On April 30, the Star Wars legend died of a heart attack aged 74. Mayhew is best known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca across five Star Wars movies. But with Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker being released this year, some movie fans might be wondering if he managed to shoot scenes. Well, it turns out Mayhew hasn’t played Chewbacca since 2015’s The Force Awakens.
Mayhew shared his The Force Awakens role of Chewbacca with Joonas Suotamo, due to his worsening health.
In fact, he retired from the role after Episode VI, handing it on entirely to Joonas – who paid a heartfelt tribute to his predecessor on Twitter today.
The Finnish actor and former professional basketball player has since played Chewie in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
He has also completed filming upcoming sequel Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
Carrie’s Leia even featured in the teaser trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, in a scene where she hugs Rey.
Director JJ Abrams said: “The idea of having a CG character was off the table, we’d never want to try. So the idea of ‘what if we could work scenes around her’? And emotionally, every day it hits me that she’s not here but it’s so surreal because we’re working with her still.
“She’s in scenes, and so alive in the scenes. The craziest part is how not crazy it is. In some scenes with Billie [Lourd], her daughter… Princess Leia lives in this film in a way that is kind of mind-blowing to me.”
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is released in UK cinemas on December 19, 2019.