‘Star Wars’ Officially Reveals Chewbacca’s Real Name

After all these years since the first Star Wars film came out in 1977, from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope to the recent Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, and throughout the rest of the universe consisting of comic books, video games, novels, TV series )including live action and animation), it had never been revealed what the real nickname of Chewbacca, our all time favorite Wookiee, was. Chewie, as his friends call him, has finally been given a new, grander nickname. It is an interesting aspect to hear about after all these years. He finally earns the name.

Chewbacca had his first appearance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but it was not until the prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story that we saw Chewbacca’s first encounter with Han Solo onscreen, when the two meet in an Imperial holding pen on the planet Mimban. After one big misunderstanding, they both escaped, with this event serving as the beginning point of their partnership, sharing life on the run and later bringing them to Kessel, where Chewbacca chose to free Wookiee slaves from the spice mines. In this event, Chewbacca eventually became a hero of the Rebellion, receiving a medal offscreen after the Battle of Yavin (and later receiving Han's medal in The Rise of Skywalker), as well as smuggling spices with Han Solo that leads up to events of the original Star Wars trilogy. Han Solo and Chewbacca had always been defined as a hero in the earliest stages of their careers.

In the short story “Tooth and Claw," from the new anthology book Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, which contains 40 short stories celebrating The Empire Strikes Back from the perspectives of various characters during the events of that film, Chewbacca is given a nickname that emphasizes the impact that he had in the galaxy. One of the most feared bounty hunters of the galaxy, the Trandoshan Bossk, mentions knowing Chewbacca as “Chainbreaker,” as he earned that reputation by freeing enslaved Wookiees in his travels. The Trandoshans and Wookiees generally have a beef with each other because the former always hunted and captured the latter for the privateering benefit of the Empire. In the conclusion of the Clone Wars, misfortune fell upon the Wookiees, when the Pacification of Kashyyyk subjugated their planet, and Bossk was involved. Since then, the Empire sees the Wookiees as non-sentients, leading to their mistreatment. With Chewbacca’s effort that reflects the galaxy, a lot of Wookiees were able to improve and retake Kashyyyk properly.

Chewbacca is such an iconic character in the Star Wars universe, despite having always been a supporting character as Han Solo’s sidekick. But his new nickname “Chainbreaker” makes him an interesting foil to Solo. We all knew that in his first appearance, Solo supposedly showed interest nothing but money and profit. This new info puts Chewbacca in a positive light alongside heroic characters in the series. No matter what happened in the past or what kind of history Chewbacca had, including smuggling spices with Han Solo knowing it was illegal, the acts of freeing the Wookiees from slavery in his travels, his encounters with Bossk, and giving hope and effort to a lot of Wookiees to retake Kashyyyk, his nickname of “Chainbreaker” is earned and shows that the Force is strong with him as he has a heart of gold and a lot of good in him. His nickname will stand at the test of time across the galaxy.

Written By Pat Kusnadi

Syndicated From Culture Slate