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Star Wars character
Chewbacca
Position	General of the Republic in the Clone Wars, First Mate of the Millennium Falcon
Homeworld	Kashyyyk
Species	Wookiee
Gender	Male
Height	7ft 4 3/4 In (2.28 meters)[1]
Affiliation	Galactic Republic, Rebel Alliance, New Republic
Portrayed by	Peter Mayhew

Chewbacca (or Chewie) (c. 200 BBY - c. 25 ABY), a fictional character of the Star Wars universe, is a 2.3 m (7.5 ft) tall Wookiee and co-pilot of Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon. Chewbacca is the son of Attichitcuk, the husband of Mallatobuck, and the father of Lumpawarrump.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Appearances 2.1 The Films 2.2 The Expanded Universe 3 Death 3.1 Controversy 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Wise and sophisticated, Chewbacca has a great deal of technological savvy. He is known for his great strength and loyalty. While "Chewie" is perfectly able to understand the galactic-standard Basic language, he is unable to speak it due to his species' vocal structure. He communicates in his native language, Shyriiwook, while Solo always speaks to Chewie in Basic. His weakness for sugary sweets is known throughout the Republic. According to IMDb trivia, Chewbacca's voice "is a combination of several animals including bears, badgers, walrus and camels."[1] Chewbacca was played by actor Peter Mayhew in the Star Wars movies.

Chewbacca plays a major role in Episodes III, IV, V, and VI of the Star Wars films. In Episode III, Chewbacca, along with Tarfful, fight in the Clone Wars when their planet is invaded. They also help to get Yoda to safety. Intriguingly, Chewbacca never mentions Yoda thereafter, though he is first to believe that Luke Skywalker has become a Jedi. In Episodes IV, V, and VI, Chewbacca accompanies Han Solo and the Rebel Alliance in helping to defeat the Galactic Empire.

The 1978 television program The Star Wars Holiday Special introduces Chewbacca's family of Malla, Itchy, and Lumpy. They live together on Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld, where Chewbacca visits them on Life Day with other major characters. His family also appears in some Star Wars books, most notably The Wookiee Storybook, The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy by Michael P. Kube-McDowell (wherein Lumpy undergoes his rite of passage and chooses the adult name Lumpawaroo (Waroo)), and Rebel Dawn by A. C. Crispin. The latter also introduces other family members, including a sister named Kallabow and cousins named Dryanta and Jowdrrl.

In Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Chewie appears briefly at the Mos Eisley spaceport as an NPC, assisting Jaden Korr in disabling the tractor beams holding both the Millennium Falcon and the Raven's Claw captive.

In the Star Wars Young Jedi Knights: Heirs of the Forces, Chewbacca has a newphew named Lowbacca, who goes to the Jedi Academy.

The 'Holiday Special' was filmed 'on-the-cheap', and consisted of a frame story in which Han and Chewie must prevent Darth Vader from spoiling 'Life Day', and get home to be with Chewie's family. However, because of the alleged low production values, a thin story and poorly-written dialogue, George Lucas publicly disowned the film shortly after release, making recorded 'bootleg' copies the only reliable source to find the Holiday Special.

In Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees, Chewie appears in several locations: In the opening tutorial, during a rescue from an Imperial Space Station, in Lady Valarian's Lucky Despot in Mos Eisley, the cantina in Nym's Stronghold and on his homeworld, Kashyyyk. He is portrayed by Matt F. Conlon.

The 1999 novel Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore (the first in the New Jedi Order series) is Chewbacca's final adventure, when Chewbacca sacrifices his own life to save that of Han's son Anakin from a collision between the planet Sernpidal and one of its moons. The collision is caused by a Yuuzhan Vong weapon placed on the planet that draws the moon to its fateful collision with Sernpidal. Afterward, the other core Star Wars characters are emotionally crushed by the loss, and Han Solo even seeks refuge for a time among alcohol and the stars. A temporary rift also opens between Han and his son Anakin, as he holds the boy responsible for Chewie's death. Sadly, Anakin later dies in the same series. Because of this, his sister, Jaina, turns to the dark side.

In the original storyboard, Chewbacca was killed by Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi. Chewie was to block a shot aimed for Luke on board a desert skiff. This scene was scratched shortly after it was written.

At the time of its first publication, Vector Prime was extremely controversial among Star Wars fans in that its plot called for the death of Chewbacca, making the Wookiee the first major character from the original trilogy to be permanently killed off in the Expanded Universe novels. Opinion was sharply divided as to whether this death of a beloved character was a cheap ploy to boost sales and interest in the new series, or if it served the dramatic purpose of declaring that not even the core characters were necessarily "safe" anymore. The author Robert Anthony Salvatore was ordered by Lucasfilm to kill off Chewbacca; this is mentioned in a round robin interview with Del Rey Books Editorial Director Shelly Shapiro, Lucasfilm Managing Editor Sue Rostini, Lucasfilm Director of Publishing Lucy Wilson, and author James Luceno included with the novel The Unifying Force by Luceno.

Chewbacca's death was later marked as Number One in Star Wars Insider's 20 Most Memorable Moments of the Expanded Universe.

Lumpawaroo and Lowbacca (Chewie's nephew, who trained with Han's twin children at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy) offered to assume Chewbacca's life debt to Han; Han eventually persuaded them otherwise.

• Chewbacca defense
• Bloor

1. ^ pg 30, the "Chewbacca" entry, infobox; Star wars: the essential guide to characters, Andy Mangels, 1st edition published November 1995, ISBN 0-345-39535-2

• Chewbacca's blog
• Chewbacca on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
• The starwars.com Databank entry for Chewbacca
• Databank entry on Chewbacca on The Star Wars Holiday Special Website
• Site detailing Chewbacca's appearance in The Star Wars Holiday Special.