Review: Star Wars Black Series Chewbacca from A New Hope, Galaxy Collection Wave 22
- Mephitsu
- 6 minutes ago
- 6 min read
"It's not wise to upset a Wookiee.”
Chewbacca’s first Star Wars Black Series release was back in 2014 as the line was in its relative infancy. Chewie was originally planned for the Orange Phase 1 packaging, but had to be held back for the Phase 2 Blue phase so his height could be displayed naturally in the box. Since then, every iteration of Chewbacca has been based on this original 2014 model, including those for the Sequel movies and for the Solo standalone movie. A New Hope Chewie has had a couple of releases since 2014, with a 2017 Anniversary release on Kenner inspired cardback, and then again in 2020 on an Archive series card. In 2025, it was announced that Chewbacca would be another original character getting a full new figure in the Galaxy Collection.
Chewbacca was released in Wave 22 of the Galaxy Collection, alongside Han Solo from A New Hope. Other figures in the wave included Ezra Bridger and a Death Trooper from Ahsoka, and a Gaming Greats release of Nightsister Merrin from Jedi: Survivor. The A New Hope figures feature a deep orange headline colour against the black of the standard box. This orange is used on key text elements and the side artwork, which shows Chewie wielding his bowcaster. Chewbacca is number 11 in the series, connecting his artwork to that of Han Solo at number 10. This creates a neat run of Leia, Luke, Han, and Chewie in the collection for those putting together a collection of the side artwork.
The rear text doesn’t really reference Chewbacca’s role in the Rebellion or his relationship with Han, simply talking about him as a Legendary Wookiee Warrior. Chewie is set against a deep orange cardback that features an embedded image of the Millennium Falcon cockpit. This is the alternative co-pilot view, whereas the Han Solo figure had the pilot perspective.
In hand, it is immediately evident that while visually this looks similar to the original 2014 Chewbacca sculpt, this new version is a completely new figure, improving on both the looks and the proportions. The principles of design remain the same, with Chewie sculpted with a furred texture that then overlaps at the joints, hiding much of the articulation without heavily impeding it.
The fur is cast in brown, and sections are then darkened with a deeper brown. This is predominantly done around the shoulders, the top of the chest, the top of the arms, and the top of the legs. The only exposed ‘skin’ is that of Chewbacca’s hands and feet, both picked out in a grey finish. Chewie’s bandoleer is a cast piece in a softer brown plastic, painted with silver compartments, straps, and fastenings.
Chewbacca’s head sculpt is more aligned to that of the costume from 1977 and takes away the open mouth Wookiee roaring sculpt of the older figure. This more neutral expression Chewie, is much more aligned to how we see him in the movie, with a wiser, more inquisitive look to him that relays his intelligence and not just his brute strength. The head is executed in the same way as the body, with sculpted fur and an overlapping neck section that sits over the top of the torso. The lips are parted slightly, showing a pink gum and white teeth beyond, with the mouth and eyes then picked out in further colour - possibly even printed tech to add some realism.
When you line up the new and old Chewie’s the differences are stark. The older figure was always criticised for being too tall, where as this new 2025 version is about half a head shorte, making Chewie more aligned and better proportioned when stood with Han or the others characters. Gone also is the wide stance of the original, with Chewbacca now able to be posed in a fully upright stance as played by Peter Mayhew in costume. The head, as mentioned, looses the angry snarl and is more accurate to Chewie and fits better into posed scenes. And the colouring is improved, and while similar to the 2014 and subsequent releases, this new figure looks more accurate to the on screen Wookiee costume.
vs 2014 release (right)
The sole accessory is Chewbacca’s Bowcaster, a weapon that has been the bane of many collectors over the years with its two part construction and inability to stay connected. I am pleased to say that Hasbro have given us a full new weapon, but I am then saddened to report it is still supplied in two parts and the new connection is not significantly improved, with the Bowcaster remaining temperamental.
The weapon now comes with its shoulder strap in a brown, flexible plastic finish. This allows the weapon to be shoulder slung when not in use. When you want to have Chewie wield the weapon, it will fit into either hand, although this takes a bit of maneuvering around the overlapping fur and around the rear stock of the weapon. Once in place, it holds well enough, apart from the forward bow piece, which will ping off at regular intervals at even the slightest knock. I can see many collectors gluing this into place.
The new Chewbacca has 17 points of pinless articulation, which is only one more than the original, but the 2025 version has some substantial upgrades. The first is in the addition of butterfly shoulders that are tucked behind the central sleeve of the chest, this expands the arm movement laterally, allowing the hands to be brought more together and therefore enabling some two handed Bowcaster positions. The head too is enhanced with the head set on a peg that is jointed top and bottom. A gap under the head sculpt allows the entire head piece to move around the gap section and gives a wider range of motion and expression than the original head, which was pretty much immobile.
The legs have lost the thigh swivel, and rotation is added at the knees to compensate. This, therefore, means the unsightly thigh gap is no longer an issue, while Chewbacca retains full leg movement, including walking and running poses. While the knees can bend beyond 90 degrees, the overhang of the torso fur does impede the hip joints, so Chewbacca can’t quite kneel, and will take a bit of tweaking to sit down for anyone who wants to try a scene in a Falcon cockpit mock-up or playing Dejarik
Like the corresponding Han Solo from Wave 22, the new Chewbacca is a significant improvement for our collections. Chewie is now better proportioned alongside the other key characters of A New Hope, while also improved on the overall aesthetics and the articulation. For me, it is this articulation that makes the biggest difference, with the figure now able to be posed to mimic Mayhew’s performance. The Bowcaster is upgraded with the strap, which works well, but is let down by the ongoing engineering where the bow connects to the main weapon.
We now have five of the main six characters from A New Hope revisited and released, and Chewie looks particularly impressive lined up with Han or indeed alongside Luke, Leia and R2-D2. All we need now is for Hasbro to give Threepio his long-awaited update.
eep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...