Why chewbacca is awesome

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According to the Telegraph , Mayhew was back in action by When the big announcement came that J. Abrams was going helming Star Wars: Episode VII , it wasn't too long before it was also announced that Mayhew would be coming back to once again don the furry costume he made famous. Anyone who's ever been to New Orleans knows the city is a hotbed for art, creativity, and unique subcultures.

It's also home to a Mardi Gras parade organization called the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, named after a certain popular character. On their website , this parade krewe states their grand mission in life is to "save the galaxy by bringing the magical revelry of Mardi Gras to the poor, disenfranchised, socially awkward, and generally weird masses.

These folks are some of the biggest Star Wars fans out there, for sure. But then in , the krewe rocketed their game to the next level. That year, according to the Times-Picayune , Peter Mayhew and his wife, Angie, came to New Orleans and rode alongside the Krewe of Chewbacchus in the parade, sitting atop a Millennium Falcon-shaped float.

During this event, the Intergalactic sci-fi squad bestowed upon Mayhew the honor of being their "Emperor for Life. Chewbacca might not be an amazing emperor, but we'd take him over that Palpatine guy any day of the week. Though the double-knee surgery was definitely a success, Peter Mayhew has had to overcome a few other tough health challenges since then.

Luckily, he has a hugely supportive family and millions of fans around the world rooting him on. Despite never saying a word of English, the Chewbacca character connected with many viewers, and a lot of that is because Peter Mayhew embodies the same qualities of courage, loyalty, and warmth that made the furry guy so popular in the first place.

In , Mayhew unexpectedly came down with a severe case of pneumonia that led to him being hospitalized, as reported by ABC News.

Don't worry, he made it through the whole thing okay — but for a time, no one knew what to think. This newest bout with sickness came to the attention of fans when, due to his pneumonia, Mayhew was forced to cancel an anticipated appearance at a comic book shop. As soon as the news broke, people all over the internet reached out to the family to show their concern.

After Peter's condition stabilized, his wife connected with everyone through Reddit to let all his fans know he was doing all right. As you've probably gathered by now, the real Chewbacca takes care of his fans. Between riding with the Chewbacchus parade, going to frequent conventions, and giving fun little behind-the-scenes glimpses to his social media followers, Peter Mayhew is a pretty amazing guy who truly reaches out and connects with the many millions of people who grew up watching him play a classic film character.

However, one instance that really stands out among the rest is the time when Mayhew took time out of his busy schedule to write to a young fan who'd lost a loved one. In , as the entire world waited with bated breath to see what The Force Awakens was going to be like, a couple of 7-year-old fans named Sam and Liam promised to see the new Star Wars film together, as soon as it came out in theaters.

Sadly, young Sam died in a tragic accident before the movie came out, as posted by Sam's older sister on Reddit , leaving Liam deeply saddened. According to Time , as soon as Peter Mayhew heard about Liam's grief, he made a point to write the young fan a personal letter, to give some comfort to the boy in his time of loss. Okay, so Peter Mayhew is Chewbacca, there's no question about that. Never mind. His large yellow eyes dominate a fur-covered face … [and] over his matted, furry body he wears two chrome bandoliers, a flak jacket painted in a bizarre camouflage pattern, brown cloth shorts, and little else.

Lucas had originally given McQuarrie a photo of a lemur for inspiration, and McQuarrie proceeded to draw the character as a female—but Chewbacca was soon changed to a male. McQuarrie based his furry design on an illustration by artist John Schoenherr, which was commissioned for Game of Thrones scribe George R.

The medal was given to Mayhew—decked out in full costume—by Princess Leia herself, actress Carrie Fisher. His acceptance speech, made entirely in Wookiee grunts, lasted 16 seconds. They have different kinds of ceremonies. Lucas hated the special so much that he limited its availability following its original airdate on November 17, Rey, however, had learned from Luke Skywalker's notes in the Jedi texts of a relic known as a Sith wayfinder that could lead to Exegol.

The Falcon exited hyperspace over the desert planet of Pasaana and landed at Luke's coordinates near the Aki-Aki Festival of the Ancestors. Wandering among the crowd, the group attempted to lay low and blend in. Unsurprisingly, Chewbacca struggled to slouch and keep his head low. At this time, Kylo Ren established a connection with Rey through their Force-bond and stole a necklace she had received from the Aki-Aki. Rey rushed to warn her comrades that the First Order knew their location and that they needed to find the wayfinder quickly.

As they prepared to escape, a lone stormtrooper confronted them before being quickly shot by a mysterious figure. Asking the team to follow him into a transport , the masked savior revealed himself to be Lando Calrissian, who had seen Chewbacca in the crowd. Lando showed them a hologram of a Sith wayfinder and explained that only two were ever created. He further revealed that many years prior, he accompanied Luke went in search of the a Sith loyalist named Ochi , whom they believed held a key to locating one of the devices, but when they arrived, they found his ship abandoned.

Lando apparently remained behind on Pasaana. The old hero of the Rebellion offered them directions to Ochi's ship in the desert where he left it, as squadrons of TIEs and First Order dropships flew overhead. Chewbacca and the crew hurried through the crowds to the fringes of the festival, eventually stealing a pair of skiff speeders and attracting the attention of two First Order treadspeeders , which began a fierce pursuit aided by jet troopers.

The troopers proved no match for the Resistance and were swiftly dispatched, though not before sending the stolen speeders crashing into quicksand. Chewbacca and his comrades fell into a web of caves below the surface, quickly joining up as they used the glow of the Skywalker blade and Poe's diminutive flashlight to guide themselves through a series of underground tunnels. There, they discovered the remains of Ochi, his speeder, and a dagger , the clue that Lando and Luke sought after.

Rey felt a very strong connection to the weapon, but couldn't quite articulate it. C-3PO identified the writing as a Sith language depicting the location of the wayfinder, but revealed that his programming restricted him from translating the script. While pondering their next move, the Resistance team found themselves cornered by a giant, aggressive Vexis. Noticing that the serpent was wounded, Rey approached and used the Force to heal its injuries, satiating it and providing them an exit out of the tunnels.

Chewbacca took possession of the dagger, placing it in his sachel as the group headed to escape the planet in the Bestoon Legacy , Ochi's ship.

Unbeknownst to Chewbacca and the crew, the Knights of Ren had arrived on Pasaana to hunt them down. Sensing Kylo Ren's presence, Rey walked out into the desert to confront him alone, but Chewbacca was captured by the Knights before he could retrieve her. The dagger was taken from him as he boarded a First Order transport. Rey and Kylo both noticed the departure of a transport, and while she used the Force to pull the ship back to the ground, Kylo counteracting her by pushing it away.

In her frustration, lightning blasted from Rey's hand, destroying the transport and sending it crashing to the ground. Horrified at the thought of killing Chewbacca, Rey screamed in despair before boarding Ochi's ship with the rest of her crew. As Ochi's ship hurried away from Pasaana, the Resistance team mourned the apparent loss of Chewbacca and the dagger. C-3PO remorsefully told his companions that the dagger's inscription was only committed to his memory. Poe mentions that he has an old contact on the planet Kijimi that might be able to help them out.

Aboard the Star Destroyer Steadfast , General Hux presented to Allegiant General Pryde a "valuable prisoner" taken during the fighting: Chewbacca, still alive and safe aboard a different transport. The elder commander, unfazed by the roaring of the Wookiee, ordered immediate interrogation. Shortly after, Kylo Ren returned to the Steadfast , having failed to accomplish his task set by Palpatine.

On Kijimi, Poe tracked down an old contact of his, Zorii Bliss , who brought them to the droidsmith Babu Frik to override C-3PO's programming to read the Sith language on the dagger, at the cost of his memories. During the process, the Knights of Ren arrived on Kijimi after following the group there. At the sight of the Steadfast in the sky, Rey sensed that Chewbacca had survived, and the group staged a rescue mission aboard the Star Destroyer with the help of Zorii.

As they boarded, Rey followed the feeling that she needed the dagger, recovering it along with Chewbacca's bowcaster and bandolier. Meanwhile, Poe and Finn rescued Chewbacca, but their rescue attempt failed and resulted in their capture. General Pryde ordered General Hux to execute the Resistance members, but Hux turned on his troops, revealed himself to be the Resistance spy, and guided the crew to the Falcon.

The group traveled to Kef Bir and Chewbacca stayed behind to repair the Falcon as Rey attempted to find the wayfinder aboard the wreckage of the second Death Star. While she eventually recovered the wayfinder, Kylo Ren arrived and destroyed it. In the ensuing lightsaber duel, both Kylo and Rey sensed the death of Leia, giving Rey the chance to defeat him and escape in his ship.

Following Rey's departure, Chewbacca and the remainder of the Resistance crew boarded the Falcon along with their newfound ally Jannah and returned to their hidden base on Ajan Kloss.

Upon returning, Chewbacca learned of Leia's death and mourned her along with the rest of the Resistance. Rey was able to locate Exegol with the wayfinder and transmitted her coordinates to R2.

The Resistance then used the coordinates to mount a full-scale assault on the Final Order. The Resistance was met with formidable force as the Final Order prepared to overtake the galaxy.

Overwhelmed and hopeless, Poe apologized to the Resistance and conceded that the enemy was too formidable to defeat. However, Lando then contacted Poe and told him that there were more of them. Piloting the Falcon along with Chewbacca and Wedge Antilles, Lando led a fleet of reinforcements to aid the Resistance. During the battle, Palpatine severely damaged the Resistance fleet with a massive burst of Force lightning. However, with the help of their allies and the final destruction of Palpatine, the Resistance was able to defeat the Final Order and save the galaxy.

Upon returning to Ajan Kloss, the Resistance celebrated their victory. During the celebration, Maz called Chewbacca over to her and awarded the Wookiee a medal [75] which was once worn by Han Solo. Known for his great strength, bravery and loyalty, Chewbacca often served as Solo's conscience in their smuggling endeavors, [17] which made people trust him more than they did Solo.

As a Wookiee, Chewbacca knew passion and thus, the Rebellion, and would have stood with them from the beginning, if not for Solo and the Falcon ; he would not abandon them as he was bound to both, as they were to him.

When his friend Han Solo briefly went missing while conducting a night time search and rescue mission on the planet Hoth, Chewbacca was visibly upset and worried while he awaited Solo's return. Later, when Solo was to be encased in carbonite in Cloud City, he tried to fight to save him despite the presence of the Sith Lord Darth Vader and an Imperial security detail.

Chewbacca's desire to free his family and people led him to take part in Han Solo's campaign to liberate Kashyyyk from Imperial rule.

He came up with the idea of using webweaver spiders to storm the Star Destroyer Dominion. He and his son experienced an emotional reunion during the liberation of Kashyyyk. Besides the characteristic strength of his species, Chewbacca possessed exceptional skills in piloting as well as mechanic repairs, from his experience of piloting the Millennium Falcon , of which he had a great understanding of the temperamental nature of its systems.

Like many of his people, Chewbacca preferred their native bowcaster as his personal weapon. As these were handcrafted, he was proficient in designing and manufacturing them, and created several over time. The latest known bowcaster that he crafted was during the Imperial era.

It was an unconventional design, as he had used the frame and power pack of a stormtrooper blaster. He was based on Indiana , an Alaskan malamute dog owned by George Lucas in the s. There were many early versions of Chewbacca's appearance including one concept art that eventually became the basis of the Lasat. His final appearance in the movie is based on a piece of concept art by Ralph McQuarrie , which in turn was based on an illustration by John Schoenherr for George R.

The Schoenherr illustration also includes a weapon that became an inspiration for Chewbacca's bowcaster. For his appearances in the original trilogy, the Chewbacca suit, designed by Stuart Freeborn , was made out of knitted mohair made from goat and rabbit hair and yak hair. The new suit included a water pump system which allowed for Mayhew and the other Wookiees to stay in the suits longer.

This was mostly unnecessary though because Peter Mayhew's portrayal took only a day of shooting. The memorable voice of Chewbacca was designed by Ben Burtt , sound designer for all nine 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 died of congestive heart failure in Wookieepedia Explore.

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Edit source History Talk Do you like this video? Play Sound. We're Doomed! Content approaching. Parts of this article have been identified as no longer being up to date. This article needs updating from multiple sources. Please click the dropdown below to see the full list. Boba Fett? I was on a bad path, and Chewie, he put me straight. Saved my shanks more than once too.

Find me a human girl with Malla's brains and silky hair and maybe I'll consider it. Good-bye, Chewbacca. Miss you I will. Well, you're gonna need a nickname, 'cause I ain't saying that every time. He looks so sincere. Plus, have you ever tried to disinvite a Wookiee to anything? Not a good idea. They need our help. I know what I'm doing.

Do not fire! You take a shot at Darth Vader and the whole factory will be on alert! Chewbacca if you have a shot at Vader I order you to take it!

Forget about us! Killing him is more important! Do you hear me Chewie? Take the shot! I must say…I expected better. You hear so much about the big, scary Wookiees. But if Sana is right and Luke's on Ktath'atn, we can't risk bringing a Wookiee with us.

Save your strength, there'll be another time! The princess—you have to take care of her! Do ya hear me, huh? Leia : « I have come for the bounty on this Wookiee. Set new coordinates. It's time to get you home. You have to stay here. We fought like hell for this and now…this is yours. All yours. This is home. You got people here and I want you to find them.

You hear me? That's my last demand. No arguments. Door opened, and George walked in with Gary behind him. So, naturally, what did I do? I'm raised in England. Soon as someone comes in through the door, I stand up. George goes 'Hmm The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear!

Chewbacca used a SX scatterblaster during his early days with Han Solo. Disney Infinity 3. Holman: Chewbacca actor pulls out of southwest Missouri's Visioncon Archived from the original on January 11 ,