Many in the galaxy saw Wookiees as little more than shaggy brutes to be avoided, dismissing them as walking carpets with bad tempers. But while Wookiees were indeed dangerous when angered, they were far from primitive. Wookiees were superb technologists, pilots and even diplomats. In the last days of the Republic, Yarua represented Kashyyyk in the Galactic Senate.

The Wookiees had a fierce rivalry with their galactic neighbors, the lizardlike Trandoshans. During the Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano teamed up with Chewbacca when both were kidnapped by Trandoshan hunters and dumped on the moon Wasskah to be tracked as prey. Chewie was able to cobble together a transmitter out of salvaged machinery and contact Kashyyyk for aid.

The Trandoshan hunters got more than they bargained for – a strike team of Wookiees responded to Chewbacca’s call and assaulted the hunters’ floating fortress, administering rough justice to Chewie’s captors.

Wookiee Jedi were rare, but not unknown. During the Clone Wars, Gungi underwent the Jedi rite known as the Gathering, earning a lightsaber crystal by demonstrating patience during his trials. Gungi and his fellow younglings then helped rescue Ahsoka from the pirate Hondo Ohnaka.

In the final days of the Clone Wars, the Jedi agreed to join the fight against the Separatists on the Wookiees’ homeworld of Kashyyyk, with Yoda taking part in the battle.

The fight was fierce, with droid armies squaring off against clone troopers and Wookiees. The Wookiees fought bravely to defend their forests against the Separatist horde.

The Wookiee defense of Kashyyyk depended on not just strength but also the species’ ingenuity. The Wookiees fought with beautifully crafted hand weapons such as bowcasters and cunningly designed vehicles such as catamarans.

Master Yoda sensed something amiss in the Force and so became one of the few Jedi to escape Order 66. He then turned to the Wookiees Tarfful and Chewbacca for assistance. With their help, Yoda evaded the clone troopers hunting for him and evacuated Kashyyyk in a Wookiee-built escape pod.

The Empire brutally subjugated Kashyyyk, taking many Wookiees away from their homeworld to be used as slave labor. Even young Wookiees were forced to work under brutal conditions on distant worlds, such as Kessel with its dreaded spice mines.

After the fall of the Republic, Chewbacca left Kashyyyk and befriended Han Solo, serving as first mate aboard the Millennium Falcon. Many a smuggler dismissed Chewie as Han’s muscle, failing to grasp that the Wookiee was a superb pilot and mechanic.

After C-3PO’s unfortunate encounter with stormtroopers on Cloud City, it was Chewie who got the droid working again, though Threepio made a nuisance of himself by objecting to little details such as whether his head was backwards.

When Lando Calrissian freed Leia and Chewie from the Empire’s stormtroopers, the Wookiee wasn’t inclined to forgive him for betraying Han. Lando found out firsthand that an angry Wookiee is a dangerous opponent.

During the Battle of Endor, Chewbacca helped turn the tide, joining a pair of Ewok scouts in taking over an Imperial scout walker. The Wookiee then used the Imperial vehicle against the Empire, blasting another AT-ST and opening fire on stormtroopers.