Lachichuk

"Lachichuk suggests we continue this conversation in Kachirho."

―Cudgel, to Olee Starstone, in the aftermath of the Battle of Kashyyyk^[5]

Lachichuk was a male Wookiee warrior and a famed hunter from the planet Kashyyyk. In 19 BBY, he served under Captain Merumeru in a volunteer army during the Battle of Kashyyyk in the final year of the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars. When a droid army belonging to the Confederacy of Independent Systems attacked the coastal city of Kachirho, Lachichuk, Merumeru, and dozens of other Wookiees fought on the beachfront alongside Jedi Masters and clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic in an effort to resist the assault. After a fierce battle, the Confederate force surrendered, and the war itself ended shortly thereafter.

At the conclusion of the war, all Confederate battle droids were shut down, and the Galactic Republic's Supreme Chancellor declared all Jedi enemies of the state and had them executed. The Republic troopers departed Kashyyyk, and Lachichuk joined in a massive Wookiee effort to clean up the battleground and salvage leftover machinery. Several days later, Lachichuk and three other Wookiees were alerted by the Human liaison Cudgel that several traders had arrived onworld seeking knowledge about Jedi. The Wookiees interrogated the newcomers at bowcasterpoint until they learned that the traders were Jedi on the run; at that point Lachichuk and the others brought the fugitives to see the Wookiee General Tarfful and his comrade Chewbacca.

Biography[]

Defending Kachirho[]

"The droids have started up their main power generators."
"Then now, the time is, Commander."

―Clone Commander Gree and Jedi Master Yoda, immediately prior to the Battle of Kashyyyk, in which Lachichuk fought^[6]

Wookiee trench — Merumeru leads Lachichuk and dozens of other Wookiees into battle.

Lachichuk was a male Wookiee warrior^[2] who lived on the planet Kashyyyk at the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY.^[1] By that year, he had gained fame across the world as a hunter.^[7] The Confederacy of Independent Systems began to land their droid armies on Kashyyyk in 19 BBY^[1] in a bid to secure secret hyperspace routes from a guild of navigators who lived in the city of Kachirho^[8] and to subjugate the entire planet. An invasion force prepared to attack Kachirho, and, when word spread of the impending battle, Wookiees from across the world rushed to the coastal city to aid in its defense.^[1] Lachichuk volunteered to serve as a soldier under Captain Merumeru, who was preparing to lead ground resistance from the city's beachfront.^[4]

When the Galactic Republic—the Confederacy's opponent in the galactic war—learned of Kachirho's plight, it sent four Jedi Masters^[6]^[8]^[9] and an army of clone troopers to fight alongside the Wookiees. As defensive positions were established on the shoreline, Merumeru's army of volunteer warriors stationed themselves behind armored revetments that overlooked the water. When the droid army, which was crossing Kachirho's lagoon in assault vehicles, neared its target, Lachichuk and the rest of Merumeru's army emerged from their hiding place and rushed at the invaders with weapons in hand. Along with the Jedi and clone troopers, they fought on foot during the battle.^[6] After a fierce skirmish, the Republic and Wookiee forces gained enough of an edge to force the Confederate army to surrender.^[10]

Battle's aftermath[]

"For a while it looked like Kashyyyk was going to have its own garrison of clone troopers, but after the Sep droids and war machines shut down, the troopers decamped. Ever since, the Wookiees have been making good use of everything that was left behind."

―Cudgel, speaking of the battle's aftermath and the roles of Wookiees such as Lachichuk in it^[5]

Shortly after the battle's end, all members of the Jedi Order were declared enemies of the Republic by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and clone troopers across the galaxy attacked their Jedi Generals. Many Jedi,^[6] including Master Luminara Unduli on Kashyyyk,^[10] were killed as part of the Chancellor's ploy to seize unchallenged control of the Republic; his scheme also included having the Confederacy's Separatist Council murdered and the war brought to an end. All Confederate battle droids were shut down,^[6] which prompted the Republic forces to depart Kashyyyk. Lachichuk and the other Wookiees began to clean up the site of the battle and salvage the leftover machinery.^[5]

Lachichukandguanta — Lachichuk and fellow warrior Guanta

Days after the battle, Lachichuk was at a busy landing platform outside of Kachirho where a variety of business deals and trades were taking place. Cudgel, a Human liaison who could understand the Wookiees' Shyriiwook language, approached Lachichuk, the male Wookiee Guania, and two other Wookiees to inform them that a newly-arrived group of traders were asking questions about Jedi. The four of them followed Cudgel to the traders' ship and brandished their bowcasters, demanding to know the newcomers' interest in Jedi. Olee Starstone, one of the traders, stated that they were themselves Jedi on the run, but her defiant companion Siadem Forte contradicted her. Starstone then mentioned her knowledge of the Jedi Generals who had fought in the recent battle and pleaded with the Wookiees to help her crew locate them. The sympathetic Wookiees responded by disabling their weapons, and Lachichuk suggested to Cudgel that they relocate to a private place in Kachirho.^[5]

The Wookiees and Cudgel then led Starstone and her companions to a giant Wroshyr tree that stood in the center of the city, and they rode a turbolift up the tree to a central control room where the Wookiees Chewbacca and General Tarfful were working. The two were friends of the Jedi and had even helped Master Yoda flee the planet; Lachichuk briefed the two on the situation, and they in turn informed Starstone that none of the surviving Jedi Generals had remained on Kashyyyk. Starstone was keen to leave and continue her search for more scattered Jedi, but Tarfful offered her and her crew safe haven on Kashyyyk. A chime from one of the control room's consoles interrupted the conversation at that moment, and the room's occupants learned that forces of the Galactic Empire—a new government that had succeeded the Republic at the conclusion of the war—were making planetfall, as Galactic Emperor Palpatine had earlier learned that Jedi were en route to Kashyyyk. Imperial stormtroopers back at the landing platform demanded that the fugitives be turned over to them, and a resulting brawl escalated into a full-scale battle that the Empire quickly won. Thousands of Wookiees were rounded up to be used as slaves in Imperial construction projects.^[5]

Personality and traits[]

"They're interested in knowing why you're so interested in knowing whether any Jedi were here during the battle."

―Cudgel, to Olee Starstone, speaking of Lachichuk and three other Wookiees^[5]

Lachichuk was a famed hunter^[7] and a capable warrior^[4] who volunteered to serve under Captain Merumeru in the Battle of Kashyyyk. Loyally fighting under Merumeru's leadership,^[7] Lachichuk survived the battle.^[5] He had dark brown skin,^[1] brown eyes,^[3] and brown fur that was streaked with black,^[6] as well as sharp fangs that could puncture durable Trandoshan skin.^[1] Lachichuk was right-handed,^[11] could speak Shyriiwook, and could understand Galactic Basic Standard.^[5]

Like other Wookiees who fought alongside Jedi during the battle, Lachichuk was sympathetic to surviving members of the Jedi Order during the early days of the Great Jedi Purge. Lachichuk was suspicious when Olee Starstone arrived on Kashyyyk and began to ask questions about the Jedi, but when it was revealed that Starstone was herself a Jedi, Lachichuk relaxed and suggested that she and her comrades be brought to see Tarfful, a war chief of Kachirho who had helped Jedi Master Yoda flee the planet.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

"The Wookiee costumes were the single biggest task for the Episode III Creature Department. As the production was based in Sydney, all the Wookiee extras were found locally, and they included basketball players and a prison security guard. These performers were fitted with sculpted muscle suits covered in stretchy material knitted with modacrylic hair."

―Star Wars Chronicles: The Prequels^[7]

Wookiees-Transparent — A promotional shot of Merumeru, Lachichuk, and Guanta

The character of Lachichuk was created for use in George Lucas's 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which features a large number of Wookiees participating in the Battle of Kashyyyk.^[6] Lachichuk's Wookiee costume was constructed by Industrial Light & Magic's creature department^[12] and was one of eight that were built and photographed for the film.^[13] In Sydney, Australia, local extras, including several basketball players and a corrections officer, were recruited to play Wookiees in Revenge of the Sith^[7]—save for Chewbacca, who was portrayed by actor Peter Mayhew, the film's credits do not state which actors played which Wookiees,^[6] but other official sources have connected four of the extras to their respective roles. Lachichuk is not one of those roles, but process of elimination reveals that Lachichuk was played by either Steven Foy, James Rowland, or Julian Khazzouh.^[4]^[12]^[14]^[15] Each Wookiee extra had a full body and head cast made for use in a fitted fiberglass muscle suit^[12] that was then covered in an elastic material knitted with modacrylic hair.^[7]

Revenge of the Sith's Kashyyyk scenes were filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney on May 17 and May 18, 2004,^[15] after principal photography for the film had already been completed. Lachichuk's scenes were directed by Animation Supervisor Rob Coleman,^[7] who had Lachichuk and four other Wookiee characters repeatedly rush over a barrier with a bluescreen behind them. Each time the scene was filmed, the Wookiees took new positions and carried different weapons and accessories. The shots were then digitally combined to fill out the front row of the Wookiee army,^[12] and the Wookiees were afterward digitally duplicated so as to present dozens of additional warriors standing behind them and participating in the beachfront battle.^[13]

Lachichuk also appears briefly in James Luceno's 2005 novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader,^[5] and is additionally discussed in several sourcebooks, most of which are directly related to Revenge of the Sith. He was first mentioned in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, which was released a month prior to the film.^[1]^[7]^[15]^[16] Several of these sources include a photo from Revenge of the Sith of Merumeru leading Wookiees into battle;^[17]^[18] although many of the Wookiees in the photo are digital duplicates of Lachichuk,^[13] an image caption in Star Wars Chronicles: The Prequels explicitly states that Lachichuk is present in the frame.^[7]

An action figure called "Wookiee Warrior" that uses Lachichuk's likeness and that was packaged with a photo of Lachichuk was released as part of the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith toy line in 2005.^[19] A second "Wookiee Warrior" figure is a repainted model of the first and was packaged with the same photo of Lachichuk; the figure is a Wookiee with light-tan fur, however, and thus represents a separate character.^[20] A third figure, this one called "Wookiee Commando," is yet another repainted model of Lachichuk's figure, and was packaged with the same photo, this time digitally darkened to represent a black- and gray-furred Wookiee.^[21]