6 Movie Characters Who Were Just Too Damn GOOD To Die

2. Han Solo - Return Of The Jedi

Obviously Han Solo is no longer with us after Kylo Ren killed the past and drove his lightsaber through his heart, but originally, he was supposed to die well before that in the Star Wars franchise.

Though George Lucas wasn't keen from the outset, Harrison Ford and Lawrence Kasdan both decided that Han Solo ought to be killed at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. He would be freed from his stoney captivity only to be killed off later, as producer, Gary Kurtz confirmed later:

"The original idea was that they would recover [the kidnapped] Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George then decided he didn't want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason."

The original plan would have seen him killed while trying to destroy the shield generator, but George Lucas changed it because - in Ford's words - he "didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys."