skellig Michael in Ireland:

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is part of the island; we need to find the Star Wars version of this. And then just story-wise — not that they play a big part in the story — but I knew I wanted to find any source of comic relief I could on the island. And so they were very useful in terms of that.”

“Uh-oh. Comic relief? Cute? No!” says the Star Wars fan inside us all. Johnson understands this wary impulse.

“It wasn’t until we got the actual puppets on set and the whole crew reacted with ‘Oh my God, they’re adorable!’ and also then a few people in the crew were giving them that suspicious side-eye of ‘These are cute, but are they too cute?’ But the overwhelming reaction on set was everybody loved the Porgs. And I love ’em, so you know what? I get it if people are a little wary of cuteness in the Star Wars universe, but I personally love them, and I think they have their place in the movie.”

What do you think? Would you prefer your Star Wars: The Last Jedi Porg-inated or Deporg-inated? Let us know your thoughts down below!

Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15, 2017.

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SOURCE: Yahoo! Movies