Peter Mayhew is Chewbacca in J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens." (Photo : Instagram/vman)
Peter Mayhew has revealed the reason why Chewbacca had not gotten a medal at the conclusion of George Lucas' original "Star Wars" film.
Mayhew is set to play Chewbacca in J.J. Abrams' forthcoming space sci-fi film "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens." In his interview with Australia's Bmag, the actor said that Chewbacca had not received a medal for two reasons.
First, there had been not enough money to buy Chewbacca a medal. The other reason was Carrie Fisher could not have reached his neck and it had been possibly too expensive to step a little so he could have stepped down, or she could have stepped up and gave him the medal.
According to Cinema Blend, Mayhew might not have been concerned, since the issue had already been resolved. The publication added that Fisher had been on hand to put the award around Chewbacca's neck during the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
Meanwhile, "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" is set 30 years after the events in the "Return of Jedi." It stars an ensemble of both old and new heroes and villains played by Mayhew, Oscar Isaac, Max von Sydow, Simon Pegg, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill, among others.
Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" hits theaters on Dec. 18 while Gareth Edwards's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" premieres on Dec. 16, 2016. Meanwhile, Johnson's "Star Wars: Episode VIII" is slated to premiere in theaters on May 26, 2017 while Colin Trevorrow's "Star Wars: Episode IX" premieres in 2019.
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