How Hasbro’s Black Series Brought Chewbacca to Collectors

Chewbacca — Hasbro Star Wars The Black Series 6-Inch Figure

The Wookiee Co-Pilot at the Heart of Star Wars

Chewbacca is one of the most recognizable characters in the Star Wars universe. A Wookiee warrior from the planet Kashyyyk, he appeared in the very first film in 1977 — Episode IV: A New Hope — as the loyal companion and co-pilot of Han Solo, flying aboard the Millennium Falcon across the galaxy. His look is immediately distinctive: a tall frame covered in brown fur, a bandolier slung diagonally across his chest, and his particular weapon — the bowcaster, a crossbow-style energy weapon specific to the character throughout the films.

Actor Peter Mayhew played the role from 1977 until his passing in 2019, and his contribution is widely recognized as foundational to the franchise. Chewbacca remained part of the story well beyond the original trilogy, appearing in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — a continuous presence spanning more than four decades.

The Black Series Line and Where This Figure Fits

Hasbro launched Star Wars: The Black Series 6-inch line in 2013, designed specifically for adult collectors rather than the general toy market. At roughly 15 centimeters tall, figures in this line are built with greater articulation, more detailed paint applications, and textured sculpts intended to replicate the visual complexity of each character — fur, fabric, and armor — at a scale that rewards close examination. Chewbacca was among the earliest characters added to the lineup, appearing as figure number 04 in Wave 2 in 2013.

This particular release carries item number B3839, a code that Hasbro’s “B”-prefix system places within the 2015 to 2016 product window. The black window-box packaging — featuring a red backing card and character face illustration on the front panel — matches the Phase 3 design language Hasbro adopted around the time of The Force Awakens. Whether this specific release is a first run or a later revision cannot be confirmed from the packaging alone. The black weapon included with the figure corresponds to Chewbacca’s bowcaster. Hasbro took over the Star Wars toy license from Kenner in 1991 and has maintained it since; the Black Series sits at the top of that long product relationship as the collector-focused tier of the lineup.

Chewbacca in the Collector Community

Within the Black Series, Chewbacca holds a particular place among characters from the original trilogy. His dense fur coat presents a genuine technical challenge for figure makers, and the line’s textured molding reflects a deliberate effort to represent him faithfully at this scale. The bowcaster’s inclusion reinforces that accuracy.

In Japan, where official Black Series distribution was limited, collectors typically sourced the line through import channels. Japan’s established collector figure market includes domestic lines such as Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts and MEDICOM TOY’s Real Action Heroes, and the Hasbro Black Series developed a following there as a distinct American collector format — recognized alongside rather than in competition with those offerings. Star Wars has had a Japanese fan base since the franchise’s theatrical debut in Japan in 1978, and that history of engagement reaches across multiple generations of collectors.