When given the opportunity to attend an early screening of a Star Wars film, you say yes and then ask for the details later. Luckily enough, the early screening of Solo I attended on Monday night had a bonus for us: a Q&A after the film with Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo. If you’re ever given a chance to attend a panel with him, I highly recommend it. Suotamo is passionate about his role in a very earnest way that leaves you completely charmed. It’s hard not to become a fan of him. I mean… how can you not love someone who delivers all of his lines on set in Wookiee English even though it’ll be dubbed over?
This brief summary of the Q&A will involve spoilers for Solo.
Star Wars has kept Suotamo busy over the last four years with very little downtime between filming The Last Jedi and Solo. The actor started stunt training alongside Alden Ehrenreich two months before filming began. Both actors trained “very rigorously” for their mud fight. Suotamo estimated that there were five or six Chewbacca costumes made for Solo of which one was completely ruined after filming the fight sequence. (Mud will do that to a hairy costume.) The fight sequence was the very first scene Suotamo filmed for Solo and was also the most challenging for him. His favorite scene to film, however, was the chess scene with Woody Harrelson.
Suotamo fielded several questions regarding how it felt playing such an iconic character and how he felt about being in a role where people see the costume but not him. He described getting the role of Chewbacca “like a lottery win” and said he was just happy for the opportunity. Making the shift and breaking into acting roles where his face is actually visible will be the next step in his career. He also emphasized not wanting to sacrifice the integrity of the character, saying, “As a fan of Star Wars, I want Chewbacca to remain the same from the original films to these films.” It was clear both how passionate he is about the role and how seriously he takes upholding the legacy on his shoulders.
Unsurprisingly, the subject of the Solo director change came up as well. Suotamo’s comments were tactful and respectful of the painful situation, mostly adhering to what Lucasfilm and his fellow cast mates have said in the past. He had nothing but praise for director Ron Howard, even mentioning that he’d made a prior visit to the set back when they were filming the mud fight. Suotamo described Howard as a “powerhouse” when he joined the film because he knew just want to do. He even had a “special register for Chewbacca stuff,” something that definitely felt apparent while watching Solo.
If you haven’t seen the film yet and you’re reading this, click away now because we’re about to get into serious spoiler territory.
Still here? Okay. You’re doing this at your own risk.
By far, the biggest surprise in the film came in the shape of a certain horned Sith Lord. Yup, that’s right: Maul is back. Fans at the screening were literally so excited that both the first and the last question were whether Maul was going to get a spinoff film even though the zabrak and our favorite wookiee don’t even interact. (Spoiler alert: He doesn’t know. And even if he did know, he’s not going to tell you. Don’t ask actors questions like this, folks.) That said, Suotamo had genuine enthusiasm for Maul’s return to the big screen for the first time since The Phantom Menace (which was actually his very first Star Wars viewing experience in theatres.)
One of the first things that he said during the Q&A is actually what I’d like to end this with: “This movie has a very special place in my heart.” Hopefully, Joonas Suotamo will also have a special place in the heart of Star Wars fans for all of the amazing work he has done and will continue to do as Chewbacca.
