Thandie Newton who portrays Val Beckett in ?Solo: A Star Wars Story? had to ?take a moment? on set. When the actress first saw Chewbacca she needed a full 60 seconds to overcome her excitement. Thandie has long been a fan of the franchise and was overwhelmed upon seeing the wookie.
"This is where Han first meets the fluffy Chewbacca and I've got to say the moment when you walk on the set and you see Chewbacca sat there in his full regalia that's when you know you're in 'Star Wars', I had to take a moment, I had to take 60 seconds before we started filming the scene."
Thandie Newton
Thandie is the first woman of color to have a leading role in a ?Star Wars? movie. She admitted that she wanted to know what the character would bring to the story before accepting the part.
So to hear that my character was uncompromising, uncaring about hair and makeup and glamour and was going to be really competent and be a survivor and be very much part of the team that inspires Han Solo to be who he becomes. That was the icing on the cake to do that as the character.