Chewbacca

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Character
Name: Chewbacca
Occupation:
Relationships: Han Solo's friend and co-worker, father to Lumpawarrump, husband to Mallatobuck, and either son, or son-in-law to Attichitcuk
Fandom: Star Wars
Other:
cover of Alderaan #15, Jeff Johnston
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Chewbacca is a Wookiee, a character in the Star Wars universe. He is Han Solo's friend and co-pilot.

Chewbacca has appeared in every Star Wars film except for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Rogue One, and guest starred on the season 3 finale on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[1] He was also in The Star Wars Holiday Special.

Chewbacca became Han Solo's co-pilot and friend after Solo, then an Imperial Captain, refused an order to kill him while Chewbacca was a slave of the Empire. Solo was dismissed from the Imperial Navy for disobedience and became a smuggler. Chewbacca owed a life debt to Han and would serve Han Solo for the rest of his life.[2]

A Few Canon Facts About Chewbacca

His family consists of Mallatobuck, Attichitcuk, and Lumpawarrump. Their home planet is the planet Kashyyyk. [3]

In the Star Wars Legends continuity, Leia visits Kashyyyk with Chewbacca while hiding from the Empire in Heir to the Empire. Although Chewbacca was not Force-sensitive, his nephew Lowbacca ("Lowie") trained at Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin IV with Han and Leia's children Jacen and Jaina.

The Fanon Chewbacca

Chewbacca's Language and Communication

Varying Planets of Origin

Portrayal and Reference to Chewbacca as an Animal

Pairings and Chewbacca's Gender

While there is not much known about Wookiee marriage pledges nor biology, the existence of Lumpy could make one assume Chewbacca was paired with Mallatobuck at least once. She was often portrayed as Chewbacca's wife in Legends content, and they sometimes appear as a couple in fanfiction. The Force Awakens introduced Maz Kanata, who has a crush on Chewbacca, making her a popular character to ship with him. After the Solo: A Star Wars Story, shipping him with Han Solo also become popular.

Some fans were curious about Chewbacca's gender:

Let's see ... evidence of Chewie as a male Wookiee. Hmmm. Han calls him 'pal; which is not a tag name a male is likely to attach to a female companion (Hey! I know ifs weak! I know I'm reaching, but I'm trying....) Then, there is the Christmas special that shows Chewie with a wife and son. And he sorta looks male, doesn't he? [4]

Chewie - according to the (in)famous SW Holiday Special - has a wife and a son. So that would make him a male (unless it's common practice on Kashyyyk that women many women and only seek males to produce offspring). However, Lucas had — before "inventing" Chewbacca the Wookiee - a female creature sharing Han Solo's life: something described as a cross between a guinea pig and a dog, about 5 ft/short, by the name of Boma. She was supposed to be his girlfriend. But somewhere along the line, Georgie dropped this daring idea, realizing that he was dancing on thin ice by introducing interracial... no, interspecies sexual relations to the SW galaxy. Not fit for a family program! (Just our luck, my dear fellow smuthounds.) [5]

Sample Fanworks

Death in Legends

At the start of the New Jedi Order series of Expanded Universe tie-in novels, Chewbacca dies saving the life of Han's son Anakin Solo. Fans were devastated, with Vector Prime's author R.A. Salvatore receiving death threats from overzealous fans. Chewbacca's death was extremely polarizing to the fandom, and is widely considered to be the most memorable and upsetting event, both in the NJO and the EU as a whole.

I think the killing of Chewbacca was upsetting for another, much simpler reason: it was a dick move. Chewbacca is, in the end, an unessential character. He doesn’t communicate well, can’t use the Force, parades around naked, maintains questionable hygiene, and gets along poorly with droids (though given the sampling of droids from the movie, it’s hard not to sympathize with this.) But he’s likable. He’s okay. You’d probably trust him to recommend you a mechanic, or at least help you beat up the one that cheated you. [6]

Ironically, Chewbacca's death may have contributed to the later dissolution of the old Expanded Universe and its re-branding as non-canonical after Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm in 2014.[7]. Ironically, Chewbacca is one of the few characters from the original trilogy to survive throughout the new continuity, outliving Luke, Han, Leia, and Kylo Ren.

Some Chewbacca Fanart

References

  1. ^ Chewbacca at StarWars.com
  2. ^ from "The Star Wars Encyclopedia" by Stephen Sansweet
  3. ^ from The Star Wars Holiday Special.
  4. ^ from Southern Enclave #40
  5. ^ from Southern Enclave #40
  6. ^ [Let the Wookiee Win: 10 Years Since Chewie’s Death] by Chris Hanney, October 5, 2009,
  7. ^ Did Chewbacca's Death Make Lucasfilm Clear Star Wars Canon?
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