Star Wars: Chewbacca Actor Details the Difficulties of Filming ‘The Last Jedi’s Porg Roast

Fans have loved Chewbacca for over 40 years, as he proved to be not only a loyal warrior throughout the Star Wars saga but also an immensely huggable “walking carpet.” That perception of the character changed for some audiences when a certain scene in The Last Jedi depicted the Wookiee feasting on the flesh of another adorable creature, the porgs. Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo recalled what it was like to film the scene and the difficulties of not having the critters to interact with.

“I knew we were going to do the porg roasting and there were going to be some awkward moments in that shot,” Suotamo revealed to StarWars.com. “But I wasn’t shown any footage of what the porgs would actually look like, so it was very hard to get into the mindset. After I saw it in the finished film, I realized exactly what Chewie was going through, and I thought [writer/director] Rian [Johnson] did an amazing job directing me in that scene, because it was so difficult.”

Johnson created the species to help pay his respects to the shooting location of Skellig Michael and its puffin residents. Despite designing the loving tributes, Johnson had no problem ensuring at least one met its demise.

“We had two different eye lines for the porgs, and I was supposed to turn away from the first porgs, and then see this whole batch of new, cute-looking porgs,” the actor recounted. “And he was just taking me through the beats one by one, because I remember struggling a little bit because of not being able to visualize it in my head. But in the end, I think we got a great scene out of that. I was very happy with that scene.”

Fans of the Star Wars films haven’t seen such cute characters meet horrific fates like this scene in The Last Jedi, but Suotamo claims that his younger fans haven’t judged the Wookiee too harshly.

“Well, they haven’t been too bad. You know, they’re kind of accepting that that’s the way [Chewie is],” the actor joked. “We all make mistakes, and that’s true for Wookiees too, you know?”

Chewbacca will next be seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which hits theaters on May 25th.

The Last Jedi is available now on Digital HD and hits Blu-ray on March 27th.

Who did you like more in The Last Jedi, Chewbacca or the porgs? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T StarWars.com]