9. Chewbacca’s voice

Chewbacca‘s voice might be the most interesting voice in the Star Wars universe, but have you ever wondered who’s behind his first sounds? Well, there is one person and some animals. Ben Burtt, the sound designer of the movie used recordings of bears, lions, badgers, and other animals to ultimately create Chewie’s vocalization.

After reading the script, Burtt spent a year recording sounds on the field to use them in a final audio cut for the film series.

Brutt revealed how he approached the whole process. “He didn’t have articulated lips,” Burtt explained. “He could basically open and close his mouth. So you also needed to create a sound which would be believable coming from a mouth that was operated like his.”

His experience recording sounds made by animals on the field might seem weird, and even weirder thinking those sounds are the voice of Chewbacca.

“One time I went to Marineland down in Long Beach, CA, to record a walrus for a possible Wookiee effect. Its pool had been drained for cleaning—the walrus was stranded at the bottom, moaning—and that was the sound!”