10 Most Notorious Star Wars Urban Legends
4. Harrison Ford Wanted Han Solo Killed Off Ages Ago
Verdict: True
Like many aspiring actors, 22-year-old Harrison Ford travelled to Hollywood with stars in his eyes, but after a string of bit parts and minor roles he soon found himself disenfranchised and at a career crossroads. He became a professional carpenter to support his family and probably would have remained as such had fate not intervened.
Ford was hired to build cabinets for young aspiring filmmaker George Lucas, who subsequently gave him an eye-catching supporting role in American Graffiti and a crucial career break. Lucas would later hire the actor to read lines opposite actors auditioning for Star Wars, and was so taken by Fords performance that he eventually cast him as Han Solo.
This urban legend usually concerns Ford wanting the character bumped off in Return Of The Jedi and it's on the money, with Ford commenting, I thought that would have given the whole film a bottom, but I couldn't talk George into it."
What's less well known is that Ford actually lobbied to have Han Solo offed in The Empire Strikes Back. Ford wanted to explore other avenues after Star Wars catapulted him onto the A-list, but Lucas stood his ground:
Harrison kept yelling through the whole thing, Kill me! Kill me! Kill me! I said, Harrison, I cant kill you. I need you at the end of the next movie. There's this love thing going on. But Ill do the next best thing. Ill put you in a slab of concrete and ship you off to Mars.
Small mercy for him then that The Force Awakens turned out as it did...