Chewbacca's Mystery Line In Rise Of Skywalker Has Been Revealed
In case you weren't aware, it turns out that Chewbacca can have a bit of an attitude.
Finnish actor Joonas Suotamo, who portrays the Wookiee in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and in Solo: A Star Wars Story, recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter. In it, he revealed that a conversation his character has with Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker basically sees Chewie taking a shot at the piloting skills of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).
The conversation takes place right after Chewbacca and Rey are reunited, with the latter taking her place in the Captain's seat of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie growls something at Rey in his characteristic fashion, and since nobody on Earth actually speaks Wookiee, fans were curious as to what he said — especially after Rey (who does speak his language) responded with a succinct "It is."
Fortunately, Suotamo — who took over the role of Chewie from Peter Mayhew in 2014 — was able to shed some light on the exchange. It seems that the Wookiee hadn't been too thrilled with Poe's time at the Falcon's controls. "I think Chewbacca is saying something like, 'It's good that you're back in the Falcon, because Poe has been damaging the Falcon with his reckless, shifty flying.' So, I think it's a small jab at Poe at that point."
Considering that Poe prides himself on being a hotshot pilot, we think Suotamo is slightly understating the size of that jab. It's nice to know that, after everything he's been through in the service of the Rebellion and the Resistance (including losing his best buddy, Han Solo, in The Force Awakens), Chewie still has a sense of humor — and a pretty acerbic one, at that.
Do the filmmakers know what Chewbacca's lines are?
This raises the question of just how many of Chewbacca's lines are actually scripted (as is done with his spiritual successor, Groot, in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies). The short answer is that it probably varies depending on who is writing the character, but we do know that English translations of the Wookiee's grunts, roars, and squeals have appeared in the scripts for Star Wars flicks going at least as far back as the second one, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back.
We know this thanks to Mayhew, who took to Twitter in 2016 to share some behind the scenes footage from that film. It shows the crew shooting a take of the scene in which Solo approaches Chewie, who is atop the Falcon doing a few repairs, in the Rebel base on Hoth. In the clip, Mayhew can be heard shouting Chewbacca's lines (which are only slightly muffled by his mask), which is downright bizarre given the actor's British accent. For the record, the first thing he says to Solo is, "Where the hell have you been?"
This tradition has continued with the current crop of Star Wars flicks. Solo: A Star Wars Story co-screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan revealed in 2018 that in that flick's script, all of Chewie's lines were written in English. "We wanted Alden [Ehrenreich], who was playing Han, to know what was being said to him," Kasdan explained. "So he would know what to play, regardless of what he interpreted from the moan" (via CinemaBlend).
Apparently, Chewbacca's dialogue was handled similarly for Rise of Skywalker, which will likely mark the last time we see the big lug onscreen — unless, of course, Suotamo has anything to say about it.
Will Joonas Suotamo return to the Star Wars franchise?
There probably aren't a heck of a lot of roles in major Hollywood productions being doled out for 7-foot tall guys like Suotamo, who has clearly enjoyed his time playing the most iconic spaceship co-pilot in film history. Despite the mixed reception the sequel flicks (and Solo, for that matter) have received, the actor had nothing but positive things to say about his experience working on them, and he expressed his satisfaction that everybody involved with the movies had achieved what they set out to accomplish.
"I'm so happy with the way the Skywalker saga ends," he said. "I'm really excited for people to see and experience it. I think it's multifaceted and detailed. I'm just really happy about how Chewbacca fits in to the picture. He's been with the Resistance and Rebellion for so long, and it's great to see that he's out on an adventure with his friends again."
At the conclusion of the interview, he was posed a scintillating question: does he think he'll ever be invited back into the Lucasfilm fold to play Chewbacca again at some point down the road? His response was to give his own practiced version of Chewie's iconic growl, before offering hope for the future in the form of one of Rise of Skywalker's most compelling themes. "I think Chewbacca — more than anyone — is never really gone," he said. "So, I'm really hoping. I wouldn't say no to more Star Wars."
And we wouldn't say no to seeing him in the role again. Good luck, Mr. Suotamo... may the Force be with you.