He appears for the first time in Star Wars Episode IV : A New Hope as a smuggler with his Wookiee friend , Chewbacca . Both of them are with the side of the Rebels and fight against the evil Galactic Empire . Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV : A New Hope ( 1977 ) , Solo and his Wookiee first mate , Chewbacca ( Peter Mayhew ) , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire .