| Wookiee | |
| Home World: | Kashyyyk |
| Language: | Shyriiwook, Xaczik |
| Distinctions: | Brown, white, or black fur |
| Sub Races: | Silverback Wookiee |
Wookiees are fictional humanoid aliens in the Star Wars universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee in the films is Chewbacca, the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon, and best friend to Han Solo.
According to an interview with creator George Lucas, the inspiration for the Wookiee was Lucas's dog, Indiana (whose name is used in Lucas's Indiana Jones movies): "He was the prototype for the Wookiee. He always sat beside me in the car. He was big, a big bear of a dog."[1] The species' name was inspired when, during the climactic chase scene in THX 1138, one of the robotic cops, voiced by actor Terry McGovern, improvises: "I think I ran over a Wookiee back there", and thus the word was born. "Wookey" was the surname of a friend, Ralph Wookey, and McGovern thought it would be a funny in-joke to include his friend's name in the soundtrack for THX-1138.[2] [3]
In one episode of Animal Planet's series Animal Icons, focusing on the creation of Star Wars figures, it was revealed that the Wookiees were also based on orangutans and lemurs, which are long-haired creatures that live in a hot forest climate.[4] The net effect in terms of the Wookiees' appearance is a marked resemblance to descriptions of the legendary Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest.
In the Star Wars universe, adult Wookiees are typically taller than most humans, averaging 2.21abbr=offNaNabbr=off.[5] They also possess enormous strength. Han Solo states that a Wookiee can pull a man's arms out of his sockets if angered. Wookiees have a keen sense of smell, are fully covered with a thick coat of hair (though some can be susceptible to balding), have good hand–eye coordination, and are shown to be excellent marksmen. Wookiees have been shown in many diverse environments, such as those of Hoth, Tatooine, and Endor, never wearing any protective clothing or showing any signs of discomfort. Wookiees have a life span of several hundred years: Chewbacca is 200 years old during the original trilogy and is still in his prime. "Chewie" has also appeared twenty years before at the end of the prequel trilogy, and thirty years later in the sequel trilogy, yet his appearance does not significantly change across this fifty-year time span.[5]
The Wookiees of Lucas's fictional universe are usually depicted as devoted, loyal friends and very distrustful of strangers.[5]
Despite a fearsome appearance and temperamental disposition, Wookiees are very intelligent and are very adept at handling advanced technology. Chewbacca is co-pilot of and performs maintenance on the Millennium Falcon, and also possesses a working knowledge of robotics, managing to haphazardly reassemble C-3PO after he was destroyed by Imperial stormtroopers in The Empire Strikes Back. Wookiees are fast learners; Chewbacca commandeers an Imperial AT-ST during the Battle of Endor and is shown effectively maneuvering the vehicle and operating its weapons systems. He also fought during the Clone Wars alongside Jedi Grand Master Yoda. Chewbacca is also shown to be an adept strategist at holo-chess (leading to his surprise when R2-D2 outmaneuvered him in a game).
Wookiee cities on their home planet Kashyyyk, as seen in Revenge of the Sith, are built atop giant forest trees. Their society contains a mixture of traditional, almost primitive-appearing woodwork and decorations intermixed with starships and energy generators.
Due to their heavy coats of long fur, Wookiees do not generally wear clothes - though for practical purposes they will wear toolbelts, etc. Matching the anachronistic appearance of their cities, a Wookiee such as Chewbacca resembles a primitive humanoid bear wearing only a bandolier, containing energy cartridges for his blaster.
Wookiees greatly value morality, courage, compassion, and loyalty. A sacred and ancient Wookiee tradition is that of the honor family. An honor family is composed of a Wookiee's closest friends and companions. These family members pledge a commitment to lay down their lives for one another, as well as members of any honor families these individuals may have. Like the similarly sacred Wookiee life debt, Wookiees are willing to extend this tradition to members outside their species. Chewbacca considered Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their children, and Luke Skywalker part of his honor family.[5] In the Solo film, Han says that the Wookiee words for "tribe/friends" and "family" are so similar he has trouble distinguishing them. Wookiees themselves don't recognize a significant difference between the two.
Wookiees have an understanding of Star Wars-universe warfare and fought alongside Republic forces during the Clone Wars. Wookiees were betrayed and enslaved shortly after that conflict, as well as on certain occasions during the war by the Separatist Alliance.
Some Wookiees are shown to be sensitive to the Force, including Gungi, who appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Chewbacca's nephew Lowbacca, and Kelnacca, who appeared in The Acolyte.
The most common Wookiee language is Shyriiwook. However, other dialects used by Wookiees from Kashyyyk are Thykarann and Xaczik. Wookiees are capable of understanding Galactic Basic, but generally none are able to speak it because of the structure of Wookiee vocal cords. In the original Star Wars trilogy, it seems that Chewbacca can understand humans. His human partner, Han Solo, also shows knowledge of Shyriiwook, or can at least understand Chewbacca; in Solo it is shown that Han does indeed have the ability to speak Shyriiwook at a rudimentary level. In the Star Wars expanded universe novels, Chewbacca builds a miniature translator droid ("Em Teedee") for his nephew Lowbacca when he later begins training as a Jedi, to facilitate communications with his fellow students.
In the Star Wars films, Chewbacca carries a "bowcaster," the traditional weapon developed and used by Wookiees. Bowcasters launch quarrels, crossbow bolts that through magnetic propulsion appear as elongated blaster bolts due to their velocity. The propulsion technique gives the quarrels extremely high stopping power. Chewbacca in particular is shown to be an excellent shot, killing a Stormtrooper who was attempting to escape on a speeder bike in Return of the Jedi. The spring that powers the bowcaster is extremely hard to pull back; humans are generally incapable of cocking a bowcaster, although Han Solo was seen to do so.[6]
Kashyyyk, as depicted in Star Wars media, is the tropical, forested home world of the Wookiees.
In the original scripts for Return of the Jedi, the second Death Star was to be built in orbit around Kashyyyk by Wookiee slave labor, with the primitive Wookiees ultimately helping the rebels to fight off the Imperial garrison.[7] However, Lucas decided that since the Wookiee Chewbacca, being co-pilot and mechanic on the Millennium Falcon, was clearly proficient with advanced technology, it would be confusing to show the Wookiees with a primitive, "Stone Age" culture. Endor and the Ewoks were created instead to serve this purpose.[8]
Lucas has also said that he originally planned Yavin 4, the location of the rebel base in , to be the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk,[5] but subsequent rewrites changed this.[9]
The planet was more extensively seen in , in which Jedi Master Yoda goes to Kashyyyk to aid the Wookiees in their battle against the Separatist Droid Army.[11] In Revenge of the Sith the Wookiees live in the lush forests and giant jungles on the planet, in villages among the giant wroshyr trees. Phuket, Thailand was used for main photography,[12] while the backdrops for Kashyyyk were filmed in Guilin, a city in southern China, which is famous for its karst formations.[13]
To ensure a relatively peaceful presence, Czerka supported the installation of friendly chieftains into power over the native tribes and would then prop them up with mercenaries and weapons shipments. In response, the chieftains would train their tribe to understand Galactic Basic (ostensibly to "know thine enemy" but in reality to make them better slaves) and allow Czerka to enslave a percentage of the tribe's population. Eventually Czerka was driven out by Revan and rebel Wookiees.
Darth Vader also discovered his secret apprentice Galen Marek while raiding Kashyyyk in The Force Unleashed.
On another such occasion, the Rebel Alliance, before the destruction of the first Death Star, formed a plan to free the Wookiee population from enslavement. Together with Han Solo, the Rebel Alliance attempted to raid the planet but was ultimately stopped by the Empire. Han Solo then fled in the Millennium Falcon.
Chewbacca is the loyal friend of Han Solo and serves as first mate and co-pilot on Solo's starship, the Millennium Falcon. As such, he appears in seven of the main Star Wars films, episodes III through IX, as well as in .
Lowbacca is a Jedi Knight and the nephew of Chewbacca. He studied at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum and was a companion of Jaina Solo. He wielded a bronze-bladed lightsaber.
Gungi is a male Wookiee who is training to be a Jedi.[14] Gungi appears in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[14] Gungi was trained as a youngling by Ahsoka Tano and was at the top of his class. He also appeared in season 2 of .[14]
Black Krrsantan first appeared in the Darth Vader comic series as an antagonist and later appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, where he is an assassin for the Hutt Twins. He attacked Boba Fett while he slept in his bacta tank.
Kelnacca is a Wookiee Jedi Master introduced in The Acolyte and played by Joonas Suotamo, who previously portrayed Chewbacca in the sequel trilogy films and (2018).[15] [16]
In A New Hope, when Chewbacca is upset after losing a game of dejarik (a game similar to chess) against R2-D2, Han Solo says "It's not wise to upset a Wookiee...droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that." In response, C-3PO says "I suggest a new strategy, R2: let the Wookiee win."[17] [18] This phrase (sometimes referred to by its initialism LTWW[19]) has gained the proverbial meaning of "In trivial disputes, let the person who cares more have their way."[17] It can also be interpreted as advice to avoid arguments, especially those with shallow motivation such as to appear more intelligent than one's opponent.[18] The phrase and the attitude it describes have been criticized as potentially justifying the enabling of an abuser.[20]