'Fanboy' Director Working on Star Wars-Themed 'Chewie'

Inferno Entertainment and director Kyle Newman are developing Chewie, the Black List script centered around Peter Mayhew, the seven-foot three-inch actor who played the wooly Wookiee in the Star Wars movies.

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The script, by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux, is set against the backdrop of the making of 1977’s Star Wars and tracks Mayhew as he tries to balance a career as a hospital worker while chasing Hollywood dreams by playing a suited alien who would go on to become one of the most iconic screen sidekicks in modern times.

Newman, who is well-known in the Star Wars universe for his love of the property and directed the Star Wars-themed comedy Fanboys, secured Mayhew’s life rights in order to further develop the script, which was written initially as a spec.

Mayhew revealed he was working with Newman in a tweet.

Producing are Jess Rosenthal and Inferno’s D.J. Gugenheim.

Newman is repped by UTA and Zero Gravity Management.