Story, Story, Story
It’s the way in which the story is woven that keeps us on the hook through the original Star Wars trilogy, just as it’s the way the story is woven that makes us excited to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. It’s a prequel, so it’s not trading on the charisma of Harrison Ford. It’s trading on the fact that we want to know more about this character. It’s trading on the iconic status of Han Solo – not the actor that made him famous.
The beauty of Star Wars is that it’s designed to be a universe that’s ongoing – regardless of which part the audience is watching, or which character has their interest. It’s never been linear in nature. George Lucas literally kicked the whole thing off with an action-packed scenario that was already in motion, in a film that was then retrospectively titled Episode IV – making us wonder, what happened in the previous three episodes? And what happens in Episode V?
His style, with Star Wars, was always to drop us into the middle of something – and it was our job to catch up. This is why the films usually have an ‘opening crawl.’ But, the characters do not come with their backstory neatly typed out. We have to pay attention, and put the pieces together. So it was with Han Solo’s introduction in Episode IV, and the tease of his past with Lando Calrissian in Episode V, and his evolution into a bona fide hero in Episode VI. So it was with his return in Episode VII.
As the film unfolds, we learn that he and Leia had a son together, but that their family disintegrated when they allowed Luke to take Ben Solo and train him as a Jedi – only for Ben to succumb to the Dark Side, and evolve into Kylo Ren, protégé of Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order. With Leia now being a General in the Resistance, this proves to be quite problematic for everyone involved.
When Leia and Han come face-to-face again after years of being apart, their connection is still clearly there – and it’s both beautiful and heartbreaking. It’s evident – without it ever being said – that the pain of their experience of parenthood has led to Han Solo returning to the mercenary lifestyle he once left behind. So, when he faces Kylo Ren on an isolated bridge – at the behest of Leia – and begs him to turn back to the Light and return home, Han Solo is also begging for his happily ever after back. And then he’s murdered.
In dying at the hands of the son he helped give away to Jedi training, Han is literally killed by his past. Though he always – eventually – landed on the right side of events, Han was a flawed hero. This was made clear in his introduction, back in 1977, in the scene that gave rise to the never-ending question, “Who shot first?” George Lucas himself has returned to this scene repeatedly with re-releases of the film, seeking to clear up the ambiguity caused by that first version.
In later years, Lucas altered the scene so that Greedo shoots at Han first in the Mos Eisley Cantina, because he was not happy with the idea of Han Solo being seen as a cold-blooded killer. He also altered it again to suggest that the two mercenaries shot at the same time, but only Greedo was hit. But, it was the first version of the film that made Han Solo an icon – and it was not because it made him seem like a cold-blooded killer.
It was because Greedo was clearly threatening Han’s life, and essentially backing him into a corner. This means that, along with teasing past adventures, and current criminal entanglements, he gives us a glimpse of how he reacts to being under threat, and under pressure – and, as it happens, that’s exactly what Luke and Leia need.
And that’s how you make an icon.
