In the Star Wars Original Trilogy, Chewbacca was treated as little more than a sidekick. Conceived by George Lucas as Han Solo’s dog, he had no role other than to follow the heroes in whatever capacity they required of him. He was always a co-pilot, even to Rey in the Sequel Trilogy, and never given his own character arc. Only in Solo: A Star Wars Story is Chewbacca spoken to as an equal. He is asked for his opinion and given options to choose for himself. This movie shows the formation of Han Solo and Chewbacca’s partnership and the downward turning point for the rest of Chewbacca’s life.
By Solo, Chewbacca is a one-hundred-and-ninety-year-old Wookie. Only nine years earlier he was fighting in the Clone Wars with Ahsoka Tano and Yoda, where he was distinguished for rescuing the Jedi Master from Order 66. The Galactic Empire enslaved Kashyyyk and Chewbacca found himself fighting in a mud pit for food. It was here where his life intersected with the young Han Solo, for the worse. After their escape from the Empire’s fighting pit, Han Solo convinces Chewie to join a group of strangers in a high-stake heist for the gang Crimson Dawn. The heist does not go to plan at all, leading to the death of two members of their group (one of them the leader’s wife), and putting Tobias Beckett in severe debt. On the mountainside of Vandor-1, Han Solo agrees to join Beckett in recouping the loss, knowing full well that if they fail, they will all die by the vicious hands of Dryden Vos.
Chewbacca should have made better life choices. Participating in the coaxium heist for Tobias Beckett’s group was a favor to Han as gratitude for the clever escape plan. Everything else after that is one bad decision after another. Even after they barely escaped the wrath of Dryden Vos on Savareen, Han Solo goes on to fall into disfavor with Jabba the Hutt, causing a host of bounty hunters to hunt them down across the galaxy. They get caught up in the Rebellion with Luke and Leia, earning the ire of the Empire. Darth Vader personally sends Boba Fett to find the Millennium Falcon.
Later, Han falls into even more debt by foolishly borrowing money from both Kanjiklub and the Guavian Death Gang in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. What was Han Solo’s plan in doing so? Han Solo followed a terrible pattern of recklessness and impulsive behavior, some could argue self-destructive. Throughout all of this, Chewbacca was right by his side. If Chewbacca decided early on that helping Han was a one and done act, he would have lived a much better life. Instead of spending time in dive-bars like the Mos Eisley Cantina, or spice running for gangsters, he likely would have been a statesman of Kashyyyk, or even a great and respected general.
Chewbacca is more than Han Solo’s dog. He is a noble warrior from a proud culture. He is a celebrated war hero who defended Jedi Grand Master Yoda from Clone assassins during the Battle of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca supported and fought for the Rebellion and the Resistance. Chewbacca had a wife, Mallatobuck, and a son, Lumpawaroo, to support. Did Han Solo ever consider them in all his bright ideas? Was Han Solo’s reputation and ego more important than his best friend’s family? Chewbacca was always a heroic Wookie. He is a good Wookie, strong, dutiful, honest. All these traits were exploited by Han Solo, a deserter, a gambler, a rogue, and a spice smuggler. His life should have gone to much greater heights than merely the co-pilot to a scruffy-looking nerf-herder.
Chewbacca was a master pilot before he even met Han Solo, and continued to be a noble warrior even after Han Solo died at the hands of Kylo Ren, his own son. In the Sequel Trilogy, Chewbacca protected Rey from the First Order, chaperoned her in her search for Luke Skywalker, and, though he nearly died by her electric hand, supported her in the great battle against the Sith.
The only person in the Star Wars Saga to recognize Chewbacca’s greatness was the pirate queen Maz Kanata. Maz affectionately called him her “boyfriend” when Han and Rey entered her lakeside castle in the Force Awakens. She no doubt knew the peril Han put him in, and the true bravery the Wookie had for obliging his maniac of a “best friend.”
Chewbacca swore a life-debt to Han Solo for rescuing him from the slave pit on planet Mimban, where he went unfed by Stormtroopers and referred to as ‘the Beast’. For some, being forced to follow someone as scummy as Han Solo would have led to desertion. Not for Chewbacca. Wookies are an honor-based civilization. So long as Han Solo went around the galaxy making crooked deals and borrowing more money than he could pay back, Chewbacca was duty-bound to follow him. Han never thought schemes through and constantly endangered his first mate. Despite Han’s impulsive and criminal behavior, Chewbacca respected his pledge and protected him right to the end.