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"Peter Mayhew will reportedly reprise his role as Chewbacca in the upcoming Star Wars sequel. The actor - who starred as the wookiee in the original trilogy - has joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said this week that most of the cast for the highly-anticipated movie are &amp;quot;in place&amp;quot;. Several high-profile stars have been linked to the film, including Lupita Nyong&amp;#039;o, Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving and Adam Driver. Last year, it was heavily speculated that Chewbacca would feature in the JJ Abrams-directed movie, after fans noticed a casting call had been sent out for a male actor over 7ft tall.  Mayhew has previously expressed his support of Disney&amp;#039;s deal with George Lucas to make the new Star Wars films. Back in 2012, he said: &amp;quot;I have no doubt Disney will respect and continue the legacy of Lucasfilm. &amp;quot;I have worked with Disney for many years during their Star Wars Weekends Celebration and seen how much they love the films and the fans.&amp;quot; Earlier this year, Mayhew shared several behind-the-scenes photos taken during the filming of the original Star Wars trilogy. Star Wars: Episode VII is planned for a December 18, 2015 theatrical release. Star Wars Episode 7: Rumoured Cast  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/star-wars/news/a563024/star-wars-7-peter-mayhew-to-reprise-role-as-chewbacca/>