I was quite glad when this clip (shown above) was released to promote the upcoming Blu-Ray release of Solo: A Star Wars Story. I have had a thought rattling around my head about this scene for months, and I wanted the clip available to illustrate my point: Chewbacca provides his famous nickname, Chewie, in this scene. Several grunts and roars make up his real name, Han tells him he needs a nickname, and Chewie lets out a little bark or yap. I think that that smaller sound would translate out to “Chewie,” since his real name is made out of several longer roars. That’s why his nickname shows up out of nowhere in the next scene; if we all spoke Shyriiwook (the language of the Wookiees), we’d all be in the loop. As I keep thinking over moments from Solo: A Star Wars Story, I’ll be sure to post more thoughts and musings, so strap yourselves in and stay tuned.
I claim no ownership of the video clip above. The video is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Walt Disney Company.