Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s puffin-like critters may be more than meets the eye

If you watched the new behind-the-scenes teaser for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, you may have caught a glimpse of some adorable creatures that look like a cross between a puffin, an otter and a pug. As it turns out, these little critters have been rumored for a while, and may be featured prominently in the film.

[Warning: The following may contain spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.]

At the conclusion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey, Chewbacca and R2-D2 followed a star map to Ahch-To, the ocean planet of Luke Skywalker’s self-made exile. The Force Awakens also revealed that Ahch-To was the site of the very first Jedi temple. Judging from the first trailer of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the planet will be featured as a major setting in the upcoming film.

Since December, fan site Making Star Wars has been reporting on rumors that, in The Last Jedi, Ahch-To will be populated by small creatures called “porgs” that are “sort of like a bird mixed with a Gremlin.” These porgs were said to be guardians of the island that have have formed a symbiotic relationship with their environment and with Luke.

Porgs aren’t all cuddles and sunshine, though. Making Star Wars stated that the porgs will have razor-sharp teeth, which seems to match up with this close-up image of the animatronic puppet.

Disney/Lucasfilm

The porgs appear to have a connection to the Force, which explains their fondness for the ancient Jedi temple. They may interact with Chewie, Artoo and Rey in what are sure to be a mix of cute and harrowing scenes.

The little guys may have been inspired by the real-life puffins who live on Skellig Michael, an island off the southwest coast of Ireland where many of the scenes for Ahch-To were filmed.

In April, Making Star Wars sketched the porgs out based on the details they gathered, and the drawings are a spitting image of the real deal. This means the information they’ve reported regarding the porgs’ nature may be genuine as well.

Expect the porgs to either bless your dreams or haunt your nightmares when Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters Dec. 15.