Harrison Ford on Whether Han Solo Will Return in Future ‘Star Wars’ Movies
Before we get started, we know what you’re thinking: Han Solo is dead dummies. Yes, we know. But dead people have a way of reappearing in movies, especially Star Wars movies, so last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host asked Harrison Ford point blank if he knew whether Han Solo would return in some capacity for Star Wars: Episode 8 and his response was very interesting.
OK, maybe we should say a “lack of response” because Ford technically said nothing. After Kimmel asked (at around 2:00 in the above video), Ford took a very long pause and looked around the theater as Kimmel responded, “It’s a good question, right?” Ford paused again and mimed locking his lips with a key and throwing the key away before waggling his hand in the “so so” gesture. Throughout he continued to look like a guy who desperately wanted to say something, but couldn’t say anything. As Kimmel would note, “Hmm, interesting…”
At face value, there’s nothing there. Kimmel asked a question and Ford refused to answer it, end of story. But Ford has proven himself to not really give a s— and if he truly wasn’t ever coming back, he surely would’ve said, “Han Solo is dead, that’s it, it’s over,” and be done with it. Harrison Ford has nothing to gain from playing games in the media and would only demure if he was told by Lucasfilm not to say anything.
While conventional wisdom would indicate that Han is dead and gone, still falling somewhere in an endless chasm with a gaping lightsaber wound in his chest, there are some hints that he could be returning. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy did make a point of saying at the London premiere of The Force Awakens, “All the cast members you see here tonight will be in [Star Wars: Episode 8].” Cast members in attendance at London included Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Gwendoline Christie, Lupita Nyong’o, Max von Sydow, Adam Driver and…Harrison Ford.
It also would not be the first time a dead character came back in a Star Wars movie. Boba Fett fell into a Sarlacc Pit for chrissake and they’re ready to give him his own movie! Perhaps Rian Johnson will include a brief Han flashback, a message that Solo recorded before his death or even the funeral that never happened in The Force Awakens. Han wasn’t Force sensitive so he can’t pull the Obi-Wan/Yoda Force ghost routine, but there is the very real possibility that Ford could making a cameo appearance of some sort in Star Wars: Episode 8. Or, maybe Harrison Ford is taking particular delight in trolling Star Wars fans.
