Star Wars: Chewbacca Actor Shares Post Detailing the Difficulties of Shooting

We will finally see the third installment of the latest Star Wars trilogy at the end of this year, […]

February 20, 2019, 6:02pm

We will finally see the third installment of the latest Star Wars trilogy at the end of this year, and one of the film’s actors is opening up about the filmmaking process.

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Earlier today, Joonas Suotamo took to Instagram to explain the grueling process of becoming Chewbacca. The actor first stepped into the role as the character’s double in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and then officially took over for Peter Mayhew in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The actor will be donning the wookie suit once again in the upcoming untitled Star Wars: Episode IX.

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Playing Chewbacca is a dream. But sometimes there were days that were more demanding than others. On interior sets there might not be any real airflow and the hairs would just trap all the heat to the fur and cause a slow temperature rise. While filming I would perform my bit and we would go again many times – usually this would take from an hour to 2 hours. On scenes requiring 3 hours I would sometimes need to start conserving my energy, which unfortunately meant having to reserve some of my jokes for after filming 😂 #chewbacca #starwars
A post shared by Joonas Suotamo (@joonassuotamo) on Feb 20, 2019 at 1:18pm PST

“Playing Chewbacca is a dream. But sometimes there were days that were more demanding than others. On interior sets there might not be any real airflow and the hairs would just trap all the heat to the fur and cause a slow temperature rise. While filming I would perform my bit and we would go again many times – usually this would take from an hour to 2 hours. On scenes requiring 3 hours I would sometimes need to start conserving my energy, which unfortunately meant having to reserve some of my jokes for after filming,” Suotamo wrote.

The part of Chewie is the Finnish actor’s first onscreen role and he was definitely built for it. The actor stands at 6′ 11″ which is only slightly shorter than Mayhew’s 7′ 2″.

Many fans were quick to comment on Suotamo’s post, praising him for the hard work.

“You did a damn fine job Joonas. Damn fine job,” @cadarado425 wrote.

“You are fantastic as Chewbacca,” @galaxyunicorn74 added.

“Interesting to know! You pulled it off excellently, though. Thank you for your sacrifice,” @spaceport_cantina replied.

Currently, Star Wars fans are on the edge of their seating waiting to find out the title of the upcoming film. There are rumors that it could come as early as this week, but no official confirmation.

While the title is still a mystery, other small details of film have been trickling in, including a rumored BB-8 sidekick, the debut of a new stormtrooper, and the potential involvement of the Knights of Ren.

Episode IX is set to star a returning Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. New cast members include Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell. The returning veteran actors are Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams. According to StarWars.com, Leia will be featured in the film using unreleased footage of Carrie Fisher from The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: Episode IX is expected to hit theatres on December 20th.