For a character that first hit screens more than 40 years ago, it’s interesting to note just how hard it is to get the look of Chewbacca just right. Licensees have now had four decades to work on their Chewie products, yet in certain categories, nailing the proper look of the STAR WARS galaxy’s most famous Wookiee is still a real problem. In fairness, any character or creature with full-body hair is challenging to pull-off, but I’d argue that the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon deserves a lot more care than he gets. That said, here’s a look at an assortment of different “Chewbacca” costumes that are available for purchase right now. From 1977’s STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE to 2017’s STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, Chewie’s had a variety of looks (and we may see a different one in Ron Howard’s Untitled Han Solo Movie next year), but most of these look nothing like the Porg’s beloved friend.
Pictured above are what we’ll call “Boo! Jazz Hands Chewbacca, “ “Rad! Teen Chewbacca” and “Adult” Blow-up Doll Chewbacca. In reality, they’re advertised as “Deluxe” Adult, “Deluxe” Kid and Inflatable Chewbacca.
Just above we’ll call this batch “Chewbacca (in Wicket W. Warrick Disguise)”, “Old Man Chewie” and “Fit Bigfoot Chewbacca.” In reality, these are the toddler costume, “Collector Supreme” and “Photo Realistic.”
Finally, we have this next guy… “I Give Up!” Chewbacca. I’m not quite sure if he’s being held up, or just throwing his hands in the air about all of this.
While these costumes don’t peg Chewbacca, they do at least look somewhat like other members of the Wookiee species, so if you’d like to create your own version of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, now you can!
BONUS: Pair Hasbro’s Talking Chewbacca mask from their STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS line with this Death Star “Epic Fail” T-shirt and you can be “Chewbacca Mom, Candace Payne!”