While you wouldn’t necessarily call him unsung, certainly one of the most important Star Wars creatives who deserves more songs crooned about them is screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. A frequent collaborator of George Lucas, Kasdan — who also co-wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark — contributed to both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the original trilogy and then The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story in the Disney era.
Kasdan’s been at least partially responsible for so many mythical moments from across the Star Wars saga, then, but there’s one movie he worked on, in particular, that seems to have made the biggest personal impact on him. While reflecting on his time in the galaxy far, far away to ComicBook.com, Kasdan admitted that making Episode VII was “so emotional” and Harrison Ford’s last scenes as Han Solo were especially poignant. As he explained:
“We had some moments on Force Awakens that were so emotional. When Han was coming down to the end of his journey. I love those actors, and Harrison was in a fabulous place. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. Adam Driver’s in the scene too, and it was just fun. I got to tell you, I’ve been very lucky. Between these movies and the ones I’ve directed, I’ve just had one experience after another where I’ve just said, ‘I can’t believe I got to do this.'”
After so many years working within the Star Wars world, it’s touching to see that Kasdan is just as proud and excited by his experiences making these movies as he’s ever been. The writer has even turned expanding the saga into a family business as he penned the screenplay for Solo with his son, Jonathan — who similarly served as showrunner on another Lucasfilm property, Disney Plus’ upcoming Willow series.
As of now, what with the brand taking something of a break from the big screen, Lawrence Kasdan has no further Star Wars projects in development. However, if he has said goodbye to the franchise for good, then he leaves behind an enormous legacy that few behind-the-scenes personnel, outside of Lucas and John Williams, can measure up to.
