8 Star Wars Expanded Universe Changes That Were Completely Justified

5. Chewie's Death Gets Stricken From The Record

The death of Chewbacca was something of an infamous event in the old EU canon, and it's because of one simple reason: he gets crushed by a moon.

A literal moon.

Great.

So, how does the event come about? Well the book revolves around the machinations of the Yuuzhan Vong (again), and eventually it sees Han, his son Anakin, and Chewie travel to a planet called Sernpidal to pick up some cargo. It transpires that the Vong have marked the planet for death, and they plan to destroy it by bringing its orbiting moon crashing down to the surface. Chewie is left behind, while the Solos and Skywalkers are left to grieve for their beloved comrade.

No one should be averse to silliness when it comes to Star Wars (some would even say it's the bread and butter of the franchise), but Chewie's death in Vector Prime was still controversial even at the time of the book's release. It was just so over-the-top, and a poor end for one of the most beloved characters in the Original Trilogy.

Of course, there's still a chance Chewie could pass away in Episode IX (he and Lando are now the last of the old cast, bar R2 and 3-PO), but don't it expect to be nearly half as tasteless as his death in Vector Prime.