New Chewbacca Actor Pens a Letter to Fans and Peter Mayhew

With the death of Han Solo in The Force Awakens and the start of principal photography on the Untitled Han Solo movie commencing, we’ve seen Harrison Ford clamber into the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon for the last time. Sadly, The Force Awakens marked Peter Mayhew‘s last adventure as Han’s co-pilot Chewbacca, as well. Mayhew’s ailing health forced him to split the performance with newcomer Joonas Suotamo, who now takes over the role in the Han Solo prequel movie, as revealed in a recent press announcement from Disney/Lucasfilm.

In response to the announcement, Suotamo has penned a heartfelt letter to Star Wars fans and to Mayhew, who Suotamo praised for his “guidance and kindness” in sharing the ways of the Wookie with him.

I'm ecstatic. It's official. And here is my statement to this terrific piece of news https://t.co/a1DPsNDb2P pic.twitter.com/r4EUZ2r17V

— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) February 21, 2017

Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing the Han Solo prequel movie from a script by Star Wars veteran Lawrence Kasdan and his son, Jon. Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover star as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, with Emilia Clarke, Pheobe Waller-Bridge and Woody Harrelson co-starring.

The Untitled Han Solo movie is slated to open on May 25, 2018.