Star Wars: Chewbacca Actor Thanks Fans for Showing Solo Love

Seemingly out of the blue, Joonas Suotamo, who has played Chewbacca in the Star Wars films released by Disney, recently took to Twitter to share his love for fans praising Solo: A Star Wars Story. Fans have been known to rally behind hashtags and organized campaigns in efforts to show their support of projects for any number of reasons, but with no major events centering around Solo or Chewbacca recently, it’s unclear if Suotamo noticed an uptick in appreciation for the standalone film or if the actor was just personally witnessing a lot of kind words. Whatever the case might be, Suotamo is excited to see the support.

“The love that Star Wars fans continue to show for Solo warms my Wookiee heart. Thank you,” Suotamo shared on Twitter.

Suotamo debuted in the galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as he performed a majority of the more action-heavy scenes for the Wookiee, as original actor Peter Mayhew reprised the rest of the iconic role. Due to Mayhew’s declining health, Suotamo took over the role starting with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with Solo exploring the early days of Chewbacca and Han Solo’s iconic friendship.

While Solo would earn 69% positive reviews according to aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, its box office haul fell short of expectations, sitting at only $392.9 million worldwide. Regardless of the excitement surrounding the picture, no word has emerged about ever getting a follow-up film, despite the creatives involved with it, as well as its cast, often expressing their interest in such an endeavor.

“I do keep in touch with [Han Solo actor] Alden [Ehrenreich] every once in a while,” Suotamo told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “But I haven’t seen him since the premieres. Every now and then, we’ll message each other, and I hope he’s doing great. If we ever return to Solo, I can’t wait to work with him again.”

With the Skywalker Saga having concluded with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and no planned Solo continuations, it’s unclear when, or if, Suotamo will get to reprise the beloved role.

Would you like to see the actor reprise the role? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!