The Star Wars franchise has created a few of the most renowned and re-watched movies of all time. Under the constant watch of George Lucas, the films during the early days of Star Wars reaped great rewards. But, according to actor Mark Hamill, one thing that didn’t sit with him, was how one of Lucas’ decisions about a character’s appearance worried the studio exes.
Designing and building the world of Star Wars, George Lucas naturally influenced every choice related to the film and its cast. And surprisingly, according to Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, Lucas was overly concerned about Chewbacca’s appearance. Willing to portray him naked, Lucas apparently even worried the Star Wars exes in the 1970s.
George Lucas Was Adamant to Portray Chewbacca Naked
Being in a position to control the Star Wars characters and worlds he created, George Lucas influenced almost all decisions regarding the film and its cast. Further, Lucas was also known for having clear conversations about the sartorial choices of the characters, especially the aliens.
Thus, when it came to Chewbacca’s character, the goodhearted but fearsome Wookie, George Lucas became adamant about portraying him naked. The character being a combination of human, ape, and canine, was covered in a thick furry suit from head to toe. And Lucas didn’t want his character to wear anything but that furry suit.
But certainly, George Lucas’ idea created concerns among the Studio exes during the 1970s. At that time, films had to follow overly strict protocols surrounding censorship. Thus, it became a serious topic of conversation, since Lucas made a clear point with the Studio about Chewbacca not wearing pants in the movie.
Mark Hamill Reflected Upon The Studio Exes’ Concerns
Reflecting upon the then-ongoing issue, actor Mark Hamill, who played the role of Luke Skywalker, discussed how George Lucas’ adamant decision concerned the studio exes. Hamill apparently found the concerns unbelievable and explained how 20th Century Fox, was overly worried about the hulking creature running around naked.
According to George Lucas’ vision, he wanted Chewbacca to be covered in a thick furry suit, with his trademark bandolier. But somehow, the studio exes, all they could think about was the character not wearing any pants. Thus, recalling the bizarre concerns of 20th Century Fox, Mark Hamill discussed, according to the Chicago Tribune, how they sketched him in clothes.
“I remember the memos from 20th Century Fox. ‘Can you put a pair of lederhosen on the Wookiee?’ All they could think of was: ‘This character has no pants on!’ This went back and forth. They did sketches of him in culottes and baggy shorts.”
Eventually, although the studio executives in the 1970s worried that Chewbacca was indecent because all he wore was a strap of ammunition across his chest, they couldn’t do anything about it. George Lucas won the fight against the Studio to keep Wookie naked throughout the film.
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