There are some fans who think Chewbacca deserves his own movie in the Star Wars universe.

These days, Chewie, a spec script by writers Evan Susser and Van Robichaux, might be the closest thing to this happening, thanks to favorable buzz when it placed third on The Black List (an annual poll of the best unproduced screenplays) in 2011.

Though the name "Chewie" refers to Chewbacca the Wookie, the story is not set in the Star Wars universe, but our own. The script tells the story of the making of Star Wars: A New Hope, as a fictionalized biopic of Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca.

Inspired by the true story that Mayhew was working as an orderly in a hospital on days he was not on set at Pinewood Studios, the early version of the script released in 2011 has a satirical edge, focusing on behind the scene antics: Harrison Ford as an on-set diva, Ford's affair with Carrie Fisher, the studio's bean counters not understanding director George Lucas' vision and why he insists on spending so much money on special effects.

Whether this film will ever get made will depend on the goodwill (and the intellectual property lawyers defending the good name) of Lucasfilm, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

Kyle Newman, who had luck getting George Lucas' approval when he made the movie Fanboys, has optioned the rights to both the script and to Peter Mayhew's life story.

The attention this script has gotten has boosted the careers of Susser and Robichaux: they are reported to have been approached for a rewrite on the proposed live-action version of The Jetsons.


Sources:
Brendan Bettinger, "FANBOYS Director Kyle Newman Developing CHEWIE, the Black List Script About STAR WARS Actor Peter Mayhew," Collider. August 1, 2012. http://collider.com/kyle-newman-chewie-star-wars/185799/ (November 1, 2012)
Jeff Labrecque, "Black List 2011:" Entertainment Weekly. December 12, 2011. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/12/chewie-screenplay-black-list/ (November 1, 2012)
Carson Reeves, "Chewie," ScriptShadow, January 10, 2012, http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2012/01/chewie.html (November 1, 2012)
Patrick Sauriol, "Exclusive: A look at Chewie: the screenplay about the making of Star Wars," Coming Attractions, January 25, 2012, http://www.coronacomingattractions.com/news/exclusive-look-chewie-screenplay-about-making-star-wars (November 1, 2012)

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