The 25 most influential Star Wars characters

9. Chewbacca

Unless you really like Ewoks, Chewbacca is probably your favorite furry Star Wars creature. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, we finally were able to see how he and Han met. It was a fun friendship to explore, and up until Han’s death, Chewie was always watching his back. He knew Han longer than any of the other main characters in the first trilogy and in the new trilogy.

Chewie has always been an admirable character. He wanted to free his fellow Wookiees when they were enslaved, for example, demonstrating an appreciation for justice. He’d follow Han to the ends of the Earth (or whatever planet they were on at the moment), showing off his loyalty. And throughout everything, he always cared for and understood the importance of the Millennium Falcon. Even with Rey now, Chewie still feels like he’s the heart of that ship.

The gentle giant has gone along with a lot of missions that he didn’t necessarily sign up for. Like R2-D2, we can understand Chewie without needing to understand Shyriiwook based on people’s replies to him and his body language. He’s a character anyone could look up to, and he’s been a mainstay in the universe since the movies started.