CHEWBACCA could appear in future Star Wars stories after the Skywalker saga wraps up in the next movie, the actor who plays the wookiee has hinted.
Giant Finnish star Joonas Suotomo, 33 – who played the 200-year-old furball in the last two films – spoke of his excitement about coming back to the series “at least one more time” in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
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Joonas, a 6ft 11ins former basketball player, took over the role from British actor Peter Mayhew, who died in April aged 74.
He said: “I hope Peter would be proud of what we accomplished.”
Chewie, Han Solo’s loyal sidekick, has appeared in seven Star Wars films and is one of the series’ most beloved characters.
Some fans feared he could be killed off like Solo, who was murdered by his son, Kylo Ren, in Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
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Episode IX, out on December 19, concludes the long-running story of the Skywalker family which began with George Lucas’s groundbreaking Star Wars movie in 1977.
Lucas always imagined the saga as three trilogies.
He sold the franchise to Disney in 2012 for $4billion (£3.2billion).
Suotomo was speaking at a “Triple Force Friday” event at Pinewood Studios, where new Star Wars toys and merchandise were unveiled ahead of their release on October 4.
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As well as the film, there is a live action TV series, The Mandalorian – airing on the new Disney Plus streaming service launching in November – and a video game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, out November 15.
Hit toys for Christmas include a remote-controlled interactive droid, D-O (£139.99), the Scream Saber, a replica light saber with customisable sound effects (£27.99), and a Sith Trooper costume for kids (£31).
Lego fans can build a new version of the Millennium Falcon (£149.99), a Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter (£59.99) and Kylo Ren Shuttle (£99.99).
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker hits cinemas on December 19.
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