Han Solo is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars franchise. When he was trapped in carbonite at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, fans couldn’t wait to see what came next. Did you know the real reason why George Lucas decided to freeze Han Solo?
The dramatic ending to ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980. In the second movie of the original Star Wars trilogy, things look hopeless for the trio of main characters: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia.
Han, played by Harrison Ford, and Leia are captured by Darth Vader in an attempt to lure Luke into a trap. Vader then freezes Han in carbonite as a test to see if Luke could be imprisoned in the same fashion. Han is successfully frozen and given to the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who in turn hands the trapped Han Solo off to Jabba the Hutt and collects the bounty Jabba had put on Han’s head.
The movie ends with Han still encased in carbonite. Star Wars fans were excited to see what would come next for the movie’s heroes. However, the reasoning behind why the space smuggler was trapped could have meant the end of Han Solo.
Why George Lucas left Han Solo encased in carbonite
Unlike Mark Hamill, who played Luke, and Carrie Fisher, who played Leia, Ford was only contractually obligated to be in one Star Wars sequel. After The Empire Strikes Back, Ford was no longer required to come back and play Han.
Ford was also unsure if he even wanted to return to the franchise. His role in Star Wars made him a huge name in Hollywood. His interest in exploring other roles, as well as his new starring role in the Indiana Jones movies, meant Ford was seriously considering letting Han Solo remain in the carbonite forever.
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Lucas and the rest of the Star Wars writers were aware that they might not be able to feature Han in the next installment, 1983’s Return of the Jedi. They still wanted to keep the possibility that Han Solo might return, though, which is why they left him trapped but still alive instead of just killing him off.
Why Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die in ‘Return of the Jedi’
Even though Ford ended up returning for the final film in the trilogy, the actor has been very vocal about the fact that he wanted Lucas to kill Han Solo off in Return of the Jedi.
“I did think the character itself was relatively thin.” Ford explained further, “I would have liked to see some complication for the character; the only complication I didn’t get was to die at the end of the third one. I thought that would have given the whole film a bottom, but I couldn’t talk George into it.”
Mark Hamill revealed the ending of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was originally much darker
The Empire Strikes Back ends pretty darkly for the movie’s heroes. But Hamill revealed that the last scene was added months after filming officially wrapped to avoid making the ending a complete downer.
“Filmed 4 months after we wrapped principal photography on #ESB, it wasn’t a ‘re-shoot’, it was an added scene,” Hamill wrote on Twitter of the scene between him, Fisher, and the robots C-3PO and R2D2. “Concerned about the downbeat ending & thorough defeat of the protagonists, they wanted to add an uplifting moment of hope & rejuvenation to reassure the audience.”
