Can you name a more iconic cinematic duo than Han Solo and Chewbacca?
Ever since they first crossed paths with the young and naive Luke Skywalker in Tatooine’s Cantina, Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew’s spacefaring rogues have wormed their way into the hearts of Star Wars fans the world over. But The Force Awakens brought that legacy to an abrupt, tragic end in the most horrific way possible: Ben Solo, Adam Driver’s wannabe Vader, sent his father plunging into the depths of Starkiller Base.
It’s arguably one of the more contentious moments in J.J. Abrams’ franchise revival, and it’s one that Joonas Suotamo has pretty strong feelings about.
With Mayhew now the wrong side of 70, Suotamo was brought in to handle the physical aspects of Chewbacca’s performance – a role he continued into The Last Jedi. But when asked about his thoughts on Han’s sudden death, Joonas Suotamo told Screen Geek the following:
It was very emotional to watch that being filmed and to be making all the reactions. We filmed in the same sound stage, but filmed in different moments because it was a large space – but very tragic. Everyone was very quiet when they were filming that, it was just Adam Driver and Harrison on that bridge. It was very emotional for everyone.
And, well, it seems Joonas Suotamo is of the belief that Porgs are friends, not food:
As you can see in The Last Jedi, I turned away at the last second from tasting that Porg because they’re just so damn cute. I just couldn’t do it. Wasn’t man enough.
Of course, thanks to the oncoming release of Solo, Lucasfilm and Ron Howard are about to shed light on the early years of Han and Chewie. And we’ll be able to see if it’s a Star Wars story worth telling on May 25th.