While adorable, Porgs having had zero appearances in the films until "The Last Jedi" is no coincidence. The Porg came to life for a very specific reason. The creatures themselves are merely a disguise for a real-life animal that just didn't fit in the "Star Wars" universe. The island of Skellig Michael, off the coast of Ireland, which served as the filming location for "The Last Jedi," doubles as a wildlife preserve, and puffins flock to it several times a year. Porgs were designed to disguise the plethora of puffins that called the filming location home.
The idea to trade out puffins for Porgs was thought up by the movie's writer and director Rian Johnson when he realized that editing out each individual puffin would be nearly impossible. With "Star Wars" being the home of so many alien creatures already, the Porgs fit right into the story. Their appearance takes inspiration from several different animals. Jake Lunt Davis, the concept designer of the Porgs, told StarWars.com in an interview which animals made the cut. "It was influenced by a seal and a pug dog and the puffin. The big eyes of a seal or the big eyes of a pug dog and the sort of funny, ugly face of a pug. I mean, pug dogs aren't, by their nature, obviously cute."
Creating the Porgs took one less stress away from filming on location, and also presented fans of the franchise with something they never knew they needed: yet another adorable creature among the many worlds of "Star Wars."
