Harrison Ford and Han Solo are intertwined. Ever since audiences first saw the actor play the smooth-talking smuggler in Star Wars, Han Solo has become one of the most famous movie characters of all time. In a franchise filled with colorful aliens and Jedi knights, Han Solo still stands as a fan favorite, and the character is so beloved that Ford’s return to the role was the final shot of The Force Awakens’ theatrical trailer.

Yet despite how popular Han is, Harrison Ford famously wanted to kill the character off after The Empire Strikes Back. It would have been a controversial move for sure, and one that never came to pass in the original trilogy, yet many have wondered why Ford wanted to kill off one of his most iconic characters. Take a look and see why Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die.

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Conflicting Statements from Ford

     20th Century Fox

There are two accounts for Ford wanting to kill Han Solo, and both come from the actor himself; however, both contradict one another but also might reveal a greater truth. The first and most famous is that he wanted to kill the character off because he was tired of playing the character. Han Solo might have made Ford a household name, but he found the character thin and did not have much depth to work with.

The other common talking point is that Ford thought Han should die in Return of the Jedi, and commit an act of self-sacrifice to save Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Ford felt this would help raise the stakes for the third film, as the audience would fear for the safety of the characters. Ford likely figured he had gone as far as he could with Han Solo, but felt that giving the character a death was the way to give him an emotional cathartic arc, bringing him from a dastardly rogue to a self-sacrificing hero.

The Original Plan

While Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher both signed three-picture contracts, Harrison Ford did not. Unsure if the actor would reprise his role in the third film, the character is put into a carbon freeze with his fate left up to be determined by the third film. When it came time to write Return of the Jedi, Ford had made his point to filmmaker George Lucas, but Lucas rejected the idea and said there was no future in dead Han Solo toys. Lucas got what he wanted, and Han Solo did not die.

Ford did reprise his role in Return of the Jedi, yet the movie does make a good argument for his case. Han Solo does not have much to do in Return of the Jedi, and while rescuing him does take up all of Act 1, for the rest of the movie the character has lost his roguish nature that audiences fell in love with and is acting like a straight lace hero. This was clearly Han Solo’s character arc, but in the finished film, Han Solo does seem to have lost the extra bit of edge that made audiences fall in love with him. Yet one wonders how audiences would have responded to the most popular character in Star Wars being killed off at the beginning of what many thought would be the final film.

Ford Returned to Han Solo on One Condition

     Walt Disney Studios

Ford had eagerly returned to play Indiana Jones after a 19-year absence with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Yet when asked about a potential return to Han Solo, the actor never seemed interested. Nobody realistically expected Ford to ever reprise his role as Han Solo, due to the Star Wars franchise opting for a prequel trilogy and the franchise supposedly being over with the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005. But on October 30, 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm and announced that they were developing Episodes VII, VIII, and IX and would reunite the original cast. While no deal was in place when the announcement was made, Ford did agree to return.

While no official word has been made, it appears part of the reason Ford returned to the franchise was the filmmakers were able to court him by finally granting his wish to kill Han Solo. The Force Awakens brought on Lawrence Kasdan who wrote both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and Kasdan was the writer who agreed with Ford that Han Solo should die. For The Force Awakens, killing off Han Solo both satisfied Ford’s original request and also served the story as it helped set up the threat and arc for the franchise’s main villain Kylo Ren, who would be revealed as the son of Han and Leia. While Ford did reprise his role for a cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, due to Carrie Fisher having passed away and not being able to conclude Kylo Ren’s character arc, it appears that was truly the final time Ford will play Han Solo. Ford may not have gotten his wish back in 1983, but 32 years later with The Force Awakens, Han Solo finally died.