STAR WARS: EPISODE VII to Feature Chewbacca

Iconic character will return for new film…

THR is hearing that 7-foot-3-inch actor Peter Mayhew is set to reprise his role of Chewbacca in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sequel ‘Star Wars: Episode VII.’

The film’s plot remains shrouded in a thick veil of secrecy, although the highly anticipated film is said to pick up the Jedi’s saga 30 years after the events of ‘Return of the Jedi.’

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher’s involvement has yet to be made official, but the addition of Mayhew as the legendary Wookie pretty much guarantees it. ‘Girls’ and ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ star Adam Driver is on board to play the villain.

Principal photography gets underway next month with Abrams directing a script he co-wrote with Lawrence Kasdan. ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ is pencilled in for a December 2015 release.