7:06pm PT by Borys Kit

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

Kyle Newman is developing the film, which tells the story of actor Peter Mayhew's life during the making of the 1977 sci-fi classic.
Peter Mayhew in 1977 at King's College Hospital, where he worked.

Chewbacca may finally get his own movie.

Sort of.

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.

Borys Kit

Borys Kit

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