Harrison Ford wishes Han Solo had died

Yes folks, he really said it in a recent ABC interview.



?"As a character, he was not so interesting to me," Ford admits during a sit-down with movie critic Peter Travers. "I thought he should have died in the last one."

Anyone?s muse going into overdrive yet?

More from the interview currently posted on PopEater.Com

Still, for loyal 'Star Wars' fans, the question remains: Should Han Solo have died at some point in the original trilogy? Isn't it the sidekick's (okay, secondary hero's) role to sacrifice his life for the good fight? Or do you prefer believing that Han Solo and Princess Leia are presently enjoying their half-human and oddly half-Ewok grandchildren back on Endor somewhere?

First, the last sentence in the above paragraph is ridiculous and I found it to be a bit insulting but I think the writer was trying to be humorous so I can over look that.

Second, should Han have died?

That?s an interesting question and more interesting would have been how. Protecting Leia at the bunker after she?d been shot? Not getting out of said bunker before it blew? Or perhaps even before then. Perhaps Han shouldn?t have survived being frozen in carbonite.

What do you think?

 

He's made that perfectly clear for years now. I don't think that should be news to anyone.

Could Han's death have been made to fit the story? Sure. Could it have made it better? I suppose, given the specifics (and I say that as a Han Solo fan). Things like AUs make it fun to play around with but canon will never know for sure how drastically things would have changed and what kind of impact it would have had on the story and the connected characters.

 

Yeah, this isn't exactly news. He thought that he should have been killed off in ESB. I personally like where they took the character in the end, though the EU has at times royally screwed him up.

 

It would have made dramatic sense to kill Han somewhere in ROTJ, but he's a lovable character after the end of ANH. He really grew on me, and probably most of the fandom. I'm personally glad they didn't kill him!

 

Actually no, Han Solo should not have died during ROTJ, though it has little to do with his character and more with the demands of the overall story.

First, he can't die on Tatooine, because that would render the whole purpose of that plot arc moot. Arguably, the major story piece of the fighting with Jabba is to show how incredibly significant Luke's becoming a Jedi Knight really means. Han's death there means the rescue mission is a failure, and would negate that point.

The only other place to kill Han is on Endor and you can't do it there either. If Han (or Leia actually) died on Endor facilitating the destruction of the shield generator, then their death would distract and overshadow what was happening to Luke and Vader on the Death Star at the same time. Or, conversely, to keep Luke's struggle paramount, then killing Han would be reduced to a footnote, which would totally devalue his character's contribution to the series.

Now, killing Han during ESB is a different story, there was certainly opportunity to do it there, and it contributes to the existing narrative that Luke gave into his impulses/attachments by going to Cloud City. Of course, it would lead to some plot difficulties, since if Han's dead you can scratch Lando out of the storyline (which I think we can all agree would have been a shame) and the obvious continuation arc between acts of the trilogy, rescuing Han, would have been lost.

Personally, I'm quite glad Han's still around. He's one of a small number of characters who's regularly used in the EU who's not either A) a Jedi or B) a dedicated military man (ex. Wedge) or C) evil. While post-NJO he's kind of been forced into the role of non-Jedi who actually likes the Jedi Order and speaks on their behalf (a role I believe he is ill-suited too) Han Solo still represents the fun side of Star Wars better than anyone else.

That being said, I truly think Lucasfilm should seriously consider giving Han Solo the blaze-of-glory death scene (piloting the Falcon into a black hole with Abeloth aboard perhaps?) he richly deserves, simply because since the other two major movie roles have become uber-Jedi he can probably be killed in the most believably dramatic way.

 

Oy. How did I end up liking Han Solo more than Harrison Ford does? That's just wrong.

ROTJ would not have been the same without Han.

 

To kill Han Solo, I think they would have had him in Lando's place with Chewie during the space battle. Interesting that Harrison Ford feels that way.

 

Yes, he's said this for many years now. In my opinion, the only reason Ford does not like the character of Han Solo is because he wasn't the lead role in the Star Wars movies, and by the time ROTJ came out, Ford considered himself a major star, and feels the focus of the movie should have been on him, and not Luke. Killing off Han would have made the movie a major downer, but it would have taken the focus off of the Skywalker Family Saga and put it on to the 'star', Ford.

I truly love the character of Han. The actor that plays him... not so much.

 

At the George Lucas interview at Celebration V, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher came out and they had a mini-reunion.

I remember thinking, if only Harrison Ford would do conventions. Imagine the four of them on stage together again? ::


But yeah, can you imagine the EU without Han Solo? Wow. No little Solos...no Caedus. How different the galaxy would be.

 

That alone would almost make his death worth it.

 

Ah, I remember that at CV! It was awesome! I also remember thinking that it would be fantastic if Harrison was there, while realizing that it will never, ever happen. Apparently, he believes that the character of Han didn't have a lot of depth? Like Indiana Jones did?! (And he wasn't too unhappy with that role, as he did another sequel...)

I like Harrison Ford, but he's not a great actor. A very good one, to be sure, but not great. I think he's just been incredibly lucky at choosing the right roles. I just wish he appreciated the fans a little more. We don't ask for much! Just a little nod that we, oh, I don't know, made your career...

 

Oddly I find myself really thinking about the "half-Ewok" thing. Obviously Han and Leia's children would not be physically any percentage of Ewok (that's just dumb). But what if Han and Leia stayed on Endor for any length of time and their children grew up in and around the Ewok culture? It could turn out to be like that "Ewoks" movie, but better (or much, much worse maybe? Your call)

 

It was epic, wasn't it? Even watching it in the overflow room was enough to send shivers down my spine.

I feel the same way about a lot of Star Wars actors. That's why I like the Clone Wars so much: the actors really, really seem to care about the franchise. I saw Mark Hamill's panel at CV and was so pleasantly surprised at how happy he seemed to be talking to all of us crazy fans. He even said several times that we know way more about Star Wars than he does and said he wanted to tell us stories that he rarely tells in public because we're special.

 

Well, that just proves my point. Ford was the STAR of Indiana Jones, and not a supporting player. Indy didn't have any 'depth' either. In fact, he was just an "earth" version of Han. He was, however, the center of attention.

 

There is something to Ford's criticism that Han Solo is not a 'deep' character in the frame of the movies alone. It's not that Han isn't deep emotionally or in motive, or relationships compared to the characters around him, it's more that he is inserted into the story more or less fully formed and doesn't change. Luke is the focus of the major maturation saga of the story, going from naive farmboy to enlightened Jedi after great trials and tribulations. So while look becomes the man he was born to be, Han already is that guy, he just finds a cause to fight for (and Han never embraces the Rebellion completely, he's ultimately in it for friends) and gets a girl to fall for him. Leia is developed via Han, changing from the idealistic and somewhat arrogant princess she is introduced as and becoming a more pragmatic and accepting inspirational leader, the romances principally affects her, not him.

Reductively: Han is a participant in the epic of Star Wars, and certainly a very important one, he has a great deal of effect on what ultimately happens, but he's not an instigator like Luke, Leia, or Vader he doesn't drive the story forward on his own.

An illustrative hypothetical: if Han dies during ROTJ and Luke falls to the Dark Side as a result and evil triumphs, the Han's death would have been pivotal to the fate of the galaxy, but it would have been so because of what happened to someone else, not to Han himself.

The EU adds to this, Han Solo remains important years after his principal heroics because of who his wife is, or who his kids are, not because of who he is personally (as an aside, this is one of the reasons it had to be someone as awesome as Mara Jade that finally ended up with Luke; he would have utterly overshadowed any less important and less independent character).

Ford is a good enough actor to know this, at least instinctively, and appears to like roles where the choices of his character are the plot drivers. Not surprising he would have regrets about the Han Solo role, especially considering that he was an older and more established actor than his young co-stars at the time

 

I have heard he had said that, however, I don't understand it. You see Han Solo's character grow from a mercenary in ANH to someone willing to risk his life for a friend, ESB, to a full fledged and honorable hero, ROTJ.

While he was the more established actor of the three, Star Wars still made him a household name, and had he not been in it, he may have never become the actor we know today, especially since he was second choice for Indiana Jones. (Tom Selleck was the first choice, but he was already committed to Magnum P.I.)

 

Han Solo's death would have overshadowed Luke's triumph. It's simply a matter of serving the purpose of the primary story, which Lucas is really good at. Leia had to be happy to balance Luke's sorrow, to give meaning to his heroic actions. The other option would be too depressing, and Star Wars might not be what it is today.

 

I don't think I want to know what would happen to the author who wrote Han's death. There were death threats against the author who wrote Chewie's. Just a thought.

Anyway, I think it would have ruined the story if Han had died in the OT.

I've never met any of the actors, so I can't say anything about them personally. But, slightly off-subject, I do understand that, from what he himself has said, Hayden Christensen loved acting in Star Wars. I know, that's not what is being discussed.

 

I disagree with this somewhat. By the end of ROTJ, Han is saying 'we' when referring to the Rebels. He also volunteered for a dangerous mission without even telling Leia or Lando. He accepts Luke and Leia's help when it's offered, but I'm sure he would have gone on the mission anyway even if it hadn't been. As far as being an instigator, I don't think even Leia falls into that role. To my mind, the entire original trilogy is Luke's story. Overall, the entire saga has become more about Anakin, but Empire and Jedi especially are about Luke (mostly).

My point, which is becoming a bit muddled (sorry!), is that I believe Han as a character does have depth, he does show growth, and he is important to the story. Maybe PonyTrick's theory is more the right one!

 

Agree with all this. And I am soooo glad Tom Selleck didn't end up playing Han. Blech.

 

[image=http://cdn.static.ovimg.com/episode/144413.jpg]

(From an episode of Magnum PI. Really, look it up.)

Oh I just put down to anything Harrison Ford says now days as a result of old man action actor's syndrome. And it's great! I really missed Charlton Heston's old man action actor rants, now I have Harry-rants to look forward to, (like on Conan the other night.)

On a serious note, I rely more on the EU universe, (like the Han Solo Trilogy and Han Solo at Star's end etc,) to build up some depth for Han overall. I love Indiana Jones, but unless you read the books and watch the Young Indy series, you get the same sort of background depth as Han Solo, but with more screen-face time.

 

All actors want a good death scene.

I thought that Tom Selleck was supposed to be the original choice for indiana Jones before they decided to use Harrison Ford. And Kurt Russell was the alternate choice for Han Solo. Tom Sellect would never have worked for either, but I could picture Kurt Russell as Han.

 

Kurt Russel as Han Solo...

[image=http://www.stargatefan.com/multimedia/movie/images/SGMm_494.jpg]


Okay. Yes, I could see him in it...

 

There is an amazing amount of depth in the characters (Han, Leia, and Luke) and the dynamics between them are just incredible. The characters and the relationship between them is one of the reasons Star Wars is what it is, what makes it so endearing and enduring. The trio is inseparable- to break them apart would be, in my opinion, a bad move, and quite heartbreaking! They're all foils to one another, and each needs the other to succeed in their journey. Plus they've become like a family to one another.

My opinion may be a biased though, since Han and Luke are my two very favorite characters. (And Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are two of my favorite actors. ) But I think Han's character continues to grow through ROTJ. The transformation from selfish mercenary to selfless hero really takes all three movies to complete. While I can see the reasons to have Han Solo to have not survived the carbonite, I think there are more advantages to letting him live. ...And even though I know Han survives the carbonite, that scene is still powerful enough to make me cry sometimes.

In my opinion, Han's character is vital to all three movies. I just know I would've hated if he died. Maybe so much as to not enjoy ROTJ much (or the end of ESB for that matter) Gotta keep the trio together. They've all lost so much- all they have is each other. To lose that, they might just lose all hope.

Just my two cents. I love Han. He's not a cardboard character by any means- the complexity and depth of his character is something I really love. And Harrison Ford is just brilliant. I love every movie he's in. I'd really like to meet him someday.