Bob Iger confirms that Chewbacca will appear in the young Han Solo film

Along with the brand new STAR WARS trilogy, Disney/Lucasfilm also has several STAR WARS spinoff films set to fill the year long gaps between the franchises' main saga installments. Although the first STAR WARS spinoff will be the upcoming A STAR WARS STORY: ROGUE ONE, many fans are fixated on the next spinoff which will deal with a young Han Solo. We still know very little about the film, but we do know that every young actor in Hollywood has stepped up at the chance to play the young scoundrel. Disney/Lucasfilm's decision hasn't yet been announced, but Lawrence Kasdan has called the casting process a "really tough challenge" and we now know that whomever ends up taking on the role will be joined by a certain walking carpet.

Disney chief Bob Iger spoke about upcoming STAR WARS projects at the Deutsche Bank 2016 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference recently and confirmed, via The Wrap, that Chewbacca will be a part of the upcoming young Han Solo spinoff.

Rogue One is about a band of rebels plotting to steal the plans to the Death Star. It takes place right before George Lucas‘s first film, which came out in 1977 and is now called ‘The New Hope.’ We have others in the works, including one, which is an origin story about Han Solo and Chewy. And that’ll come after ‘Star Wars 8’ in 2018. And then there will possibly more thereafter.

While this news doesn't exactly come as a surprise, it's nice to know that Chewbacca will have a part to play in Han's early adventures; perhaps we'll even get to witness the moment in which Han Solo first meets Chewie. I'm holding back my excitement until we learn who will be playing our new Han Solo, but I can appreciate the incredible difficulty that Disney/Lucasfilm must be having in locating someone who will be able to stand toe-to-toe with Harrison Ford's performance. The film is to be directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord and will be scripted by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan.

The UNTITLED HAN SOLO SPINOFF will hit theaters in 2018.