A closer look
George Lucas intentionally refused to give Chewbacca a medal at the end of the original Star Wars movie because he claimed that Wookiees do not put any cultural value on physical rewards. Fans were absolutely furious that Luke Skywalker and Han Solo received glorious shiny medallions from Princess Leia while the giant furry alien who literally co-piloted the Millennium Falcon and risked his life just stood there clapping like a supportive bystander. Lucas tried to justify this blatant disrespect by releasing a weird statement saying Chewbacca would rather have a party with his people than a piece of metal. But decades later, the Disney sequels finally caved to public pressure and handed the Wookiee a random medal just to shut the internet up. Clearly, intergalactic lore means absolutely nothing when millions of angry nerds decide your space dog deserves better workplace recognition!
