Harrison Ford famously wanted Han Solo, the mercenary turned Rebel hero and half of one of the most famous OTPs in pop culture, killed long before the character met his demise in The Force Awakens. In fact, Ford lobbied for Solo to be killed all the way back in the second movie in the original trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, specifically in the scene where the character was memorably encased in carbonite.
For fans, the idea was unthinkable back then. So much of the appeal of the original Star Wars trilogy was not just in the mythology around the Force, but in the main trio, in Luke’s friendship with Han, and in Ford’s chemistry with Carrie Fisher’s Leia. George Lucas’ response to Ford back then was a firm no. He needed Ford’s character around for the planned end to his story. But the sequel trilogy didn’t truly need Han Solo around, and the character was killed off by his own son – Ben Solo – in the first movie in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Killing a character like Han Solo was going to be a controversial move, no matter when it happened. Considering the outcry the character death – and the way it came to pass – garnered, however, it’s worth examining how things would have been different if Ford had gotten his way all those years ago. Would Han Solo be remembered the way he is today? Would Star Wars have been the same? Would there even be a sequel trilogy?
One of the best things about the original Star Wars trilogy was the balance. People could watch for the Jedi part of the story, for Leia Organa, a female character that broke barriers, or for bad-boy-turned hero Han Solo. They could even watch for the bad guy aesthetic. No matter what fans’ favorite archetype was, the trilogy had something for everyone. Plus, it had an iconic couple in Han and Leia, and almost as importantly, it had a good-defeats-evil message that made it eminently re-watchable. It was a feel-good saga, only set in space.
Remove Han from the equation, and the movies feel much darker, the story much less hopeful. The characters would have gone on, but the entire focus of Return of the Jedi would have had to shift, and with it, the entire message of the trilogy. No longer would the message have centered on found family, instead probably focusing on reclaiming actual familial bonds. Leia would have had to become a full-fledged Jedi. Maybe she and Luke would have fought Darth Vader together.
This could have worked, but it would have made for a much different story, one that might not have stood the test of time the way the movies' hopeful message has. Plus, fans would have been robbed of Han and Leia as a couple, which means they would have been robbed of many years of possibilities, explored in numerous novels in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. It is, after all, no exaggeration to say Han and Leia were a generation’s introduction to romance, and without a happy ending, their tragic story would have been forgotten much more easily. Subsequent books would have found a different love interest for Leia. And, without Ben Solo – or any other possible offspring – to serve as a catalyst, is there even a sequel trilogy centered on the Skywalkers?
The answer is probably no. Viewers could have had other stories set in a galaxy far, far away, but Han Solo’s death would have changed the tone of the story George Lucas had planned too much. However, considering the tone of the last trilogy wasn’t exactly hopeful, there might have been a certain appeal to that; a different journey. The Skywalkers wouldn’t have had to carry the mythology of Star Wars, and that might not have been a bad thing, considering the sequel trilogy. Other characters, other possibilities could have been explored.
As unthinkable as that seems right now, the many issues with the sequel trilogy point to the interesting possibilities of that choice. Without the ties to the Skywalker name, Star Wars could have been a much more encompassing, diverse story. Killing Han Solo off in The Empire Strikes Back might have been the thing that allowed the saga to move past the trio fans would come to relate with the trilogy. But Ford didn’t get his way back then, and when he did, his death was even more controversial than it would have been back in the day.
For fans, there was never a good moment to kill Han Solo. They wanted him to remain the character they fell in love with and ride off into the sunset with Leia. And though that might not have been as interesting a story, the fact that he did once, was part of what made the original trilogy as appealing. In fact, it’s probably the reason why he’s still remembered. Fans can ignore his death, because they still have his life – and the original trilogy, to cling to.