Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker WILL have Porgs after all

We can all breathe a sigh of relief, as it seems Star Wars' adorable Porgs will be returning in The Rise of Skywalker.

The little penguin-like creatures stole our hearts when they were introduced in The Last Jedi, though the marketing for its follow-up has been noticeably Porg-less.

What gives, guys?

However, the German poster for Episode 9 shows one of the Ahch-To natives... if you squint your eyes towards the bottom left corner.

'Baby Yoda', eat your heart out.

Along with Porgs, The Rise of Skywalker will also see the return of Emperor Palpatine, who it seems wasn't in the original plan for the movie.

Original director Colin Trevorrow, who was removed in 2017, explained: "Bringing back the Emperor was an idea JJ [Abrams] brought to the table when he came on board.

"It's honestly something I never considered. I commend him for it. This was a tough story to unlock, and he found the key."

Trevorrow also revealed that some of his original ideas were incorporated into The Rise of Skywalker, adding: "I'm not sure anyone who chooses the creative life should expect things.

"But I'm grateful to JJ [Abrams] for embracing some of our ideas. It's exciting that fans will get to see the moments that felt essential to all of us."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a release date of Thursday, December 19 in the UK and Friday, December 20 in the US.

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Sam Warner

Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.