Chewbacca, the Wookie companion to Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in the Star Wars films, has been played by Peter Mayhew since the beginning. It’s been 40 years since Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and by the time we got to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the fan-beloved Mayhew had young actor Joonas Suotamo take over some of the performance. Suotamo will take over the role completely in the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars Anthology film directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie). Suotamo just tweeted a lovely message to Star Wars fans about his role in the film, as reported by io9. The as-yet-untitled movie released its first set photo featuring some of the cast and crew, including Suotamo in his Chewbacca costume. You can read his letter below.
I’m ecstatic. It’s official. And here is my statement to this terrific piece of news https://t.co/a1DPsNDb2P pic.twitter.com/r4EUZ2r17V
— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) February 21, 2017
Related: Chewbacca Will Also Feature in the Han Solo Movie
The Han Solo film will look at the early years of the rogue pilot before the events of A New Hope. We’ll also see some of his early exploits with a young Lando Calrissian, originally played by Billy Dee Williams. The cast includes Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Donald Glover (Community) as Lando Calrissian, Thandie Newton (Westworld), and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag).
The film is written by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan, produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur, Simon Emanuel, and co-produced by Kiri Hart, Susan Towner, and Will Allegra. Lawrence Kasdan and Jason McGatlin will executive produce. Joonas Suotamo has also appeared in the video documentaries The Force Awakens: Crafting Creatures and Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey
The untitled Han Solo Star Wars Story will hit theaters on May 25, 2018.
