Star Wars legend Mark Hamill has reminded fans of the franchise that studio bosses originally considered an early version of Chewbacca that had him looking like a hirsute Bavarian mountain man.
The actor – who played Luke Skywalker in the hit sci-fi saga – tweeted on Thursday: “FUN FACT: Very early in the shooting of #SW studio execs expressed deep concern that Chewie didn’t wear any pants & suggested he wear a pair of lederhosen.
“That they would focus on this amidst all the grotesque elements in the script made us laugh (& a bit worried.)”
FUN FACT: Very early in the shooting of #SW studio execs expressed deep concern that Chewie didn’t wear any pants & suggested he wear a pair of lederhosen. That they would focus on this amidst all the grotesque elements in the script made us laugh (& a bit worried)🙄 #TrueStoryhttps://t.co/BCNhWDrwdl
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) April 22, 2021
Fortunately, Star Wars director George Lucas was able to dissuade the studio from adorning the big guy with “walking carpet” wear pants, according to comicbook.com.
The suits and the creatives settled on just a bandolier ― and it’s been a roaring success ever since.
Still, a few fans pondered what could have been after Mark Hamill’s tweet.
And I suddenly had a vision of Hans and Chewbacca at an Oktoberfest, wearing lederhosen and drinking huge mugs of beer. It’s a very disturbing vision. 😒
— Missy (@Mamadetodoswr) April 22, 2021
Mark first mentioned the Wookiee couture issue years ago to The Associated Press, recalling how the studio wrung its hands in deciding how to dress – or not – Chewie, played by the late British actor Peter Mayhew.
“I remember the memos from 20th Century Fox,” Mark told the wire service.
”‘Can you put a pair of lederhosen on the Wookiee?’ All they could think of was, ‘This character has no pants on!’ This went back and forth. They did sketches of him in culottes and baggy shorts.”
For a couple of characters who met at the Mos Eisley Cantina, the gig and the getup worked out pretty well.
