Star Wars' new movie found its own Chewbacca replacement, and the character filling the Wookiee’s shoes carries over a decade of franchise history. Chewbacca defined a particular kind of Star Wars hero, the loyal warrior who fights beside the lead, flies the ship, and softens the rogue at the center of the story. The Mandalorian and Grogu, the franchise’s first theatrical release in seven years, which arrived on May 22, gives Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin a partner cut from that same cloth.
Voice actor Steve Blum confirmed the comparison while discussing Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, the gruff alien who serves as the film’s Chewbacca figure. In a conversation with StarWars.com, Blum described Zeb as a Chewbacca-like character in The Mandalorian and Grogu, a warrior, friend, and co-pilot who backs up Din Djarin the way Chewbacca once backed up Han Solo.
Blum also credited director Jon Favreau with fostering a collaborative environment during production, one that let him improvise lines and try new ideas in the booth. Seeing the Lasat warrior on the big screen clearly meant a great deal to the actor, who admitted the moment "made all the hairs on my arms" stand up:
"Just as a fan, to see Zeb up there and in that capacity made all the hairs on my arms and back stand up simultaneously."
The film gives Zeb a very important role in the movie, making him the ideal Chewbacca replacement. He appears as a New Republic pilot stationed at Adelphi Base alongside Carson Teva, where he trains new recruits, and he joins Din Djarin and Grogu on missions across the galaxy, taking the co-pilot seat aboard the new Razor Crest. It marks a major step up from his brief live-action debut in The Mandalorian Season 3, where he shared one short scene with Din in the episode The Pirate.
The Chewbacca connection runs deeper than the role itself. When Star Wars Rebels introduced Zeb in 2014 as the muscle of the Ghost crew, his design came directly out of unused Chewbacca artwork from the original film. Rebels art director Kilian Plunkett revealed that Zeb proved one of the hardest crew members to crack, admitting, "For a long time he was a blue Snivvian. Our final Zeb is a cross between Ralph McQuarrie’s original concept for Chewbacca and Dave Filoni’s cat."
The Mandalorian & Grogu continues what defined Zeb through Rebels, a survivor of the Siege of Lasan searching for purpose after the Empire wiped out his people. Zeb’s new mission extends that search, placing him inside another team fighting evil across the galaxy years after the Ghost crew gave him his first found family.
Chewbacca is also a survivor in every sense of the word. Having endured the brutal oppression of his species, he proved himself a fierce warrior by fighting the Empire for decades. Because Zeb shares a similar history of survival, loss, and rebellion, he is truly a worthy successor to Chewbacca’s legacy.
Other Star Wars Characters Filling Iconic Roles
Ryan Gosling’s Cade
Star Wars wants to fill its Han Solo void next. Ryan Gosling reportedly plays a character named Cade in Star Wars: Starfighter, described as a rogue protagonist in the Han Solo mold. It is rumored that in the movie, Cade must transport a young Force-sensitive boy, played by Flynn Gray, across the galaxy to a Jedi refuge, a setup that echoes Han’s reluctant guardian streak from the original trilogy. Lucasfilm and Disney are yet to confirm those details, though. Shawn Levy directs Starfighter, which arrives in theaters on May 28, 2027, and if the reports are accurate, we'll have our Han Solo replacement by then.
General Nawaam
Darth Vader casts a long shadow over the next major Star Wars villain. General Nawaam, voiced by Young Mazino, hunts the Jedi Kara as the masked antagonist of The Ninth Jedi, a spinoff of the anime anthology Star Wars: Visions premiering Wednesday, August 5 on Disney+ and Hulu. Anakin Skywalker and Vader loosely inspired the general, who hides behind a mask, pursues his own idea of justice, and even wields a blue lightsaber. Creator Kenji Kamiyama revealed the difference between Nawaam and Kara, saying, "Kara is pure light side, but Nawaam reflects the duality of humans."
Devon Izara
Ahsoka Tano’s blueprint influences the franchise’s newest alien Padawan lead. Devon Izara, the Twi’lek Jedi survivor voiced by Gideon Adlon, featured in the first season of Maul: Shadow Lord as the disillusioned apprentice Maul relentlessly pursued, echoing the young alien student role Ahsoka made famous in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She will return in Season 2, which Dave Filoni confirmed days before the series even premiered on April 6. Sam Witwer also teased that the wait for new episodes will not stretch too long.
Maul
The former Sith apprentice, Maul, steps into his old master’s shoes in Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2. After a first season that earned a 98% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, Maul now occupies the dark mentor archetype that Palpatine and Vader once defined, courting Devon with promises of power while plotting revenge against the Empire. In the new season, Maul is expected to be more ruthless than he was even in Season 1. Maul suffered a humbling defeat to Vader in the finale, and if he's to stand a chance against the Empire, he needs to be much stronger in his next outing.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
