Hey Disney and Lucasfilm! Do you want to know the secret to making
a successful Star Wars movie? Chewbacca!
I give the credit of the first three movies, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi, for becoming such iconic classics to Chewbacca.
You may ask, “Wait! If this is your logic, then couldn’t all the characters of the
first three films be attributed to the movies’ success?”
You could but, let’s look at the facts:
First, Chewbacca was in the first three movies which are still widely popular today.
(Quite a feat when you consider Star Wars premiered 40 years ago.)
Second, Revenge of the Sith, was the least disappointing of the three prequels. Why? Because Chewbacca had a small cameo in the beginning of the movie.
Third, The Force Awakens, one of the top-grossing movies of 2015, gave us more screen time with Chewbacca than any other member of the original cast.
Unfortunately, the latest Star Wars movie, Rouge One, is missing Chewbacca.
Although it is an entertaining movie with a strong cast, spectacular visual effects and the answer to the often-pondered question of why the designers of the Death Star would create such an exposed structural weakness, I fear it is doomed to fall short of the three original films because it is missing the all too important Chewbacca Factor.
Peter Mayhew (aka Chewbacca) and me.