Star Wars has always had a rich history, even outside of the movies. TV shows, video games, and books have featured some of the most captivating stories in its universe. While most of it has been retconned in favor of Disney’s new direction, there is no denying that it happened.
So far there has yet to be anything of significance repurposed from the previous lore. There has at least been a name that has been recycled though, even if by coincidence. Porg(s).
Star Wars: The Last Jedi introduced a fair amount of interesting new creatures and species into the universe; Vulptex, Lanai (Ahch-To Caretakers), Thala-siren, Fathiers, and Porgs. And whether you love them or hate them, there is no disputing that the Porgs were the standouts. The cute alien birds that inhabit Ahch-To are adorable, despite the fact that they were obviously created to sell toys.
Looking over The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008) revealed that this isn’t the first time that Porg has been used in the Star Wars universe interestingly enough. Not only that, but that the two uses of the name could not have belonged to two more different creatures.
Before there was ever adorable, hamster-like screaming alien birds, there existed a Trandoshan male bounty hunter of the same name. The first Porg was introduced in William C. Dietz’s 1998 novella Dark Forces: Rebel Agent. He had yellow eyes, greenish-yellow scales, and could speak Galactic Basic Standard. For reference of what he may have looked like in the live action realm, fellow Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk – who appeared briefly in The Empire Strikes Back – is a great example, as well as a more successful one.
Below is the exact entry for the Trandosha side character, taken from The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.
Porg: A Trandoshan bounty hunter, he tried to capture Rebel agent Kyle Katarn on Nar Shaddaa to prevent him from recovering any of the information that had been stolen from Morgan Katarn’s farm on Sulon. Porg was a three-way firefight, Porg was shot and killed by an Aqualish bounty hunter, who was later killed by Katarn.
As the entry dictates, Porg didn’t stick around in the Star Wars universe for very long, as he was killed in the same novella in which he was introduced. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to see that there was a Porg that existed even before Porgs.