Editorial Staff
Is it really one and out for Harrison Ford?
Yeah, probably…
… still, this makes for a fun ‘what if?’
Since the news that Billy Dee Williams would be reprising his Lando Calrissian for the upcoming “Star Wars IX” got out, fans (the good ones, anyway) have excitedly pondered the prospect of Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) returning along with him? Since Solo was last seen, falling to his death om after being mortally wounded with a lightsaber, it’d seem an unlikely, possibly even impossible reunion at best.
Or is it?
Fans have been quick to point out that not only did Darth Maul, who suffered a similar fate to Solo, return to the franchise after his definitive death but the extended universe encompasses time travel in their stories – suggesting the rebels could possibly wind back the clock on save Solo before he bites it. Further, the place where Solo purportedly met his maker is also said to encompass some sort of mysterious magic… opening up the possibilities of a flat-out resurrection. And if that’s the case, tell the Ewoks to cue the bonfire! There’s a celebration ahead!
The speculation started after filmmaker and “Star Wars” fan Kevin Smith posted about Williams’ casting in the upcoming sequel trilogy ender.
“If, due to a time travel device or the Force, there’s a plot development that allows Lando to repeat his EMPIRE STRIKES BACK line “There’s still a chance to save Han!” and get us back to that fateful bridge on Starkiller base? Then I’ll kiss JJ on the mouth. I’ll French him even.”
Smith is, of course, referring to JJ Abrams, who returns to direct this final instalment in the sequel trilogy.
Nerdist jumped on this too, suggesting that “Star Wars” canon actually features a loophole in which such a scenario could work – and it has to do with Starkiller Base.
“It was there that the First Order lay a stranglehold on the galaxy, and this was also where Han Solo lost his life. But due to the fast-paced nature of third act climatic battles, no one stopped to explain exactly how the planet-sized weapon worked. That’s what novelizations are for. And in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization by Alan Dean Foster, there is plenty of time to explain how Starkiller functions. Short answer: No one knows. Long answer: The First Order was putzing with things they didn’t understand.
I wrote about the changes between the way Starkiller Base functioned in the film vs. the canon novel when it was first published, but here is the pertinent section:
Starkiller Base did not originally drain the sun, it was powered by dark matter. One of the few head scratchers in “The Force Awakens” was how the Starkiller base actually worked. Was it draining one sun after another and then moving on? How did it shoot a beam across the galaxy in real time? Why did it turn INTO a sun at the end (other than the visual metaphor of the light triumphing over the dark?) Turns out, it was never supposed to be powered by the sun. Situated in one place, messing with science they didn”t understand, the First Order was harvesting dark matter to power their weapon. As the matter congealed to be sucked into the core, the light was supposed to dim. Then, using more science they barely understood, they beamed the concentrated dark matter THROUGH the galaxy instead of across it. Basically they were ripping holes in time/space. Oh! And the target didn’t explode originally. It turned into a tiny sun.”
So what writer Donna Dickens is saying is, yes, it’s entirely possible that Abrams could bring Solo back.
“Regardless of origin, Han Solo definitely fell to his alleged death inside a weapon that punches holes in space and time. That leaves open a lot of possibilities. You can’t just rip open the fabric of reality and expect people not to crawl inside to see what it is.
So it’s entirely possible Lando could find a hole in the tapestry of linear time and decide to pilot the Falcon back to rescue Han from certain death. Or maybe more Architects lay slumbering at the core of Starkiller Base and Han’s fall awakens them and they revive him with Tech Magic™. Or maybe Kylo Ren realizes the error of his ways and asks Rey for help to undo the horrors he unleashed that day. Any of those is possible using the lore foundation already in the films. And that’s before you add in the kicker from Star Wars Rebels. Straight up time travel.
In the Rebels episode “A World Between Worlds,” Ezra Bridger uses the Force to enter a dark realm that exists outside of time and space. Inside this realm are portals to specific points in time. Then shenanigans occur and Ezra and Ahsoka Tano barely escape with their lives—but the cornerstone was set! The Ones have power over time itself, which means: “There’s still a chance to save Han!””
But as the article states, should they? And would Harrison Ford even want to return (at the same time, maybe he’s been contracted from the beginning?)? And how will Solo feel when he realizes his beloved Leia (Carrie Fisher) has gone?
