How Old Is Chewbacca?

Chewbacca is one of the most iconic characters in Star Wars. The tall, hairy humanoid creature appears in the Prequel, Original, and Sequel trilogies as well as Solo and various books.

You may have noticed that he doesn’t appear to age despite quite a bit of time passing between his on-screen appearances. This may cause you to wonder how old Chewbacca is and how long his species, the Wookiees, typically live.

Chewbacca is about 181 during his appearance in the Prequel Trilogy, 200 to 204 during the Original Trilogy, and 234 to 235 in the Sequel Trilogy. This may seem incredibly old, but it is roughly middle-age for Wookies, who typically live 400 years or more.

How Long Do Wookiees Live?

Wookiees are hairy humanoids native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They have a much longer average lifespan than humans and, as such, do not appear to age as quickly.

This is why he appears to be the same age throughout his appearances in Star Wars. Though 55 years pass between his first chronological appearance and his last, this is a relatively short length of time compared to a Wookiee’s overall lifespan.

But, back to the question: just how long do Wookiees live?

According to Wookieepedia, the average life expectancy for a Wookiee is “over 400 standard years.” In case you’re wondering, a standard year in Star Wars is the same as our years here on earth: it consists of 365 days made up of 24 hour periods.

By comparison, Yoda lived to be 900 years old; so on average Wookiees will live nearly half as long as Yoda did.

How Old is Chewbacca in Human Years?

As noted, Wookiees age much more slowly than humans do. That said, standard years are used to measure both human age and the age of Wookiees.

It is unclear what the average life expectancy is for humans in Star Wars. But, for the sake of estimation, let’s say the average human lifespan is about 80 years old.

We can divide a Wookiee’s average lifespan by a human’s to determine the relative rate of aging: 400 / 80 = 5. So, it takes a Wookiee about 5 years to age the same amount that a human ages in one year.

With this in mind, we can say that when Chewbacca is 200 years old, he is roughly the same age as a 40 year old human.

How Old is Chewbacca During The Clone Wars?

Chronologically speaking, Chewbacca’s first on-screen appearance comes during an episode of The Clone Wars. In this episode, Chewie meets Ahsoka Tano after she and a pair of Jedi younglings attack a transport on which he is being held captive.

The Wookiee and the three young Jedi work together to destroy the Trandoshan hunters who had captured Chewie, and he accompanies them back to the Jedi Temple before they go their separate ways.

These events take place during 20 BBY, when Chewbacca was 180 years old.

The following year, Chewbacca takes part in the Battle of Kashyyyk, as shown in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He witnesses the attack on Yoda by his Clone commander, Gree, during Order 66. Following this, Chewie and his Wookiee comrade, Tarfful, help Yoda escape the planet.

Since these events take place in the year 19 BBY, Yoda is 181 years old.

How Old is Chewbacca in Solo?

In the standalone film Solo: A Star Wars Story, we learn how Chewbacca first meets Han Solo.

During the years following the rise of the Galactic Empire, Chewbacca was captured and enslaved. He came to be known as “The Beast.”

The Imperials intended for Chewbacca to kill Han Solo when they threw Han in Chewie’s prison cell. Instead, Han spoke Chewie’s native language (Shyriiwook) and formulated a plan for them both to escape.

They pretended to fight, but then destroyed a weak beam in the jail cell, allowing them to escape from prison. Grateful to Han for his freedom, Chewie pledged a life debt to the Correllian smuggler, and the two became good friends.

These events take place in the year 10 BBY, making Chewbacca 190 years old at the time.

How Old is Chewbacca in the Original Trilogy?

In the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope, Chewbacca is serving as Han Solo’s co-pilot when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker hire Han to smuggle them off Tatooine. He ends up helping them rescue Princess Leia, and later, the pair help Luke destroy the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin.

This happens in the year 0 BBY, when Chewbacca is 200 years old.

Three years later, Han and Chewie are fighting with the Rebel Alliance. They evacuate Princess Leia from the doomed rebel base on Hoth, fleeing Imperial pursuit through an asteroid field before landing at Cloud City.

Though Han is captured and frozen in carbonite, Chewie helps Leia escape and rescue Luke, and the three of them (with help from Lando Calrissian) begin to formulate a plan to save Han.

These events happen in the year 3 ABY, when Chewie is 203 years old.

After finally succeeding in rescuing Han, Chewie and the others meet with the rebels to discuss plans for destroying the Second Death Star. Chewie fights alongside Han in the Battle of Endor, disabling the moon’s shield generator so that the space forces can penetrate the battle station’s defenses.

The battle is a success, and the Empire is effectively destroyed. These events take place during 4 ABY, when Chewie is 204 years old.

How Old is Chewbacca in the Sequel Trilogy?

Following the Galactic Civil War, Han Solo returns to his life as a smuggler with the loyal Chewbacca at his side. Years after losing the Millennium Falcon, the pair recover the ship after Rey and Finn use it to escape pursuit on the planet Jakku.

They attempt to help Rey and Finn return the droid BB-8 to the Resistance, but Rey is captured by the First Order and Han is killed as they attempt to rescue her.

Though distraught by the death of his friend, Chewbacca continues to pilot the Falcon and joins Rey in her quest to find Luke Skywalker.

They are successful, and Luke reluctantly trains Rey in the ways of the Jedi. Soon, she and Chewie return to aid the embattled Resistance in the battle of Crait.

All of these events take place during the year 34 ABY, when Chewie is 234 years old.

A year later, Chewie is taken captive by the Knights of Ren and Rey believes she accidentally kills him when she destroys his transport ship with Force lightning. It is later revealed he was on another ship, and Rey and other members of the resistance rescue Chewie.

Chewbacca later takes part in the Battle of Exegol and, following that, is awarded a medal of honor which once belonged to Han Solo.

All of these events take place in the year 35 ABY, when Chewbacca is 235 years old.

How Old is Chewbacca When He Dies?

According to Star Wars Canon, Chewbacca is still alive and well. However, in the Legends book The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, the beloved character was not so lucky.

This book was released in 1999 and written by R.A. Salvatore. It tells of how Han, Chewie, and Han’s youngest son, Anakin, traveled to the planet Sernpidal for a routine shipment pickup.

After their arrival, they learned that the planet was on a collision course with its moon, and they began evacuating citizens of the planet in the Falcon. During the process, however, Anakin got separated from the group due to high winds.

Chewbacca left to rescue the boy, and though he was successful at returning him to the Falcon, he was unable to board himself. Han and Anakin were forced to escape without Chewie as the planet was destroyed.

These events took place in the year 25 ABY, which would have made Chewbacca 225 years old at the time of his death.

Again, though, these events are part of the Legends timeline, formerly known as the Expanded Universe. They are no longer considered an official part of Star Wars history. So, officially, Chewie is still alive.

Chewbacca’s Age Timeline

Conclusion

In all of his Star Wars appearances, Chewbacca is older than fans might realize. He is 180 in his earliest on-screen appearance and 235 in his latest, making him about middle-aged for a Wookiee.