Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew's nearly-auctioned Star Wars items to be returned to his family

Order has been restored to the galaxy: Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew's Star Wars memorabilia will be returned to his family.

Days after the late actor's wife, Angie Mayhew, tweeted her dismay that her husband's original Star Wars script and call sheet were to be sold in a forthcoming auction, auctioneer Angus Ashworth said in a statement the sellers would be happy to give the beloved items back.

"I was approached by a lovely older couple who were clearing their attic a quarter of a century after moving into their property," Ashworth said in a statement, per the BBC. "The contents of the attic included a bag of Star Wars memorabilia, which I thought might be of some interest to Star Wars fans."

Lucasfilm Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew's nearly-auctioned 'Star Wars' script will be returned to his family.

Ashworth noted that the first time he learned about the Mayhew family's nonprofit organization, the Peter Mayhew Foundation, and its hope to get the items back was through Angie's tweet, which he said "garnered a lot of misinformed responses" as it spread online.

"Nobody had approached us to discuss it, and had they done so I would of course have talked to the vendors," he continued. "The monetary value of the lot is fairly modest, but knowing how much it means to the foundation, and given that it had been in the attic for over 24 years, the vendors are quite happy to donate it to the foundation to have permanently within their personal collection, not for profit, so that fans can access it in perpetuity."

To those who were intent on snagging a piece for their own collection, Ashworth added, "I can only apologize to all of the Star Wars fans who had already shown great interest in owning a bit of film history."

The Peter Mayhew Foundation shared a statement from Angie on social media Wednesday in which she pleaded with auctioneers not to sell the items, which also included various Star Wars clippings.

"When we moved out of this house, Peter's movement challenges made it impossible for him to get into the attic to get the rest of these memories," she wrote. "It really breaks my heart to see our belongings auctioned off like this."

Mayhew suffered from various health issues relating to his height — he stood at a towering 7 foot 3— and used a wheelchair later in life.

The actor, who died in 2019 at age 74, is best known for starring as Han Solo's bowcaster-toting right-hand Wookiee, Chewbacca, throughout the original Star Wars trilogy: 1977's Star Wars, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, and 1983's Return of the Jedi. He reprised the role twice — in 2005's Revenge of the Sith and 2015's The Force Awakens — before passing it on to actor Joonas Suotamo.

For interviews with the casts of Andor, Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, make sure to check out EW's new Star Wars podcast, Dagobah Dispatch.

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