The actor who portrayed Chewbacca, Peter Mayhew, passed away on April 30. In the spirit of the new Star Wars motto “No one is ever really gone,” many players from the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic are honoring the actor with huge memorial celebrations.
This is how fans are honoring the actor: After Peter Mayhew passed away at the age of 74 in his home in Texas, some Star Wars fans in The Old Republic organized a sort of requiem for the actor.
The players gathered in the “Slippery Slopes Cantina” to pay tribute to Mayhew. Some players even held a moment of silence in a large circle.
On reddit, there were also posts commemorating Mayhew with a quote from the current Star Wars trailer. It says: “No one is ever really gone.”
Elsewhere, the players also celebrated with a party. There were particularly many Wookiees present. A small tribute to Peter Mayhew’s role as Chewbacca, Han Solo’s Wookiee companion.
Fans in Star Wars Galaxies are also mourning
Even in the now-closed Star Wars Galaxies, players gathered to mourn the passing of the actor.
On the server “Star Wars Galaxies Legends,” a private server that continued to operate after the shutdown of Star Wars Galaxies, fans gathered for a sort of prayer.
Images of this were provided by the polish website mmorpg.org.pl.
Players in SWTOR and Star Trek Online have honored many before
Mayhew is not the first actor from the Star Wars universe that SWTOR players have mourned. When the actress who played Leia, Carrie Fisher passed away in December 2016, players also gathered for memorial celebrations.
Shortly thereafter, in January 2017, a tribute video was even released. Some fans compiled images from memorials and of the character Leia Organa as a tribute to Fisher.
Tributes have also been paid to the deceased in other games. For instance, memorials were held for the passing of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who portrayed Spock, to honor both fans and developers.
