Summer 1997.
“I’ll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans ruled the Billboard charts. NASA’s Mars Pathfinder rover zeroed in on Mars. And George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels recently had begun filming.
In Chicago, Richard M. Daley was less than halfway through what would be a 22-year run as mayor. The Field Museum rolled out an exhibit on dinosaur families. And the Bulls had just steamrolled through the NBA for their fifth title in seven years.
Fast-forward to this spring. ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary series has sparked renewed interest in the 1990s Bulls. Then came this tweet from Zach Kram, a writer at The Ringer, bringing us to an intersection of the basketball dynasty and one of the most popular film franchises in history:
Some background: A couple of decades ago, the Tribune published KidNews. The section included an advice column, movie reviews and other content geared toward those in junior high and younger. On July 8, 1997, KidNews ran a feature that cast characters in the Star Wars prequels, the first of which premiered in 1999. One of those suggestions: Luc Longley as Chewbacca.
The logic behind casting the Bulls center: “Who else is that big? And with all the groaning noises the Chewy character makes, no one would notice Luke’s Aussie accent.”
One reader, 13-year-old Bridget F. from Chicago, took exception.
“Luc Longley looks nothing like Chewbacca,” she wrote in a letter to the editor. “He is my favorite Bulls player, and I find that as an insult both to me and to all his fans. Just because he’s tall doesn’t mean he’s a monster. In the future, KidNews, I hope you can print things that compliment people instead of insulting them.”
Another reader, 12-year-old Lisa L. from River Forest, wrote: “You ignore the fact that Luc Longley has no acting ability or experience.”
Indeed, that might not have been the Tribune’s finest hour, even if the article clearly was an exercise in fantasy that played to the Bulls’ soaring popularity.
This probably is 23 years too late, and who knows if the letter writers — who are now in their mid-30s — even remember what they penned. But here goes: First, it was less than ideal to reduce Longley to a product of his height. Second, it was misguided to imply Wookiees should not or would not have Australian accents. For all we know, some of them do. Finally, it was no one’s intention to imply that Longley looks like Chewbacca or is a monster of any kind.
Perhaps the feature could have worded its suggestion differently: “Luc Longley has played an important supporting role on two Bulls championship teams, so why not give him a chance to stretch his legs as part of the ‘Star Wars’ universe? Plus he’s tall, which helps when portraying Han Solo’s friend and copilot.”
Moving away from the athletes-as-actors realm — and stipulating that height is a prerequisite to play Chewbacca — here are three belated replacement suggestions. It might have made more sense to give the role to 7-foot-2 Richard Kiel, who at the time had played Jaws in two James Bond films and had just demonstrated comedic chops in “Happy Gilmore.” Better yet, why not go with 6-5 South Side native Michael Clarke Duncan, who was building his resume and would soon be nominated for an Oscar? Or how about a young Vince Vaughn, who also is 6-5, grew up in Lake Forest and was fresh off “Swingers”?
(We’re setting aside the fact Chewbacca ended up being absent from the first two prequels. By the way, Peter Mayhew reprised his role when the Wookiee showed up again in 2005’s ?Revenge of the Sith.” Because who else would play him?)
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We hope this puts to rest any “controversy” arising from KidNews’ 1997 article. May Kiel, Clarke Duncan and Mayhew rest in peace. And may the Force be with Bridget F. and Lisa L.