Why Didn’t Chewbacca Get A Gold Medal? 🤔

Why didn’t Chewbacca get a gold medal at the end of Star Wars A New Hope?

Cuz it’s kinda awkward how he just stands there with no reward while Han and Luke get a shiny prize!

But the creator of the franchise George Lucas actually gives us an answer to this question!

In an interview a few weeks after the first Star Wars movie released, George told us that Chewie was originally going to get a gold medal in the script!

But Lucas changed his mind during filming and explained that “Chewbacca wasn’t given a medal because medals don’t really mean much to Wookiees.

They don’t really put too much credence in them. They have different kinds of ceremonies.”

And even though we don’t see Chewie get a medal in the movie, he actually celebrates his victory with other Wookies afterwards to honor the entire Wookie species!

But don’t feel too bad for Chewie cuz 3 years after Star Wars came out, a comic book called, “The Day After The Death Star” was written and in it we see Chewie get a medal a day after the ceremony!

[Lucas-ekuc]

If the Rise of Skywalker medal for Chewie wasn’t weird enough…

[WritersOnTheWall]

he just forgot, Lucas likes to make up elaborate explanations after the fact but he just forgot, I asked Peter Mayhew at a convention in the 90s

[jessewoodall]

The unedited scene where they get the medals is so funny. The guy in the chewie costume just starts screaming

[phntom_]

well, I'm glad he got one after all

[lukethegoldenminecart]

I just have it in my headcanon that wookies have a code of honor that basically says getting a medal would almost be diminishing the value of a great victory

[chartle]

I always assumed it was a filming/height issue. They just couldn't figure out how to get Leia tall enough that it wouldn't look awkward, and they just said screw it.

[adi.]

The real question is, why didn't Wedge Antilles get a medal?

[dugdv]

Lukas sure does making stuff up as he goes

[BranakinSkywalker]

In the original marvel comics adaptation, it was stated that Chewie would get a medal later on and put in around his neck himself given his stature.

[timalsept]

Rise of Skywalker is less redemption for Chewbacca now that I know this

[senseiAR]

Chewie wanted a medal so bad in lego star wars the skywalker saga

[sebbaslopez]

I always thought chewy was a sasquatch

[stevencorrell]

yeah but they could have given him one even if it was symbolic to the people he just help to save

[Makasennn]

As a kid i always thought about how they did my boi dirty

[danhunt]

Princess Leia gave him his medal at the 1997 MTV awards

[mr.yeetyt]

In tag and bink they find a broken medal with an Easter egg name of “chewie” as a funny way to say he didn’t get one because it was dropped

[ShaneBrayla-edqz]

He got the medal from our princess at an MTV award show it was f’n epic

[grayfox]

I like what George Lucas did with the original Trilogy, but that was a lame excuse

[Chuckles]

Sounds more like Lucas has some personal problem with wookiees…

[brandoncard]

I always saw it as he owed Han life debt and was only there because Han was. He didn’t do it to help the Rebellion so why should they gave him one