A Non-Canon Story Once Remade Chewbacca Into Bigfoot

Ever since its 1977 debut, Star Wars has been cherished by an incredibly loyal fan base. The story of the galaxy far, far away has been told across movies, TV shows, games, and comics. In one story, Han Solo and Chewbacca crashed on Earth with a shocking twist.

From the 1990s to Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, Star Wars comics were published through Dark Horse, which based much of its business on licensing. Many of the most popular comics of the franchise were published in this period, which later became known as "Star Wars Legends." Not officially canon, these stories used a combination of the George Lucas continuity at the time with some out-of-the-box concepts for one-off stories. In one story, not only did the worlds of Star Wars and Indiana Jones collide, but Chewbacca was revealed to be the mythical creature Bigfoot.

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How Han Solo and Chewbacca Found Earth

Star Wars Tales #19 is an anthology comic that brings readers a few stories, each told in unique styles. In the story "Into the Great Unknown," (by W. Hayden Blackman, Sean Murphy, Dan Jackson, and Steve Dutro) Han and Chewbacca are forced into a random hyper-speed jump to flee a battle. When they emerge, they enter Earth's solar system and soon crash on the habitable planet. Almost immediately after leaving the Millennium Falcon, the two friends are attacked by a nearby tribe of Native American warriors, who fired a barrage of arrows at them. Although Chewbacca manages to fend off the attackers, Han is fatally hit. The heroic smuggler dies in the arms of his best friend.

The story then cuts to years later and introduces Indiana Jones to the story who, along with Short Round, is investigating the area over monster sightings. While there, his guide leads him to the Millennium Falcon, where he finds the skeleton of Han Solo. It's then revealed that Chewbacca has survived for centuries after their crash, and his existence has spurred the legend of the American Sasquatch. However, rather than pursue the myth any further, Indiana decides to leave him be and remain part of the Great Unknown.

Indiana Jones' Crossover With Star Wars

Star Wars arguably has even better stories in the non-canon comics than the main continuity. "Into the Great Unknown" is no different and put an interesting spin on Lucasfilm's best characters while also turning Chewbacca into Bigfoot. However, the introduction of Indiana Jones to a Han Solo story - both played by Harrison Ford in live-action - is equally intriguing. It marks perhaps the only time the two worlds have collided outside of fan fiction.

The use of non-canon stories to explore alternate takes on the universe remains incredibly popular with the Star Wars fan base. Now that Marvel is putting the Star Wars Legends comics back into print, that shows no sign of letting up. Stories like this show the strength of publishing tales removed from the continuity that explore fun situations that wouldn't make sense in canon. Into the Great Unknown is a significant story for many reasons and should be on every Lucasfilm fan's radar.

Story: CBR
Author: Ashley Land