Han Solo

"Never tell me the odds!"

- Han Solo

Han Solo was a male Human smuggler from the planet Corellia. His best friend and first mate was Chewbacca, a Wookiee from Kashyyyk, whom Solo affectionately referred to as "Chewie". Solo piloted a customized freighter, the Millennium Falcon, which he had won from fellow scoundrel Lando Calrissian.

Solo and Chewbacca would later join the Rebel Alliance after rescuing Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan from the Death Star, a battle station constructed by the Galactic Empire capable of destroying entire planets, and assisting in the destruction of the same battlestation in a later battle. Solo would later become a General thanks to his efforts in a number of Alliance battles against the Galactic Empire.

Meeting Luke Skywalker
Solo was delivering a shipment of spice for Jabba the Hutt, which he jettisoned when Imperial forces boarded his ship. Unable to repay his debt, Solo hided out in the Mos Eisley cantina on Tatooine after Jabba placed a bounty on his head.

It was there Chewbacca brought him to meet the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Luke Skywalker, who needed to charter a ship to Alderaan. Solo and Kenobi haggled over their settlement until the Jedi agreed to pay 17,000 credits.

Almost immediately, Solo was confronted by the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo. Their violent altercation concluded with Solo fatally shooting the bounty hunter, and he promptly left while apologizing for the mess. However, he was confronted by Jabba himself by the Falcon in Docking Bay 94, flanked by several bounty hunters including Boba Fett. Fortunately, Jabba was cordial enough to allow Solo more time after he explained how he had found a way to repay his debt, and left.

Kenobi, Luke and their droids C-3PO and R2-D2 arrived. Imperial stormtroopers pursuing the droids, forcing Solo to make a quick getaway. When the Falcon arrived at Alderran's coordinates, they seemingly found themselves in a meteor shower, but Solo quickly surmised that the planet had been destroyed, although he was at a loss as to explain how. The Falcon was spotted by a lone TIE fighter, which the Falcon followed to an enormous space station.

Rescuing Princess Leia
The Millennium Falcon was pulled into the Death Star by a tractor beam. Solo, Chewbacca and their passengers concealed themselves into the storage compartments to avoid detection, and then lured a pair of stormtroopers guarding the captured ship to steal their uniforms. After seizing control of the hangar control room, Kenobi left to deactivate the tractor beam, while R2-D2, using the Imperial Computer Network, learned Princess Leia was being held prisoner on the station.

Solo refused to participate in her rescue, until Luke reminded him that she was a princess, and could therefore offer a substantial reward. Using Chewbacca to pose as their prisoner, the two men escorted him to where Leia Organa was being held, in Detention block AA23. The trio dispatched the guards stationed there, but the alarm was activated, and Solo's halfhearted message on the comlink simply placed the whole station on alert.

They escaped the ensuing firefight by following Leia's suggestion to slide down a garbage chute. Finding themselves locked in a trash compactor, the four were nearly killed until R2-D2 remotely deactivated the closing walls. They fought their way back to the Millennium Falcon, but were forced to leave Kenobi behind, as he sacrificed himself to stave off the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Aiding the Rebellion
After the Falcon destroyed pursuing TIE fighters, they flew to the Rebel base on Yavin 4, where the droids delivered the plans for the Death Star's layout. The Rebels discovered a fatal flaw in the station's construction, and decided to make an assault. Solo declined participating, preferring to take his reward and fulfill his debt. He ultimately had a change of heart and joined the battle, sneaking up on Darth Vader's TIE fighter, thereby allowing Luke to take the shot that would destroy the Death Star.

Afterwards, the Rebels relocated to Echo Base on Hoth. Solo, meanwhile, ran into a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell, forcing him to leave and fulfill his debt to Jabba. While repairing the Falcon, Solo learned Luke had gone missing on patrol. Riding out on a tauntaun in the midst of snowstorm, Han found Luke had been attacked by a wampa. After the tauntaun collapsed and died from the cold, Han used Luke's lightsaber to cut the animal open and placed him inside to prevent him from freezing to death.

After bringing Luke back to recover from his injuries, Han and Chewbacca went out to investigate a signal and encountered an Imperial probe droid. Realizing the Empire had discovered their location, the Rebels decided to evacuate. During the ensuing battle, Han rescued Leia from the collapsed command center, and escaped on the still unrepaired Falcon.

Fleeing to Cloud City, a tibanna gas mine on Bespin run by Calrissian, Han was betrayed and handed over to Boba Fett, who had agreed to fulfill the bounty so Vader could lure Skywalker into a trap. Solo was encased in carbonite and loaded onto Slave I. Jabba kept his encased body as a trophy. Solo was eventually rescued by Skywalker, Organa, Chewbacca, and Calrissian, while both Jabba and Fett were killed in the rescue, allowing him to continue his services with the Rebellion unhindered.

Personality and traits
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

- Han Solo to Luke Skywalker

Han Solo was a cynical, disagreeable individual whose primary concern was gaining enough money to preserve his own life. He and Luke immediately disliked each other: Solo found Luke irritating and overly eager, and his open disdain for Kenobi's beliefs and actions did little to change Luke's initial view of Solo as an extortionist. However, after Han demonstrated his bravery on the Death Star and proved his loyalty, they became genuine friends.

Origins and development
"You old stardog. Took a war to get you out here&hellip;"

- Han Solo's opening line in the rough draft of The Star Wars

Han Solo was created by George Lucas during the development of Lucas's 1977 film Star Wars, and is present in Lucas's 132-page The Star Wars: Rough Draft, completed in May 1974. In the draft, Solo is a Ureallian, and is described as a huge green-skinned monster with no nose and large gills. He is a member of the Jedi Bendu and an old friend of General Skywalker. As Lucas refined his story, Solo evolved into a burly, bearded, flamboyantly-dressed pirate. Although Lucas had originally intended for Solo to be a nefarious alien character, he settled on the idea of a Human so that he could develop more of a relationship between the film's three primary characters. Chewbacca thus filled the role of the alien sidekick. By August 1975, when Lucas had written his third draft, Solo was described as: "A tough James Dean style starpilot about twenty-five years old. A cowboy in a starship -- simple, sentimental and cocksure of himself." This incarnation of Solo's character went on to appear in the finished film.

While developing Solo's character, Lucas defined him in relation to the film's hero, Luke Skywalker. Selflessness was an important theme throughout the film, and Skywalker was a selfless young idealist. Lucas thought of Solo as the sidekick with contrary morals to the hero, and wrote him as a selfish character. Harrison Ford, who portrayed Solo in all three films of Star Wars original trilogy, has described Solo as the smartass to Skywalker's callow youth, with each character having had a clear section of turf to explore.

Portrayal
"I thought that the luck of the character was that he represented something close to the audience's sensibilities because of his distance and resistance to the mythology."

- Harrison Ford

When casting the role of Solo, Lucas sought actors who had individual screen presence as well as chemistry with Skywalker. He wanted Solo to be older than Skywalker and to possess a cynical edge. Lucas desired new and unknown actors to play Star Wars major roles, and originally forbade Harrison Ford from auditioning, having worked with him on the 1973 film American Graffiti. Ford was working as a carpenter on the set of the auditions, and was brought in by Lucas to feed lines to the actors who were auditioning, including Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, and Perry King. While feeding lines, Ford impressed Lucas by giving the character a mix of mercenary swagger and world weariness, and convinced the director to let him play the part.

Ford went on to portray Solo in both of Star Wars sequels, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi, as well as 1978's The Star Wars Holiday Special. He was hesitant to sign the contracts for the sequels, however, feeling that Solo's character should be killed off. When Lucas was discussing the script of Return of the Jedi with director Richard Marquand and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, the three were unsure if Ford would return for the film. Solo's character had been frozen in carbonite during the climax of The Empire Strikes Back, and Ford was a rising star in Hollywood following his starring role as Indiana Jones in 1982's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ford himself thought that Solo should die in Jedi, sacrificing himself to save Skywalker and Princess Leia. He reasoned that Solo had no family, future, or responsibilities to the story, and that his death would give the story some resonance. Kasdan also believed that a major character death early in Jedi would keep audiences worried, believing that none of the characters were safe. Lucas vetoed the idea, however, and Solo ultimately survived.

The script of The Empire Strikes Back originally called for Solo to respond to Princess Leia's declaration of "I love you" with "I love you too". Ford disliked the line, feeling that the established character of Solo wasn't being taken advantage of. After many takes, director Irvin Kershner wasn't satisfied either. He told Ford not to think about it, and to say whatever he thought that Solo would say. When Ford improvised the line "I know", Kirshner felt that it was perfect for the character, and it was included in the film's final cut.

Harrison Ford has referred to Solo as an inherently relatable character to audiences, owing to his separation from the overarching mythological themes of the saga. However, he saw Solo as a chess piece that could be moved around and even killed, as the character wasn't as important to Star Wars as its Force-using characters. Ford has called Solo a thin character, and one that wasn't interesting enough to be developed throughout several sequels, unlike Indiana Jones. As such, Ford thought that if Solo died in Return of the Jedi, it would introduce a needed complication for the character and give the story resonance.

Several unused concepts and shots of Solo exist within Star Wars film lore. The scene that sees Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the viewer first meet Solo and Chewbacca in the original film was at one point set to feature Solo sitting with and kissing a woman named Jenny. A young Han Solo was slated to appear on Kashyyyk in 2005's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, living among the planet's Wookiees as well as assisting Yoda. No actor was cast and the character was cut from the final draft. However, the concept was somewhat recycled with Jaybo Hood in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Mystery of a Thousand Moons".

Before reprising the role for Star Wars Episode VII, Ford indicated that he was unlikely to portray Solo again.

Impact on popular culture
"Han Solo is that character that we always wished we could be. I think most of us felt like Luke Skywalker, but we would have loved to have been Han Solo."

- Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In 2005, Solo placed #14 on the list of greatest film heroes composed by the American Film Institute. The criteria involved in the lists's selection included cultural impact, legacy and inspiration to contemporary artists and audiences, and heroism defined as prevailing in extreme circumstances coupled with a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Empire magazine deemed Solo the fourth greatest movie character of all time, citing him as full of charm and laconic cool that was brought by Harrison Ford. The magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked him at #7 on their list of the all-time coolest heroes in pop culture, and the website Fandomania.com placed him at #15 on their 2009 list of the 100 greatest fictional characters.

The developers of the 2008 video game Prince of Persia cited both Solo and Indiana Jones as having inspired their nameless protagonist. Actor Chris Pine also named both characters as sources he drew upon when preparing to play James T. Kirk in the 2009 film Star Trek, mentioning their humor and "accidental hero" traits.

Solo's likeness has been used in a variety of media, including the American television shows Mind of Mencia and Robot Chicken. In the cartoon Family Guy Star Wars-themed episodes Blue Harvest and Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, the character Peter Griffin plays the role of Solo. Mel Brooks's 1987 Star Wars spoof Spaceballs features a character named Captain Lonestar, who parodies both Solo and Skywalker.

When George Lucas made a slight edit to one of Solo's scenes for the 1997 Special Edition of the original Star Wars film, the change and its consequent fan response developed into somewhat of a pop culture meme. The original version of the film depicted Solo shooting the bounty hunter Greedo before Greedo could fire a shot of his own, but the Special Edition added in a laser blast from Greedo that preceded Solo's shot but harmlessly hit the wall. Many fans disapproved of the change, and an online petition that called for Lucas to re-release the original cut of the scene was signed by thousands. T-shirts were produced reading "Han Shot First", and Lucas was even spotted wearing one on the set of the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Arguments over the subject appear in the films Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks II, and a scene from the 2005 movie Serenity was inspired by the debate. When the original versions of the Star Wars trilogy were released on DVD in 2006, a promotional article on StarWars.com stated that fans could "yes, see Han Solo shoot first."

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Heir to the Jedi
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars Episode VII