Star Wars: What Are The Gorax?

Star Wars has a massive selection of unique and interesting alien life forms. Consider the Wookie. They’re a bit like a dog, a bit like a bear, and a lot like an extremely tall human being. They’re simple, but so effective that they’ve inspired countless other fictional aliens. The franchise has a ton of similar creatures, though most of them aren’t as iconic. Some examples, like the Forest Moon of Endor’s Gorax, can appear very briefly and still become notable figures of the franchise.

The ubiquity of Star Wars allows fans of all ages to have entirely different experiences. There are plenty of people who cherish their first memories of experiencing the Lego Star Wars games before they got to see the films. Others might have seen the franchise’s toddler-friendly content before they were old enough to handle The Empire Strikes Back. Since there are so many different entry points, every fan might have a slightly different frame of reference for what’s important and what doesn’t stick in the mind.

What are the Gorax in Star Wars?

The Gorax are massive humanoid creatures with immense physical strength and violent dispositions. Also, for clarity, “Gorax” is both the singular and plural form of the species’ name, not unlike “deer.” At their tallest, the Gorax can be over 25 feet tall, roughly half the height of the original 1933 King Kong. A source from the outdated Legends continuity suggests they could be over 90 feet tall, growing into kaiju territory. Any given Gorax has the strength to rip a tree out of the ground and wield it as a weapon. Gorax have earthy brown skin, which is mostly covered in thick brown fur. They bear some resemblance to old mythical creatures, like a troll or a more modern sasquatch. They have four fingers, one of which is an opposable thumb, allowing them to use sticks and rocks as crude tools. They possess sharp fangs and nails for combat and hunting. Gorax are naturally isolationist, preferring to seclude themselves in caves and mountain outcroppings.

Are the Gorax sentient?

Gorax are characterized as semi-sentient beings. They exhibit a level of intelligence beyond that of traditional animals, but they also seem to be considerably beneath most sapient life. Their wanton cruelty and violence often cause them to act against their own best interests. Many believe that they’re stupid, but only by the standards of sentient beings. The Gorax sometimes create and wear clothing, including crude sashes and belts made of fur and decorations made of skulls. They also use tools, like many species of primate. Unfortunately, they seem to possess no recognizable language. Many sources believe that the Gorax are gradually reaching toward a form of sentience, which they could evolve into over time.

Where do the Gorax live in Star Wars?

The Gorax reside on the Forest Moon of Endor, which famously served as a backdrop for several of the most memorable scenes of Return of the Jedi. Endor’s most iconic residents are the Ewok people, a sentient species of tiny, furry village dwellers operating on stone-age technology. Ewoks were far more intelligent than the Gorax but also far less physically capable. Part of the reason they constructed their charming villages high in the trees was to avoid the raids of the violent Gorax. The Ewoks mastered levels of invention far beyond the Gorax’s primitive tool use to make up for their differences in size and strength. Ewoks construct traps, weapons, and even catapults to keep the Gorax at bay.

Where do the Gorax appear in Star Wars?

The Gorax’s first appearance came in the 1984 made-for-TV filmCaravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. Though made as a TV movie of the week, Caravan of Courage did receive a brief international theatrical run, making it the first Star Wars project released to theaters outside the main story. A Gorax is the primary antagonist of the film, kidnapping the smallest child of a human family who crash-landed on Endor. This forces the survivors to partner with the native Ewoks to defeat the beast and save the baby. Scant references to the Gorax appear in Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) and its 2017 sequel. Most recently, the online battle royale title Star Wars: Hunters released a cosmetic pack called “Gorax Fury,” which allows a stormtrooper called Sentinel to don an armor set that resembles the familiar beast.

The Gorax is a fascinating example of evolving intelligence in the Star Wars universe. It’s also a reminder of how little time passes in the nine movies fans have seen. If a later trilogy picks up a few hundred years after The Rise of Skywalker, characters could return to Endor to find the Ewoks smelting bronze and creating their first writing system, while the Gorax finally graduate to a crude spoken language. Give them a few thousand years, and they may finally find a way to live in harmony.