ST Harrison Ford Gets To Dictate Plot

This.

All due respect. .... you're in the spoiler forum. Go see the movie and stop posting otherwise.
Good grief

 

I was 99% sure HAn would die anyway, so it being confirmed didn't take that much away for me... but I did NOT know Kylo Ren was his SON, and that is another spoiler i did NOT ASK FOR. If people would just read my bloody post it's very clear.

 

And who would Leia have married???

 

I'm sorry but are you being for real right now?

 

Han dying is what propels the plot moving forward. I'd have a hard time figuring out what Han Solo would be doing in the next two movies, other than being relegated to the sidelines, being the grumpy old man cracking wise. This way, he gets an emotional and meaningful (story-wise) death that actually fits the importance of the character. No random explosions or falls into a Sarlaac.

And seriously, if you don't want to be spoiled on a board when 99% of posters have seen the movie or are already spoiled, why not wait until you've seen it to post? Also, you can't complain too much when the topic of the thread that you created is the biggest spoiler of the film. It's kind of like saying before watching ESB, "Yeah, I know that Vader is Luke's father, but why did you have to tell me that Luke got his hand cut off!!!"

 

Oh yeah.

 

Yeah I agree, he's 73 and really he most probably doesn't know how much longer he has left. He was never going to commit 6 years to a project like this at this stage in his life. I always expected that he was only ever going to do one and then go and make an Indy movie (which would probably be his last movie).

I actually think JJ gave him a great send off as Han played such a huge and pivotal role in this movie.

 

No, Harrison Ford does not get to dictate plot.

There is no role for Han over three movies. Someone had to die, and the Big Three only serve a narrative purpose in relation to the new generation. TFA positions Leia as their leader and Luke as their teacher. What's Han going to do, ferry them around in the Falcon for a whole trilogy? So he's their chauffeur?

What's more, from a metatextual perspective, the very presence of Harrison Ford - a contender for the world's biggest film star - steals too much focus from the new cast. That's fine for one film, not for a trilogy.

I also think people overstate Ford's dislike for playing Han. The man has made it clear on numerous occasions that it is just a role to him, no more or less. That doesn't mean he's actively campaigning for the character to be killed at the first opportunity. That means he's a professional, and he wants a good script like any professional.

 

I'm going to assume that Harrison Ford wanted this to happen since his first day on the set of the Holiday Special.

 

Erm, because it was right for the story? Not having him die would have been called 'fan service' - they just can't win with a certain segment of the 'fan' (ie obsessive) base.

 

Bro. Just stay off the internet till you see the movie. I stayed off all social networking & news aggregator sites for about 2 days to remain spoiler free. Heck, I stayed off 7SA for an entire year.

 

Abrams is such a fan (dare I say "fanboy") that he (or even Kasdan or anyone else) might have just planned to do it this way all along. I never got onboard with the idea that Han should die in a future episode just because he thought it was a good idea in Return of the Jedi. Those are two different stories; ROTJ was then a conclusion of the saga and Han Solo wasn't quite the person he became after that movie. While it seems likely that Harrison Ford wouldn't plan to do another entire trilogy, I think it is more likely that the idea was proposed by the others.

 

Didn't Ford's uncertainty to return basically dictate the ending to The Empire Strikes Back? No one complained about that.

 

I agree Harry is a SOB.....that primadona bastard!!
They should kill off his character just to teach him a lesson.

Oh wait...

Spoiler

Crazy fanboys I love you

 

This is a winner! even if Ford said that to have me in this movie you must kill me off it was still all rapped up perfectly.

Also Neeson did his little cameo in episode 2 and was going to be in 3, but got in an crash.

Liam seemed like he loved the role.

 

Why does this thread even exist?

 

DantooineOrBust, where did you hear that about Neeson and Terrence Stamp? I agree with your general argument, but those facts about the actors are absolute garbage. Stamp is the only one of the two that didn't enjoy working on the film, but he was never asked to come back. Neeson remained involved with the series afterwards and harbors no ill feelings towards Lucasfilm.

Neeson wasn't directly involved in Episode II, but he gave permission to have his voice digitized for his short cameo. Neeson was directly involved with Episode III, though an accident rendered him unable to film any footage. Further voice only work was cut from the film.

 

Saying Ford used this as leverage to do another Indy movie is kinda ridiculous. All he has to do is call Spielberg and say "let's do it". It's not like Hollywood needs to be "tricked" into making a **** load of money.

I do believe he asked for Han to die, and I applaud him for going out with a fantastic performance. Bon voyage, Han.
I shudder to think of "young Han Solo" movies though.

 

It worked out better for the story to my surprise.

 

Not really. They would like a younger actor to take on the Indy role most likely, so him getting the role again was no guarantee. The mouse now is master of Indy and only he gets to allow this.

I should not be near certain of a major plot point based on an actor agreeing to participate. Even if I remained spoiler-free I would've gone in to that movie with near certainty of Han dying.

 

I couldn't possibly disagree with this post anymore.

The plot was great. Easily the best plot a SW film of any medium has had since Empire.

Han's story arc was completed and it was his time. He evolved from a selfish smuggler to a caring dad who was willing to die for just a CHANCE to save his son.

It was a brilliant scene and story overall...the saga is finally moving in the right direction again.

 

If they don't reboot the Indy franchise (which Spielberg and Ford have both said isn't likely to happen in spite of reports/rumors to the contrary), another movie won't happen without both Ford and Spielberg involved.

Harrison may have requested that Han die, but it wouldn't have been done solely because he asked for it given that, as I noted, it's something that Lawrence Kasdan had been in favor of some 32 years ago.

 

Funny all the 'Harrison dictated the plot' tosh, FWIW, Mark has been clear that from the start for him it was 'everyone or no one'...

 

Agreed. Both Harrison, Kasdan and former Wars producer Gary Kurtz have expressed that the character had little to do. I couldn't have found a better way myself of seeing him go than what we got in TFA.

It's too bad we live in the Age of Marvel films where character deaths mean nothing, because they are resurrected minutes later so they can make another 17 films with the same characters. I'm happy that TFA breaks that trend and make a character death actually count for something.

So, if Ford negotiated this end for his character in order for him to sign on for VII, then my hat is off to him.