Chewbacca (SWPE)

Chewbacca (or "Chewie", as he was known by his friends) was a Wookiee from Kashyyyk and co-pilot of Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon.

Entering the Rebellion
"Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."

- Han Solo to Obi-Wan Kenobi

It was Chewbacca that Obi-Wan Kenobi spoke to in Chalmun's Cantina, where Chewie and Han happened to be, when in search of transportation to Alderaan. Chewbacca introduced the aged Jedi Master and his young companion, Luke Skywalker, to Han Solo and soon the pair bought passage on the Falcon.

Once they reached Alderaan, they discovered that the planet had been destroyed by the Empire. While trying to stop a TIE fighter from revealing their presence in the system, Chewie and the others were hauled into the Death Star by its tractor beams. The group managed to evade the Imperial officers by hiding in a secret compartment in the Falcon. After the discovery of Princess Leia's presence on the station, Luke convinced Solo and Chewbacca to help him rescue the princess. Luke formulated a plan, which involved Han and Luke impersonating stormtroopers while Chewbacca pretended to be their prisoner. While Obi-Wan set off to disable the tractor beams, Chewbacca, Han, and Luke managed to rescue Leia, defeating several Imperial officers in the process. Princess Leia initially disliked Chewbacca as much as she disdained Han and called him a "walking carpet," but the friendship between the two grew over time. Though their mission was successful, Obi-Wan wasn't so lucky, as he was killed by Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel. Chewbacca, Han, Luke and Leia managed to escape the space station.

Chewbacca accompanied the others to the Rebel base of Yavin 4 where they were preparing for their strike at the Death Star. Eager to get their pay, Solo and the Wookiee chose not to get involve with their "revolution" and left. However, Han finally gave in to his conscience, helping Luke Skywalker destroy the Death Star. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin 4, Chewbacca, Han, and Luke received medals for their heroism during the battle.

Battle with the Empire
"Laugh it up, fuzzball!"

- Han Solo, in response to Chewbacca laughing at him

While with the Rebel Alliance on the Ice Planet of Hoth, Chewbacca was busy repairing the Falcon. Meanwhile, Solo set out to recover the young Rebel, Luke Skywalker, who had gone missing during a scouting mission. Hours passed and the two didn't return. Fearing that Solo was gone, Chewie let out mournful growl, hoping that he'd return. Han eventually made it back safely with Luke in tow. Unfortunately, Chewbacca was unable to finish his work due to the Imperial invasion of Echo Base and so the Falcon was forced to take off with Han Solo, Princess Leia, and C-3PO while in disrepair and so while on the run from the Imperial Fleet, the Falcon set down in an asteroid cavern for repairs.

When the cavern was discovered to be a giant space slug, the Falcon made its escape to Bespin. On Bespin, the group met with Lando Calrissian. When C-3PO was blasted apart and gone missing, Chewbacca set himself the task of finding the missing protocol droid. Chewbacca eventually found him in a junk pile and after a scuffle with some Ugnaught workers, brought him back to Princess Leia and Han Solo.

Crisis on Bespin
"Chewie, this won't help me! Save your strength, there'll be another time! The princess – you have to take care of her! Do ya hear me, huh?"

- Han Solo to Chewbacca, before being frozen in carbonite

However, Chewbacca did not have the time to repair C-3PO. They were all captured by Darth Vader. During their capture, Chewbacca was sealed in a room with high-pitch alarms going off, irritating the Wookiee's keen hearing. C-3PO's parts were brought in and Chewbacca began rebuilding the droid. When all but his legs were reattached and with his head on backwards, Chewie, Leia and Han were brought to the carbonite freezing chamber with C-3PO hanging from a pack on Chewbacca's back. Han Solo was to be frozen as a test for Luke Skywalker. Before he was frozen, Chewbacca threw several stormtroopers off the platform in frustration but was quickly cuffed. Han entrusted Chewbacca with taking care of Leia. As Chewbacca gave a loud howl of grief, Han Solo was frozen alive.

While being escorted to Darth Vader's shuttle by Imperial stormtroopers, Chewbacca, Leia and Lando were freed from their captors by Bespin Security Guards led by Lobot. Released from his bindings, Chewbacca grabbed hold of Lando's throat in a vengeful rage and began to strangle him. Leia was able to discover the location of Han Solo's frozen body at the East Platform. Chewbacca let go of Lando and left him gasping for breath on the floor with C-3PO apologizing for the Wookiee's behavior as Chewie and Leia rushed off.

However, Leia and Chewbacca arrived at the platform just as Boba Fett made off with Han Solo. With that, a pursuit ensued in the Cloud City corridors with stormtroopers. Joined by R2-D2, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca eventually made their way back to the Millennium Falcon. When escaping the city, Leia received a telepathic call for help from Luke and commanded Chewbacca to turn the ship around. After rescuing Luke, the Falcon left the planet behind. While attempting to escape the Executor over Bespin, the supposedly repaired hyperdrive failed and Chewbacca was once again forced to fix it. However, R2-D2 quickly activated it and the Falcon escaped to the Rebellion rendezvous point. Chewbacca and Lando would then start their search for Boba Fett and Han Solo.

Rescue of Han Solo
After the disastrous mission to Cloud City and the loss of his most trusted friend, Chewie temporarily teamed up with Lando Calrissian. Chewbacca took Han's order to take care of Leia very seriously. Having learned that Boba Fett had finally delivered Han to Jabba the Hutt, Luke hatched a plan that involved infiltrating various members of the party into Jabba's palace. Chewbacca was inserted when Leia, posing as a bounty hunter, took the Wookiee to Jabba as a prisoner.

After thermal detonator-assisted price negotiations, Chewbacca was surrendered to Jabba and placed in a dungeon cell. When Leia failed to escape after freeing Han from the carbonite, Han was placed in the same cell. The two prisoners were soon taken out of their cells—for execution. Luke's killing of the rancor had so enraged Jabba that he ordered that Luke, Han, and Chewbacca be fed to the sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon. However, Luke's planning allowed him to recover his lightsaber, and together with Lando, who was disguised as one of Jabba's thugs, they turned the execution into a battle. Chewbacca protected Han, who was still blind as an effect of the hibernation sickness he had acquired while in carbon freeze. When Lando was knocked into the Great Pit, Chewbacca anchored Han as the smuggler leaned over the side of their skiff and rescued his old friend.

Endor
"Keep your distance, Chewie, but don't look like you're keeping your distance. [&hellip;] I don't know – fly casual."

- Han to Chewbacca during the mission to Endor.

After the battle was over and Jabba killed, all the heroes, with the exception of Luke, reported to the Rebel fleet over Sullust. There the Rebels formed a battle plan to destroy the Second Death Star over Endor. Only during the briefing did Chewbacca become aware that Han, now a general, had volunteered to lead the ground assault on the shield generator protecting the Death Star. Chewbacca swiftly volunteered to join his group of commandos.

On the approach to the shield bunker, the Wookiee's lack of caution got the team into trouble. Seizing a hunk of meat tied to a stick, he unwittingly sprung a trap that got Han, Luke, the droids, and himself captured by the primitive Ewok tribe and taken back to their village. There, the team reunited with Leia, who had been taken to the village after becoming separated from the others. As a result of the Ewoks' belief that C-3PO was a god, they were able to negotiate not only their freedom but the Ewoks' aid in the upcoming battle with the Empire.

During the terrestrial portion of the Battle of Endor, Chewbacca swung the tide of the battle when he and two natives hijacked an AT-ST and turned it against the Empire, helping the Alliance secure their victory on the forest moon.

Personality and traits
"Always thinking with your stomach."

- Han Solo to Chewbacca

Known for his great strength, bravery and loyalty, Chewbacca often served as Solo's conscience in their smuggling endeavors. However, he was also known for his stubbornness and dislike of losing.

Chewbacca possessed exceptional skills in piloting and repair and was a master of dejarik, an ancient and challenging hologame requiring skill and strategy. Ever the mechanic, many of the sublight and hyperdrive systems of the Falcon were of Chewie's own design. Even when the ship was in peak condition, he enjoyed attempting to upgrade and re-route the engines for greater efficiency and performance. Chewbacca has taken the Falcon's engines apart on several occasions and had a great understanding of the temperamental nature of its systems. Chewbacca's technical skill and precision allowed him to understand the inner workings of a great number of devices, from droids to starships.

Behind the scenes
Chewbacca was portrayed by Peter Mayhew. He was based on Indiana, an Alaskan malamute dog owned by George Lucas in the 1970s, the name of whom would later provide Dr. Henry Jones Junior's adopted first name. For his appearances in the trilogy, the Chewie suit, designed by Stuart Freeborn, was made out of knitted mohair (made from goat and rabbit hair) and yak hair.

The memorable voice of Chewbacca was designed by Ben Burtt, sound designer for all the films. He mixed together various animal growls for different emotions, including those of walruses, bears, tigers, camels and badgers. The most prominent of these voices was a black bear named Tarik, who sadly died of congestive heart failure in 1994.

During production of Star Wars the executives at the studio were concerned that "the Wookiee had no pants."

Appearances

 * Star Wars (1977)
 * Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Return of the Jedi