It appears that Chewbacca and the actor who played him, Peter Mayhew, is set to appear in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII.
According to sources who exclusively spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, Chewie is coming back to the series. Mayhew played the Wookie in all three of the original films and Star Wars: episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Rumors began to circulate that Mayhew might be involved in the film after it was learned he had backed out of Comicpalooza "due to filming." The Texas convention runs May 23 through May 26.
Last week Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn confirmed that filming on the latest Star Wars flick had indeed begun. He did admit though that casting was not yet finalized. "We have a lot of them [in place]. We're just not completely done yet."
Casting has largely been kept under wraps at this point. R2-D2 will appear in the upcoming film and it seems all but guaranteed that Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher will appear in the film. Inside Llewyn Davis actor Adam Driver also reportedly was cast to play a villain.
Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 18, 2015.