Star Wars Episode 7 News

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Is Star Wars: Episode 7 Harrison Ford's Last Star Wars Film?

Star Wars

By now everyone from here to Planet Mars knows that Harrison Ford broke his ankle while on the Millennium Falcon set, filming Episode VII. Broken ankle aside, could this be Harrison Ford's last Star Wars movie? Check out what Harrison's son Ben Ford had to say about it after the jump...


First and foremost, I want to make clear that in no way are we suggesting that Harrison Ford will refuse to appear in any more Star Wars movies as a result of this ACCIDENT. Mr. Ford has been injured on other movies as well, to include nearly freezing to death on The Empire Strikes Back, blown knee ligaments sustained during Raiders of the Lost Ark and an injured back sustained during The Temple of Doom. Harrison Ford is an ex-carpenter and it's gonna take a lot more than a spaceship door to keep him down. So that's laid to rest.


Harrison Ford's son Chef Ben Ford, as Viral mentioned in his coverage of "ankle gate," recently gave Access Hollywood an interview with some updates about the most watched ankle in the history of forever! Thanks to a head-up from someone we shall call "AWwriter" we were tipped that Ben was on CBS's morning show called "The Talk" Friday, promoting his new book and doing some burger cooking. Co-host Julie Chen informed the audience that Ben was Harrison's son and then asked:
Julie: What are you guys doing Sunday for Father's Day? 
Ben: Well, he's in London right now shooting the LAST Star Wars. (2:27)




Freudian slip? Insider info? OR just an honest slip of the tongue? Its hard to tell. But let's take a closer examination of what we know thus far and see if we can find the truth.

Back around April and early May word spread like wildfire that Ford's character, Han Solo, was to be an integral part of Episode VII, according to an April report by Deadline Hollywood:
The new cast members will join returning Star Wars alums Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. The big surprise, I’m told, is that Ford has a gigantic role in the first of the next three films. 

Could it be that Han Solo has a central role because his death is the plot motivator for the rest of the Trilogy?



Up until the last couple of years, Harrison made it very clear that he never intended to play Han Solo again. In an interview with MTV back in 2010 we read the following:
I had to ask a question that means a great deal to me and many people in my generation: Will he ever play Han Solo again?
“I wouldn’t take that bet,” he said, shutting the door on the reckless smuggler once and for all. “I wouldn’t bet on that, no.”

And aside from choosing not to play the character again, it is no secret that Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die in the original trilogy, not once but twice!!! According to a recent interview of George Lucas, during Empire:
‘Harrison kept yelling through the whole thing, “Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!”, Lucas recalled.
‘I said, “Harrison, I can’t kill you. I need you at the end of the next movie. There’s this love thing going on. But I’ll do the next best thing. I’ll put you in a slab of concrete and ship you off to Mars”, he told Empire.

Then during the filming of Return of the Jedi Ford re-iterated his plea for character "death":
"I just thought that it would supply some emotional bottom, a grounding. George didn't agree, and so that did not happen."

For an in-depth review of Harrison's complicated relationship to the character that made him a HUGE box office star, check out this article.



So we know that Harrison Ford wanted his character to die in a way that carried great emotional impact. Could it be that Ford came back to finally get that death he wanted so much? (Well, that and another shot at a satisfying Indiana Jones movie.) What better way for the plot of the Sequel Trilogy to be realized than for Han Solo to be mixed up in it and die? What better way to show that no one is safe than to illustrate that one of the main characters has died? What better way to illustrate just how lethal the new villain(s) is/are???

Course, the only downside to this speculation is that it's rather predictable, I know. But it makes a ton of sense on all accounts: Ford (Solo) passes the torch to his kid(s), serves to motivate the plot, and illustrates the lethality of the villains, as well as the desperation of the conflict. Plus, Harrison finally gets to put Han Solo to rest once and for all in a dramatic way that creates an "emotional bottom."



As for the most watched ankle in forever, according to new reports, Harrison is said to require at least 6 to 8 weeks to recover before he can start filming again:
“At the moment it looks like Harrison is going to be off set for six to eight weeks but the main priority is making sure he is OK.”

But this won't hold up filming as JJ and co were able to shift things around to work around the accident:
A source told the Mirror “The initial day or two after the accident it was hard to move things around but now we have had more time we can juggle things, bring some scenes forward and push others back. There are lots of other actors in the movie so it is not a disaster. We are still confident the film can stay on schedule."

As a die-hard Han Solo fan, the prospect of losing the character is rather dis-heartening, if not entirely understandable. As a die-hard Harrison Ford fan, I thank Mr. Ford for deftly bringing "Han Solo" to life and making him my favorite character, even if he never understood him or his popularity. And despite his reluctance to play the character again, I think I speak for all Star Wars fans when I say, "Thank you, Mr. Ford, for coming back one, last time," if this indeed turns out to be the case. 


78 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. A trip to the freeze chamber of Bespin?

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    2. A dream vacation to a secluded island with Jar-Jar Binks.

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    3. I`m sorry but when did Harrison get so old he was unable to express his intentions? Tired of hearing from his kid unless it comes from Hans mouth its not fact! Lucas`s kid says ep 7-9 was written years ago

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  2. "last" and "latest" can easily be misspoken ...especially on live TV. also he could have said "shooting HIS last star wars."

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    1. Exactly. "Shooting the last Star Wars" would be a very strange way to say this is Harrison's last one, Freudian or not.
      Extreme straw-grasping here

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    2. I thought the same exact thing when I read the comments of Ford's son. Then I saw that this was an Echo-07 article, so it figures.

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  3. Very shortly after the news broke about the big 3 appearing in Ep.7 I began thinking that Ford may still get his wish (the death of Solo) & the way Kasden could use said death is right in his wheelhouse .. we'll see?

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    1. Lol! Wouldn't it be a big kick in the balls if Harrison's contribution to the movie, after all the fuss, was like Kevin Costner's in The Big Chill?

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    2. & that means?? (i have not seen/nor have heard about "the big chill")

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    3. It's a great film! You should see it! Kevin Costner played the recently deceased friend whose funeral reunites the rest of his pals after years apart from each other. The film was originally supposed to end with a lengthy flashback sequence to when they were all younger and good friends so this was a big break for Costner. But Lawrence Kasdan (yes, Empire, Raiders, Jedi, and Episode 7 writer Kasdan was the writer/director) decided it broke down the pacing too much and cut the sequence so the only part of Costner's performance that remains is a few close-up shots at the start of the film of his corpse being dressed for the funeral. You never even see his face.

      By the way, I've waited decades for a chance to see that missing sequence from The Big Chill! If anyone knows how I might see it, please let me know!

      And if you're not familiar with Kasdan's directorial work, both "Body Heat" and, especially "Silverado" are absolutely wonderful films as well! I would certainly think the western, "Silverado" would appeal to most Star Wars fans!

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  4. It sounded like a mix between "latest" and "last." He meant latest. This isn't "THE last star wars movie" nor did he say "HIS last Star Wars movie." Therefore, oh what am I saying...hanging on to one word from the son of one of the actors haha. I'm going to go outside now.

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  5. “'I wouldn’t take that bet,' he said, *shutting the door on the reckless smuggler once and for all*. 'I wouldn’t bet on that, no.'”

    Boy, hindsight has a sick sense of humor.

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  6. Agree with anonymous 5:42pm. Sounds like he didn't know whether to say 'last' or 'latest'.

    Nice post Echo-07!

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  7. I'd honestly be surprised if Han Solo's character DIDN'T die in the new movie. It's not a stretch to imagine it was one of Ford's demands for coming back. Similar to demands Charlton Heston made for the character of Taylor in the Planet Of the Apes sequel.

    Big Daddy Dave.

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  8. Han Solo may very well die in the movie but I don't think that quote has anything to do with it.

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  9. They may have dusted off plot ideas discarded during the writing of the OT to pad the sequel trilogy treatments, one being Solo's heroic sacrifice/death. Be a good way for Solo's story to end, as he wasn't treated too well in RotJ, little more than a buffoon with a blaster. Giving him back the gravitas he carried in ANH, and his smuggler's edge, would round him off respectfully.

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  10. Killing Han is a perfect opportunity to create an emotional blow and depth to the film, to establish that it's out with the old and in with the new, and also blow off dead weight because let's be honest, although he's a great personality, there's no way Han Solo is a pivotal role in the galaxy, especially at 70 years old and 35 years after Jedi. I mean Luke is the Jedi leader so he's mega important, and I guess Leia is probably the new chancellor/leader of the new republic, or the leader of the rebels if the story is still rebels vs empire so she's super important too. But Han is just an ex smuggler, and presumably just some commander or general. And my bet is that Harrison said he would only do it if he can finally die and finally get Han out of his memory haha

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    1. Plus, it's Disney. At least one of the parents has to die!

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  11. hm just put in some headphones and I swear he says 'next'. It sounds like he started to say last but then changed it to next. Definitely don't hear 'latest' as some people are suggesting lol

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    1. I agree. He said "shooting the NEXT Star Wars".

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  12. Rememeber Ford wanted to diein the OT, however years before the Disney takeover Lucas had 'several' meetings with "the big three" and Lucas said if anyone of them wanted out they had a choice, and that the role WOULD NOT be re-cast, but written out of the scprit. SO I say that to say Ford is either being paid a lot of money or this or the next movie will be his last. Don't be surprised!

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  13. I think it's safe to say he demanded a ridiculously high pay cheque, a big role in the film, and for his character to then die.

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  14. Although I believe Han will die in ep VII, I don't think his son said last. His words got mumbled and I think he said "latest"

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  15. Dead Man Walking! Or in this case, not walking. I expect Han to die. Should be cool to see him and Chewy go out in a blaze of glory with a big smiles on their faces.

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    1. i sure do hope that chewy doesn't die too if han solo is being killed off

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    2. Like Avon in the bloodbath of a finale of the last episode of Blake's 7

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    3. I imagine Chewbacca holding the dying Han solo. Solo says a few smart ass comments to chewbacca, and chewbacca is howling with grief.

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  16. I don't mind Han's death in VII being predictable. However, if they're going to do it, just do it right! Make us care beyond our love for this iconic character.

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  17. If Han doesn't die in Episode VII, he'll almost certainly be killed off by the end of the ST. I mean, let's face it... Harrison was absolutely right to have wanted Han to die in ROTJ. Lucas punted so badly as far as Han's role in that film went. Other than being a living, breathing McGuffin in the Jabba portion of the movie, Han really didn't have any significant role in the movie, and certainly no further character development. A last-minute heroic sacrifice as Harrison suggested would have really brought the character full circle and given him some genuine depth.

    Now, I assume that Han's character has been written a lot better and more appropriately in the Episode VII script. But I still think that he needs a good, emotionally satisfying death. And I expect he'll probably get one. As others here have already pointed out, it's very likely that this was a condition of Harrison's involvement in the movie to begin with.

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    1. If Han dies protecting/defending his wife&kids, but more importantly LUKE from the new threat/(ancient fear) as in the rumoured jedi hunters/inquisitors, stopping one or more of them before they manage to kill Luke, that could be very emotional, Han defeating an enemy far more powerful than him & giving his life in doing so, since he knows how important Luke is. That would give a lot of emotional depth. Han for the rescue one last time & it would mirror his last minute rescue in A NEW HOPE

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  18. The MOST important question here is -- Will he take that space ship with him when he dies?

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    1. Yes! That is exactly what I'm wondering myself..

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    2. well hopefully chewie makes it & we will see the return of Lando in ep.8 , so they'll make the crew of millenium falcon...

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    3. Yea I'd be cool with that, but I'd like to believe that Han and Chewie go together, because the whole Life Debt from EU. But since that's been scrubbed, who knows.

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  19. No future in Dead Han toys.

    Just glad that Benedick Cummabatch is not in this movie. He is in every damn thing.

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  20. as in most recent

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  21. It sounds like he mixed up the words, I kind of heard an "N" there as in "next", but instead he minced a bit and it sounded like "L-next"... does anyone else hear that?

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    1. Yes I hear exactly the same. 'L-next'. I don't hear 'latest' at all.

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  22. Um, if some of you are dense enough to actually believe Solo will come out of 7 alive, your probably going to be disappointed. As soon as there were rumors he had agreed to come back, and as soon as they said he had a big part next to the other mains, I knew he was a dead man.

    Film history will teach you this to be true.

    Oh, and using toys as an excuse will not do much good. People will buy more young Han toys than Old Han toys. Han dieing as an old man will have no effect on Disney selling Han Solo merch forever.

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    1. Or perhaps some are dense enough to believe that a predictable/cliche death is the most likely outcome due to nerdy internet rumors.

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    2. He is dead. You really think he will be a 77 year old man playing Han Solo in EP 9? Come on.

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    3. "Um, if some of you are dense enough..."

      "...your probably going to be..."

      Hilarious. Harshly critiquing the intelligence of people with subjective opinions, while writing objectively like a moron.

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    4. What about all the other ancient people involved? Mark and Carrie are getting up there. John Williams is almost 90... so to is Von Sydow. Will they all be killed off in Episode 7 as well? There must be some type of anti-geriatric conspiracy that I'm unaware of.

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    5. Mark and Carrie aren't that old yet. You hit 70 and things change. Look at Leonard Nimoy in his last Trek movie... looked like he was knockin on Heaven's door. And yes, John Williams and Von Sydow will def be killed off if they survive the next few months of production. Clock is ticking on them big time.

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    6. You do realize Williams is the composer right? lolz

      Never underestimate people of old age... my grandma is 95 and She still drives/ does gardening/ is sharp as a tack. John Williams is still looking quite spry. I just hope something like a dumbledore replacement doesn't happen, that would be sad and would really suck for all of us too.

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  23. As a longtime OT fan I can say that it will be surreal if they kill off Luke, Leia or Han in the ST. That can be a HUGE emotional scene or scenes that the PT was sorely lacking.

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    1. luke should be alive in all 3 , but if he dies, he can always come back as a force ghost :)

      but i agree, any death of the big 3 would be surreal & emotional, especially Han Solo

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    2. I think part of the very point of the sequel trilogy is to tell how the lives of Han, Luke and Leia ended, and so definitely complete their stories. As far as the Force-sensitive siblings are concerned, this can be framed as more of an "ascension" than a simple "death". But I would save the exit of Luke and Leia for the end of the trilogy, in Episode 9. Han can go earlier.

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    3. what if they go one by one? one in each movie starting with Han, i wonder who will be last in that case?

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  24. this can't happen! such a great actor!
    NOO!

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  25. I think it sounded a lot more like "latest" than "last".

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    1. weird... it sounds like a cross between latest and last. Almost a Freudian slip. But yeah, Han will die.

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  26. Fact is someone is going to die in episode 7, look at episode 1 and 4 someone died to drive a characters motivation. 1.Luke 2.Han These two are my best bet on main character dying.

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    1. Honestly I think it could be Leia, particularly if these Jedi Hunter rumours are true. It could even provoke a dark side fall for Luke?

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    2. If Luke fell to the dark side in the ST, The themes of the OT would become irrelevent. Luke is a primary protagonist that represents the strength of will power; the fact that good conquers evil. It'd be an abomination for Luke to fall, especially all of this time after ROTJ.

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    3. The whole point of Luke is that he doesn't go down his fathers path into the dark side. Why does everyone want this new trilogy to piss all over the OT??

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    4. AnonymousJune 17, 2014 at 9:29 PM
      When in fact it will exhault it! Have no fear.

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  27. What if they make a "Dark knight returns" ending for Han Solo? He drive of to his death to save the others bit still leaves an anoying hope that he survives and return perhaps in EP IX? It would be a way to make it easier to face facts in 4 years that Ford is an old actor. Sorry for bad english, I hope you understand what I mean.

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    1. I think you mean dark knight rises. But it sounds like a cool idea!

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  28. I wonder how much the big three are connected in ep vii. I mean will we even get any Leia/Han/Luke scenes together? After all, it would be incredible to see the gang reunite.

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  29. I really enjoyed the article you linked to about Harrison's relationship with Han over the years. I remember seeing him interviewed when Empire opened and he was really excited about the film. I think when he says things in later years about the character being "thin" and whatnot, he's really talking about Return of the Jedi.

    And rightly so! Han, who for my money is the real hero of The Empire Strikes Back, is given precious little to do in Jedi. He spends most of his time reacting to a giant slug and to a bunch of teddy bears! So I can see where it might have soured him on the series.

    I'm guessing that the main thing that Abrams and the script had to do to convince him to come back was to assure him that Han would be a major, serious, heroic character again as he was in the first two films. I hope so anyway! But I do fear that there's a reasonable chance that he also insisted on being killed off. I'm sure it would depend on what they had planned for him in the following two films.

    In any case, whether Solo will die or not is the virtual definition of the word, "spoiler."

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  30. By the way, in that article that you linked to, are a number of video interview clips with Ford over the years, all of which are interesting. In one clip, you see the fan who has waited SIX DAYS in line for Return of the Jedi. (Nothing compared to the 6 weeks that many would wait in line for The Phantom Menace and the other prequels!) That fan is Jeff Crispow who was a good friend of mine. Sadly, he absolutely hated Return of the Jedi and I believe he claims to have never watched it again! It's sad when heavy duty fandom actually becomes an impediment to enjoying the later movies!

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  31. As a kid watching the "Empire of Dreams" documentary I never understood Harrison Ford's desire to kill off Han Solo, but these days as a late teenager and aspiring writer I can totally get where he is coming from. I think it has more to do with "leaving on a high-note" out of respect for the character and the fans it has gained. Why not do a great, outstanding job and then just tie it up nicely and leave it be, rather than leave it open for somebody to mess it up? I think the very same creative mindset caused The Beatles to never make any more records. As much as I enjoy Return of the Jedi, by that time in the story Han Solo had served his purpose and wasn't really left with much to do. Sure, he helped take out the base on Endor, but an easy re-write could've had Leia do that herself. If Solo had died during the first act of that movie, it would've swept the rug underneath the feet of all viewers and turned the suspense up a notch, maybe even making it as dark as Empire Strikes Back. Luke sure as hell would've had more emotions troubling him when confronting The Emperor and more reason to give in to revenge for his lost friend.

    That said, the film is fine and I respect anyone who enjoys it. But I get why Ford wanted the character dead. If it serves no purpose for the story other than standing around (or maybe crawling around in some bushes with a couple of Ewoks), you might as well not put him in there at all. I sure hope though that they make a VERY GOOD use of Han's death in Episode VII, if it happens. Please let it not just be an act of pleasing Ford. Give it purpose. Give it gravitas. Make it good.

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  32. Ford begrudgingly agrees to appear in this film, assuming he was paid a boat load. Then early in the filming process, shoddy workmanship results in a steel door breaking the poor guy's ankle. Point is, I don't know if he'd want to return. Again, that boat load of money could persuade him, but I'm sure safety would be a major condition.

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  33. theyve probably already filmed some of his ep 8 scenes

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  34. I wish there was someway the SW community could make something like a giant get well soon card, with like a few million signatures.... He'd probably dig that.

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    1. That is a nice thought but it has to be a lot of people staying in close proximity for this to happen.

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  35. "... THE last Star Wars movie"

    Not

    "...HIS last Star Wars movie."

    So, there's a diff in meaning.

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  36. Wow... so much news on so little..

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  37. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  38. Please ....
    All of these Hollywood stars frackin' lie rhrough thier effing teeth.
    "I wouldn't take that bet, no" yet here he is playing Solo.
    And that BS about wanting Solo to die somhe could be out of it.
    Right, right Harry: you were just gonna throw away allllll that "Star Wars" money just so you could maintain your thespianic integrity .....
    These people make me effing sick.
    But, worse than them, are these dummies that think they REALLY want nothing to do with "Star Wars" anymore. Well, if that's the case, Mr. Ford, why didn't you just simply say "No" to VII? Oh yes, that's right: you're doing it for the fans .... Pathetic.

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  39. I think the movie release could get delayed due to his health or they cut Ford's lines. Option 1 sounds better to me. If it gets pushed to Memorial Day 2016 then Warner Bros will have to wuss out and put out Batman/Superman abomination at another time of year. Anything to sink the USS Batfleck is a good thing.

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  40. I'm putting money on Solo getting killed off at some point in the ST, but I don't think it'll be in the falcon, or with chewie, I reckon the new generation will end up inheriting it instead, thus gives disney the ability to keep selling falcon merchandise ad infinitum...
    Besides, hasn't the falcon been owned loads of times before to various other folks, so it makes sense to pass it on with it being as iconic as it is.

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  41. My Bet is Disney would never let Han Solo die. To much of a fan base there with him. And if he died in the first of the next three some fans would be done with the series. And Disney folks is all about the money... Just like Fox is and was. I think it was a slip as his son may not be a fan and plugged in to what is going on. Then again if Han would die then they would get some plugs for the spin off of him or maybe not. Remember folks there are more Han Solo fans in the trilogy than Luke and Boba Fett combined and it is all about the money in the end with Disney...;)

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