While Han Solo became one of the most popular characters in the original Star Wars trilogy, the movies were never about him. Solo was always an important character, but never the focus. That changed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where Han Solo spent more time on screen than any other pre-existing character, and had a direct connection to the film’s story. This meant that Han Solo had something of depth to add to the movie. Which is why Harrison Ford accepted his character’s tragic end.
Yesterday, Good Morning America provided a sneak peak to the new documentary about the making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens entitled Secrets of the Force Awakens. After all the secrecy regarding the film during its creation, and then the desire to prevent spoilers during release, the actors and filmmakers have still never spoken entirely openly about the film, especially regarding its bigger twists. Harrison Ford speaks for the first time about why he wanted to see Han Solo go out as he did.
I wanted Han Solo to be able to lend some significant emotional weight to the story.
He certainly succeeded in that. Needless to say, the death of Han Solo was an incredibly poignant moment in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The moment shows us the conflict that exists within Kylo Ren, but doesn’t prevent us from hating him for it. Adam Driver said the scene was probably the one that made him the most nervous to film. He certainly had something of a responsibility as the guy who had to kill Han Solo.
While we don’t know what all of the repercussions of the death of Solo will mean for Star Wars: Episode VIII we're sure that it will drive Rey as well as General Leia going forward.
It’s clear that Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to be able to add more to the Star Wars saga for a long time. He had previously spoken about how he wanted to see Solo die in The Return of the Jedi for much the same reasons that he wanted to see it happen here: feeling that he could add "gravitas" to the story by sacrificing himself. Check out his complete comments below.
What was your experience of watching that fateful moment on the catwalk in Star Wars: The Force Awakens? How do you think that scene will impact the rest of the trilogy? Sound off in the comments section below.
