Since the unveiling of Star Wars: The High Republic, one character has stood out from the pack. On the cover of the book that’ll launch this new branch of the Star Wars universe, there’s a cool-looking Wookiee Jedi wielding a lightsaber. This is the awesomely named Burryaga Agaburry (does this mean Chewbacca’s last name is Baccachew?), who writer Charles Soule has insisted is “wonderful.”
Now, Soule has dropped another hint about Burryaga, explaining in a fan event on Monday that:
“He is amazing. He’s very sensitive. He’s a very, very sensitive Jedi.”
I’m not sure exactly what that means for the character, but perhaps he’ll be subverting the image of Wookiees as barbarian-style monsters with a penchant for ripping people’s arms off (though that’s arguably cuddly ol’ Chewbacca’s deal).
Agaburry won’t be the first Force Sensitive Wookiee in the saga though. We already have Wookiee Padawan Gungi in The Clone Wars and, in the non-canon Legends continuity, there’s former Jedi High Council member Tyvokka. There are also a couple of minor characters scattered about the series
Interestingly, in the early 2000s, George Lucas himself created a specific rule that writers should not craft any more Wookiee Jedi. This hit Obsidian Entertainment during development of Knights of the Old Republic II when they were forbidden from making Wookiee character Hanharr a Jedi. But, with Lucas having now washed his hands of Star Wars, Lucasfilm are free to create whole legions of Wookiee Jedi if they see fit.
Personally, I’m looking forward to getting to properly meet the wonderful, very sensitive Wookiee Jedi Agaburry when the book lands on August 25th. If nothing else, his prominence in the story hints that The High Republic will throw a few curveballs into our preconceptions of what the Star Wars universe can look like. Let’s hope there’s more in this vein to come.