Star Wars: 10 Game-Changing Theories For Episode VIII
5. Han Will Return - But In What Form?
There will be a handful of new cast members in Episode VIII but also all the cast members you see here tonight will be in it as well, Kathleen Kennedy said at The Force Awakens London premiere, as a throng of actors stood behind her including a certain gentleman named Harrison Ford. At that stage, we mightve thought she was just trying to avoid spoilers, but a recent casting call seems to suggest otherwise Han Solo is in Episode VIII.
But how? He was stabbed either through the heart or pretty darn close to it before plummeting down a massive shaft into a space station/planet that then blew up. It seems fairly likely, then, that Han Solo must be dead. Is Ford returning to play Solos recovered cadaver at a belated funeral, or is there something more to his Episode VIII role than that?
Reys lightsaber-induced vision was the closest thing Star Wars movies have had to a flashback, so perhaps Han could find his way into a similar scene in Episode VIII, or maybe even a dream/nightmare sequence (maybe for Leia?) come to that.
There is another option of course a Force ghost version of Han - but that seems very unlikely given that Han wasnt a Jedi. He had come to accept the Force, though, so maybe its not entirely out of the question. As Han essentially played the Old Ben Kenobi role in The Force Awakens, you could even argue that a ghostly Han for Episode VIII makes a certain degree of storytelling sense. Well have to wait and see, though.