logo
Star Wars: Chewbacca's bowcaster and Luke Skywalker's medal sell for more than $1m at auction

Star Wars: Chewbacca's bowcaster and Luke Skywalker's medal sell for more than $1m at auction

Sky News29-03-2025
The "bowcaster" used by Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy has sold for more than $750,000 at auction - while the medal given to Luke Skywalker at the end of "A New Hope" has fetched over $370,000.
"Chewie's" weapon, which featured in all of the first three Star Wars films between 1977 and 1983, sold for far more than its estimate of between $250,000 and $500,000 (£193,203 to £386,407).
The item sold for $768,600 (£593,985) and is a real Horton crossbow, which was modified to give it a futuristic look so it could serve as a laser weapon.
Some of the components have been removed, and missing parts have been recreated, according to the auctioneer Propstore.
Chewbacca, a huge hairy Wookie who was played by London-born actor Peter Mayhew, is one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars franchise.
His weapon was described by Propstore as "one of the rarest Star Wars hero props in existence".
Meanwhile, a medal given to Luke Skywalker after he destroyed the Death Star in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) was sold for $378,000 (£292,124).
"The Medal of Yavin" was presented to Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, by his sister Princess Leia Organa, who was played by Carrie Fisher.
It was estimated to sell for between $300,000 and $600,000 (£231,844 and £463,689).
It is also believed to have been worn by Harrison Ford - who played Han Solo - during rehearsals.
Propstore has claimed it is the "first and only medal to be offered for public sale", coming from the collection of props master Gerard Bourke, who worked on the original Star Wars films.
Skywalker blows up the Death Star in the movie after the rebels find the plans for the planet-destroying weapon, which is later rebuilt in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi.
After fan complaints that Chewbacca was not also given a medal for his efforts, he was handed the bravery honour during 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker.
The bowcaster and the medal sold for a combined $1,146,600 (£886,109).
Brandon Alinger, Propstore's chief operating officer, said after the auction: "Propstore are thrilled with the incredible success of the first day of our Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction.
"The auction surpassed our expectations and showcased the enduring popularity of franchises like Star Wars."
Star Wars, originally filmed at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, is a huge and iconic franchise, spawning prequels, sequels and spin-off shows including The Mandalorian, Andor and 2019's Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum
George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum

The Independent

time11 hours ago

  • The Independent

George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum

George Lucas is finally coming to the stage at Comic-Con. And while 'Star Wars' is sure to get a mention, the 81-year-old is making his debut appearance at the San Diego pop cultural extravaganza for a more earthbound reason: a preview of his long-in-the-works Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The Sunday panel discussion in Comic-Con's vaunted Hall H will act as a relatively quiet closing act to the four-day festival that brought its usual series of big, bombastic looks at upcoming sci-fi and superhero projects. The museum-centered session is also meant to be a broader discussion of the new institution's subject matter: the histories and traditions of narrative art across time and cultures. Lucas will be joined by fellow filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and art director Doug Chiang, who has worked on a steady series of 'Star Wars' films starting with the Lucas-directed prequels in 1999. Queen Latifah will act as moderator. Lucas is easily on the Mount Rushmore of figures whose work has had the greatest inspiration on the kind of films and other pop cultural celebrated annually in Hall H at Comic-Con. But the convention wasn't a common showcase for blockbuster films when he was directing them himself. And he sold 'Star Wars' and Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Co. in 2012, and Disney has used different venues to make big splashy presentations about its properties. The museum founded by Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, is set to open next year in Exposition Park, near the Los Angeles Coliseum, several of the city's other museums, and the University of Southern California. The 11-acre campus and 300,000-square-foot building designed by architect Ma Yansong includes galleries, two theaters and related spaces.

Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft's best game and you should get it now it's cheap
Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft's best game and you should get it now it's cheap

Metro

time18 hours ago

  • Metro

Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft's best game and you should get it now it's cheap

A reader is disappointed to hear that Star Wars Outlaws will not be getting a sequel but recommends the original now that it's heavy discounted. I'm sure if I was in charge of Ubisoft I'd blame Star Wars itself for the failure of Outlaws, but I really don't think that's fair. I doubt they honestly think that season 3 of The Mandalorian being bad is the real reason for its failure, but I'm sure it didn't help so it's a convenient scapegoat that shifts the blame away from them. Either way I'm very upset to hear that there won't be a Star Wars Outlaws 2. I think there's a couple of reasons for the game's failure but it's a real shame because I think it's Ubisoft's best game of recent years and definitely better than Assassin's Creed Shadows, Far Cry 5, and any of their other games I've played lately. It's not massively different from their usual open world formula but it's got a lot of small things it does better, that really should have made it be a bigger hit. Although perhaps, and this is fair enough, it was just too little too late and by that point everyone had just had enough of it all. In terms of the Star Wars aspect of it all, I think the problem was that, as GC said, when you have Star Wars without Jedi it can just seem like a generic sci-fi adventure. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I don't feel they pushed the Star Wars aspects as much as they could and the aliens were definitely underused in terms of making everything feel different but also familiar. I think everything to do with Jabba the Hutt worked the best and that's because it looked and felt the most like the movies. The bigger problem was that none of the main characters were that interesting. They had all that behind the scenes footage of the actress being all bubbly and excited but in the game she's just kind of quiet and a bit dull. She is absolutely not the female equivalent of Han Solo and her pet and that unlikeable robot friend is not a good stand-in in for Chewie. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. But really, that's relatively minor stuff. It's not like I particularly liked any of the characters in Assassin's Creed Shadows or Far Cry 5 either, and at least Outlaws had multiple different planets (Tatooine is amazing). What Outlaws does better than the average open world game though is that it combines its side quests and its skill tree together so that instead of doing random fetch quests you're actually working to unlock new skills and upgrades, which really makes a difference in terms of things not feeling like busywork. The open world is well designed and there's plenty of variety, with shooting, driving, stealth, and spaceship combat. And the best thing? It's not 100+ hours long. I don't think it would be even if you did everything, but you can definitely beat the main story in less than 20 hours, which for me is a definite plus. Not only does it mean I can beat it in the same year I start it, but it means the game never outstays its welcome, which all the Assassin's Creed games always do. More Trending There's never going to be another one but you can get it dirt cheap at the moment and I believe it's also coming to Nintendo Switch 2. I'd definitely check it out, as it's much better than its reputation and it's sad we're never going to get another one. By reader Tacle The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: It is madness that Konami still hasn't made a new Castlevania - Reader's Feature MORE: I had a Commodore Amiga as a kid and this is not the gaming future I imagined - Reader's Feature MORE: The biggest problem with the Nintendo Switch 2 is that it's too big – Reader's Feature

‘We're the only physical bricks and mortar store on the island of Ireland for used Lego'
‘We're the only physical bricks and mortar store on the island of Ireland for used Lego'

Belfast Telegraph

timea day ago

  • Belfast Telegraph

‘We're the only physical bricks and mortar store on the island of Ireland for used Lego'

Magpie Bricks in Bangor has been up and running for two years and can help any fan out with all their Lego needs, from missing parts to full sets and classic Lego. Rachael and Iain Morrow have the only physical independent Lego BrickLinks store on the island of Ireland. 'We buy off collectors, our customers will come in, we buy sets and trade sets in, we do look at individual minifigures and parts as well. Basically if it says Lego on it, we will always take a wee look at it,' Rachael said. 'Star Wars is always really, really popular, but the Ninjago and the Friends are also popular, we try to have something for everyone, we try to be accessible for kids as well as collectors.' If you fancy popping in to the store, Magpie Bricks is open on Saturday and Sunday at 23 King Street in Bangor.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store