Pyrkon Fantasy Festival‘s official YouTube channel has published the official video recording of the 2024 main-stage Q&A panel featuring the towering actor and athlete Joonas Suotamo, celebrated worldwide for stepping into the legendary shoes of Chewbacca across the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Solo: A Star Story, as well as portraying Kelnacca in The Acolyte.
Hosted by Magda “Cathia” Kozłowska, one of the most active members of Polish fandom and editor for official Polish translations of Star Wars books, the panel quickly turns into a heartfelt meeting with an infectious, high-energy atmosphere. Suotamo indulges the audience with humorous behind-the-scenes stories, ranging from the physical endurance required to survive 10-hour days inside the heavy, hair-covered Wookiee suit to learning the ropes of lightsaber choreography for his Jedi role as Kelnacca.
As the largest pop-culture and fantasy convention in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe, Pyrkon continues to draw tens of thousands of pop-culture enthusiasts every year. Fans looking ahead to the next gathering can already mark their calendars, as the festival will return to Poznań for its next edition from June 18 to 20, 2027.
Every Star Wars fan knows Chewbacca—the valiant Wookiee; warrior, smuggler, and mechanic. Two actors have previously played Chewbacca, and one of them, Joonas Suotamo, was a guest at Pyrkony 2024! Joonas Viljami Suotamo is a Finnish actor and basketball player known to Star Wars fans for his role as Chewbacca in The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He was also Peter Mayhew’s stunt double in The Force Awakens. During a meeting with fans, Joonas discussed what it was like working on the set of the Star Wars films and whether playing a Wookiee was challenging. He also revealed what it was like to work with each actor from the series.