The British actor who starred as Chewbacca, Han Solo's furry sidekick, in the original Star Wars films, has said he hopes to reprise the role in JJ Abrams' forthcoming Episode VII.
Peter Mayhew's announcement came after a casting call from the film's studio, Disney, and Abrams' production company for a seven-foot tall actor sparked suggestions that wookiees would play a part in the new film. Mayhew, who stood 2.13m (7ft 3 in) tall in his youth, says he is the man for the job. "I intend to pursue the role of Chewbacca for Episode VII," he told Bleedingcool.com, via a message from film-maker W Ryan Ziegler, who is making a documentary about the actor.
Mayhew, 69, has played Chewbacca in four Star Wars films – the original trilogy that ran between 1977 and 1983, and 2005 prequel Revenge of the Sith. It is not known whether Abrams has lined up a return for Chewbacca, but there have been persistent reports that Harrison Ford's Solo will make an appearance in the new film.
While Mayhew once famously revealed he only had to stand up to win the role, he is said to have developed a signature posture as Chewbacca (from observing large animals in captivity) that made his performances stand out. According to Star Wars legend, the actor was replaced temporarily by another tall man during filming of 1983's Return of the Jedi after falling ill. The stand-in was unable to emulate Mayhew's style and the scenes subsequently had to be reshot.
Fans of the series would no doubt love to see another iconic figure return to the long-running space saga after Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher also hinted they would be likely to return as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Mayhew, however, is currently recovering from knee surgery and might struggle to be ready for Abrams' shoot in London early next year. Ziegler's documentary Standing in the Stars: The Peter Mayhew Story, which examines the actor's life and struggle with gigantism, recently reached its funding target on Kickstarter.
Disney is to release a new trilogy of Star Wars films from 2015 – as well as a series of standalone origins movies that could feature characters from the original trilogy – after buying all rights to the series through its acquisition of LucasFilm for $4.05bn (£2.5bn) in October last year.
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