Vozlov said:
You simply cannot kill any of the lead characters without changing the fundamental group dynamic, and thus the established narrative trend.
The only reason Chewie was allowed to go is because he comparatively had the least involvement in said dynamic.
This is it exactly, and that is why when they say they killed Chewie to show that "no one is safe" is a pile of crap, because Chewie was the absolute safest kill they could have made (and very likely the only one). They didn't even kill Lando, who was around for fewer films, because even he had more dynamic.
Not that I agree with that, because I thought Chewie was a great character who had great dynamic with the characters, but he does speak an untranslated language after all.