ST Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Episodes VIII & IX

I don't think people are against happily ever after. But we need to stop treating death as an abomination to be avoided at all costs. That's a darkside virtue.

Han died nobly, trying to save his son and the galaxy. Having him survive would be a cheapening of that sacrifice.

 

Obi-Wan sacrificed himself for the greater good also. "More powerful than you could possibly imagine."

 

Since Kasdan is writing the Han Solo SW Story, I think there is a small chance Ford will return as Han Solo for one scene. Just a thought, but if the film opens with a sequence of old Han and Chewie right before the events of TFA, and then it flashes back 40+ years to young Han about to meet Chewie for the first time. Could be cool. And if they let it leak about Ford's return then what better way to hype up this movie and get people in the seats?

 

"Resurrecting" Han in any way, either by having him inexplicably survive being ran through with a lightsaber and then falling into the energy-rich depths of Starkiller Base, or having him return as a Force ghost despite not being Force sensitive and etc. etc., would absolutely cheapen his sacrifice and the emotional impact of his death.

I saw another suggestion that the film should be a story that old Lando is telling (Billy Dee Williams, of course), which could account for any stylistic extremities in the film in contrast to the existing canon; the film could be a "tall tale" of a real adventure Han and Lando went on, or maybe even one Lando just pulled out of his thermal exhaust port. If they go with something like that, I'd prefer it to having Ford reprise his role as Han since it's seeming more and more like we're not going to see Lando in this trilogy.

 

I beg to differ sir.

 

I mean, apart from the fact that I can't think of a single way to resurrect him that wouldn't be contrived or cheap, I think no matter what you do it would to elicit groans of disbelief from most of the audience. Keep in mind, we're far more accepting of stuff like that than most people would be. Hardcore fans take stuff like Darth Maul surviving being bisected "because he held on to his hate" and getting mechanical legs in stride, whereas I vividly recall calling some kid a dirty liar on the playground in first grade because he claimed he saw Attack of the Clones early and exactly that happened in it. I was seven, and even then I thought it was a dumb idea to bring back a character who was so clearly dead.

In Star Wars, unless you can move things with your mind (and not even Qui-Gon didn't survive getting lanced with a lightsaber) and you come back as a ghost, death is death.

 

If they resurrect Han then SW will have officially jumped the Sarlacc.

 

I'm just thrilled you didn't say Sheev.

 

It wouldn't be fair to the new cast members. 30 seconds of Harrison Ford would completely flip the movie on its head and take away any focus on what the new kids did or didn't do. All anyone would talk about would be Ford's scene. And honestly, if Disney needs 30 seconds of 75-year-old Harrison Ford to put butts in the seats for a Star Wars movie, they have got much bigger problems. Just make good movies and let the chips fall.

And if you want proof, I ask you this: outside of hardcore fans, is anyone talking about anything related to Rogue One other than Vader, CGI Leia and Tarkin, and the Rebel pilots from ANH?

It is the same reason that one of the big 3 had to be sent to the sidelines in TFA. If you pack a movie with too much familiarity, there's no room for the new characters to grow. People called that a cop-out with Abrams said it about Luke in TFA, and I was as disappointed as anyone that Luke wasn't front and center, but I get it now. We had to establish six major new characters AND give one beloved old character a proper send off. There just was no more room.

I do think this is an important point, and I am glad you brought this up, because Han Solo is going to potentially be the first SW movie that doesn't rely on any familiar actors or lightsabers as a natural draw. We thought that would be Rogue One, but it turns out that Tarkin and Vader occupied a good bit of the film, and of course we had a big 'ol surprise of nostalgia to end the film. At some point, Disney is going to have to take off the training wheels and not go to the Skywalkers or familiar actors in order to sell a film, and I think Han Solo is going to be the case study.

Will audiences accept a new face in that role? Disney has to find out, and it can't if Harrison Ford is there. In my opinion.

 

There are going to be a few familiar faces in Han Solo, with Chewbacca being one of them, and the others, like Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt, which everybody will talk about when it comes out, much like Tarkin and Vader.

I think it would be cool if Harrison Ford was in this for a brief cameo or narration, but most likely not happening. If he is, great, if not, no big deal. I hope they just don't over do it is all.

Although, on a side note, I did like watching The Last Crusade and thought it was cool when River Phoenix lowered his head when they put the hat on him and when he looked up, it was Harrison Ford's Indy. It would be a perfect opportunity to do it in reverse here, Han Solo (Ford) looks down, and when he looks up, it's younger Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich).

 

Good points, but I'm not convinced that whats "fair" to the younger actors really plays into LFL/Disney decisions. The younger stars got cast and got paid. And they are now in the SW universe and included in Celebration and all manner of promo opportunities and perks. That's what they get. Disney worrying about what fans will be talking about and if they focus on one character or actor and will that will hurt the feelings of other actors in the film is not something that plays into the equation, IMHO. Story and characters take precedence. After this movie, young Han and Young Lando will be compared to the originals endlessly anyway. Adding Ford in a cameo won't increase those comparisons. It could be argued that Ford's appearance would be a visible "giving his blessing" to Alden and in that way help Alden (who, let's face it has an uphill fight). But, right or wrong in terms of approach, having Ford back for one scene or bookend scenes in this movie would be the safest bet for boosting ticket sales. That's absolutely true. It would also make a lot of SW fans happy and very few SW fans would be upset by it. In fact the younger cast would probably love having Ford on set for 2 days. How could that not be thrilling for them all, especially Alden.

 

Was watching TFA again last night.

It came to the scene when Rey and FInn are following Han through the Falcon and they ask him if he is "THE Han Solo" and he curiously says "I used to be".

It struck me as a very curious response.

 

Definitely not a Jedi and not trained in force ghostery, but I don't think you can rule out force sensitivity. He very well could have been tapping into it in a number of his feats.

 

My guess is that Captain Phasma saved him. They sent her down to the garbage compactor, right? Well, who's to say that the bridge Han fell off of wasn't directly above the garbage compactor? We know Phasma will be in TLJ, so she obviously escaped the compactor, right? So the question is HOW? My guess: She found a jet pack in there, and as she was flying up from the compactor, Han was falling down towards it. She caught him, and they flew out of the SKB together. Then she patched up his wounds, and he'll be good as new in TLJ. I'll be SHOCKED if this isn't how it plays out. It seems so obvious to me.

 

"He's dead Jim!"

 

"This just in, Captain Han Solo is still dead."

 

"This is the Millennium Falcon! You're Han Solo!" She didn't say "THE Han Solo", she did say "the smuggler"

The "I used to be" response isn't that unusual - it just refers to the fact he isn't the same person he was in his younger days; he's not a Rebel General or a smuggler anymore. It's a bit like referring to something you did (say a job) a long time ago as something "from a former life."

 

Smuggling is exactly what he is doing when they meet him.

 

It's just something crotchety old guys say. Nothing more.

 

you mean dead or dead?

 

Their dialogue emphasizes that he is THE Han Solo.

 

Han is only mostly dead. A quick trip to Miracle Max's and he should be right as rain. Just don't let Han swim for a good hour after he's revived.

 

How? Where? What actual quote?

In any case, what hidden meaning are you reading into this?