This is… well, it’s not horrible news. Peter Mayhew is in his 70s, he’s playing Chewbacca in The Last Jedi, and probably will in the next one, too. And certainly Joonas Suotamo has been understudying for the role. But it’s still kind of sad to see how time marches on. Suotamo strikes the right note, here:
I'm ecstatic. It's official. And here is my statement to this terrific piece of news https://t.co/a1DPsNDb2P pic.twitter.com/r4EUZ2r17V
— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) February 21, 2017