He based Chewbacca on his Alaskan Malamute dog, Indiana (whom he would later use as namesake for his character Indiana Jones), who often acted as the director's "co-pilot" by sitting in the passenger seat of his car.
Dia berdasarkan dari karakter Chewbacca yang bermotif Anjing Malamut Alaska, Indiana (yang kemudian namanya digunakan sebagai karakter utama Indiana Jones) yang sering bertindak sebagai pengarah "Co-Pilot" dengan duduk di kursi penumpang mobilnya.