Star Wars Honors Chewbacca Actor Peter Mayhew on His Birthday

05/19/2022 07:07 pm EDT

Peter Mayhew, the actor known for playing Chewbacca in all of the Star Wars films until Joonas Suotamo took over in The Last Jedi, sadly passed away in 2019. Since then, Angelique Mayhew often honors her husband's legacy and occasionally posts from The Peter Mayhew Foundation's Twitter account. Today would have been the Star Wars actor's 78th birthday, so many are celebrating him and his time playing the beloved Wookiee. The official account for Star Wars shared a throwback photo of Mayhew on set and reminded fans about the foundation he left behind. 

"On this day in 1944, Peter Mayhew was born. Behind the scenes of The Empire Strikes Back with the original walking carpet. For more information on the Peter Mayhew Foundation, visit www.mayhewfoundation.org," Star Wars wrote. You can check out the photo below:

"The Peter Mayhew Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to the alleviation of disease, pain, suffering, and the financial toll brought on by life's traumatic events. By providing its available resources directly to deserving children and adults in need, we assist numerous charitable organizations in order to promote and boost their effectiveness and provide support where needed," the organization's site reads. 

Earlier this year, a new Wookiee came on to the scene when Black Krrsantan was introduced in live-action form on The Book of Boba Fett. "A Message from Angie Mayhew: 'Warmest Wookiee welcome to Carey Jones who is playing fierce Black Krrsantan in The Book of Boba Fett. You have some giant shoes to fill, welcome to the Wookiee family! Peter would have loved seeing a Wookiee truly unleashed!' #WookieeWednesday," The Peter Mayhew Foundation tweeted after the character's debut. 

When Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened at Disney back in 2019, Harrison Ford (Han Solo) dedicated the attraction's opening to his former co-star. "Peter, this one's for you," Ford said as the celebration kicked off.

As for the future of Star Wars, it's unclear if we'll be seeing Suotamo play Chewbacca again, but it seems likely considering the Wookiee is 200-years-old and has been around during every Star Wars trilogy. While fans wait on news of more Chewbacca, there's plenty more content to look forward to from Lucasfilm. Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ next week and will see the return of Ewan McGregor in the titular role as well as Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. The new show will take place ten years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and nine years before the original Star Wars.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts on Disney+ on May 27th.

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