Conan O’Brien paid tribute to late Star Wars actor Peter Mayhew with a special tribute from San Diego Comic-Con.
The Star Wars community lost a gentle giant this year when Peter Mayhew, the man behind the Chewbacca mask, died.
There have been a number of tributes and outpouring of love for the man, with the most recent coming from late night talk show Conan O’Brien. Conan was at San Diego Comic-Con this week and had Mark Hamill on as a guest.
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Given the Star Wars theme, Conan took time out to honor Mayhew with a 21-Wookiee salute.
Team Coco headed to the SDCC floor and found 21 people in Chewbacca cosplay. They ranged from the traditional Wookiee costumes to different renditions featuring Chewie in various color fur and in all different sizes, including some kids.
After they all got on stage, Conan had them give the Wookiee roar for our beloved Mayhew.
It was a nice tribute for Mayhew, one that could only happen at a place like San Diego Comic-Con. It was a good assortment too with men, women and children saluting the man.
The tribute comes from the 21-gun salute in military service. This is how service people honor fallen service members.
Changing it to a 21-Wookiee salute was a nice way of showing the love for Mayhew who made Chewbacca the beloved character that we adored since the beginning.
Check out the tribute below:
Mayhew will be on our mind a lot over the rest of the year, especially when The Rise of Skywalker comes out in December. Though he wasn’t playing Chewbacca in the film with Joonas Suotamo taking over the role, he’s still the one we think of when it comes to that roar.
What is your favorite Peter Mayhew memory?