Even though he was killed by his own son, Kylo Ren, in The Force Awakens (oh, erm, spoilers), we certainly haven't seen the last of Han Solo. Apart from that prequel film (which might spawn a sequel or two), he will probably also appear in Episode VIII in some form. Yet Solo's life in the Star Wars saga could have been a lot shorter - Harrison Ford nearly didn't sign up for Return of the Jedi at all. The original end of The Empire Strikes Back saw Han as free as a bird, going off in search of his step-father but promising to return to Leia. However, while Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher had already agreed to a third film, Ford was more hesitant. His star was on the rise - he was soon to appear in Raiders of the Lost Ark - and he was getting somewhat tired with his character. Because of this, the end of Empire was rewritten to cut Han out of the franchise, but without killing him off - and so the idea of freezing him in carbonite was born. Thankfully, Ford did eventually agree to do Return and the rest is history. But imagine if he hadn't - Han could have been left as a 3-D wall painting forever more! What's your favourite lesser-known fact about Han Solo? Comment it up, fuzzball!
