Peter Mayhew, the man behind one of the 'Star Wars' franchise's most beloved characters, has died at the age of 74.

The actor's family announced his passing through his Twitter account Thursday. Mayhew apparently died April 30, a couple days before the announcement.

The family of Peter Mayhew, with deep love and sadness, regrets to share the news that Peter has passed away. He left us the evening of April 30, 2019 with his family by his side in his North Texas home. pic.twitter.com/YZ5VLyuK0u

— Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) May 2, 2019

Originally chosen to play the wookie alongside Harrison Ford's Han Solo in the original 1977 film, Mayhew went on to reprise his role in four more movies in 1980, 1983, 2004 and 2015 respectively. Mayhew retired from playing the character in 2015, citing his declining health. He served in a "consultant" role for 2017's 'The Last Jedi'.

'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker', the purported final film in the sci-fi saga, is set to be released later this year.