Chewbacca

Chewbacca is one of the central figures in the Star Wars franchise and one of the most recognizable sci-fi characters of all time. Played by Peter Mayhew, he was introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. Mayhew reprised the role of Leia in the film's two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. A younger version of Chewbacca was briefly seen during the Battle of Kashyyyk sequence in 2005's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Chewbacca also played a major role in the televised 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special.

Biography
Chewbacca was a wookiee, born the son of Attichitcuk on the planet Kashyyyk two-hundred years prior to the Battle of Yavin.

In 19 BBY, Chewbacca and many of his fellow wookiees assisted the Grand Army of the Republic in their war against the droid armies of Count Dooku. When Chancellor Palpatine instituted Order 66, which caused the clone armies to turn against the Jedi, Chewbacca stood on the side of the Jedi. Jedi master Yoda personally thanked Chewbacca for his heroism at the conclusion of the skirmish.

Notes & Trivia

 * At the end of Star Wars: A New Hope, only Han and Luke received medals of honor. In the Marvel Comics adaptation however, Chewbacca received a medal as well. Due to his height, Princess Leia had to climb up onto a table to drape it over him.

Parodies
A pastiche of Chewbacca appeared in the 1977 parody short Hardware Wars where he was played by a hand puppet. One of the scenes showed the puppet attempting to eat one of the doughnuts that comprised part of Princess Anne-Droid's distinctive hairstyle.


 * In the 2008 comedy Meet the Spartans, Sean Maguire's King Leonidas taunts the Persians by making wookiee sounds.


 * In the "Blue Harvest" Star Wars tribute from season six of Family Guy, Chewbacca was patterned after the character of Brian Griffin (the family dog) and voiced by series creator Seth McFarlane. This version of Chewbacca also appeared in the sequel special, Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side.