Peter Mayhew, the man who originally played Chewbacca, has died. The Star Wars universe is a darker place without him in it.
The man who originally played Chewbacca has died. Peter Mayhew died on April 30, according this family who posted the news on his official social media channel.
This is tough news to take after a number of our beloved original Star Wars actors who have died. Peter Mayhew suffered in recent years through pain and had surgery to help rectify the issues to help with his mobility.
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He was recently at Star Wars Celebration signing autographs for fans all five days of the show.
Peter Mayhew was our beloved Chewbacca. Despite being over 7-feet tall and covered in hair, he was loved instantly with his great bellows and generally happy demeanor. Chewbacca was Han Solo’s faithful partner with the two of them always getting into trouble. But his character was also one to tell Solo just how he felt.
Joonas Suotamo replaced Mayhew as Chewbacca in The Last Jedi and Solo because Mayhew’s mobility was compromised. But that didn’t stop him from being around the fans and taking part of the fun side of life.
You could see that through his social media posts where he made great jokes or pictures he took at premieres, just smiling for the cameras.
We are going to miss Peter Mayhew. He was part of the original Star Wars cast, giving us everything he had and made us fall in love with a Wookiee.
Thank you, Peter. May you light forever shine bright.