During those formative months when it was confirmed that, after Disney had acquired Lucasfilm and its prestigious IP, a new wave of Star Wars movies were inbound, Harrison Ford was notoriously vague about his potential involvement in the studio’s franchise overhaul.
Low and behold, Ford reprised his iconic role for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and many were even pleasantly surprised about the amount of screentime afforded to one Han Solo. But will it be the last time we see Ford’s fast-talking smuggler on screen? Or can we expect him to appear in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII. You’ll find the actor’s spoiler-ridden thoughts after the jump.
When quizzed by the BBC about appearing in Johnson’s 2017 sequel, Ford refused to rule out the possibility – “Anything’s possible in space, and in the movies.” – but not before addressing Han Solo’s death in The Force Awakens.
I wanted Han Solo to sacrifice himself for the good of the other characters to bring some gravitas to the story… I was very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the other characters, to work on a script that I had real confidence in, with actors that were a dream to work with, with a director that had a very sure and generous hand, and it was altogether a pleasure.
It’s no secret that Ford wanted Han Solo to be killed off long before The Force Awakens, even pushing for his rogue smuggler to bite the bullet in Empire Strikes Back. But George Lucas resisted, ensuring that Solo emerged largely unscathed from his encounter with Jabba the Hutt to help the Skywalkers bring down the Empire in Jedi.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will launch across Blu-Ray and DVD on April 5, while Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s as-yet-untitled Han Solo prequel film will shed light on his origins story come 2018. As for Star Wars: Episode VIII, expect Johnson’s take on a galaxy far, far away to land in theaters on December 17, 2017.
