Star Wars: 14 Crazy Rumours Lucasfilm Started About The Empire Strikes Back In 1980

14. Han Solo Will Die

When speculating about Han Solo's potential death in The Force Awakens, many fans pointed towards statements from Harrison Ford around the time of Return Of The Jedi saying the smuggler should die to up the stakes.

However, the prospect actually predates that - Ford only signed on for one sequel, so there was always the potential he'd leave after Empire, leading to much speculation that Miller really steered into:

The most disquieting rumor (which was reported in People Magazine) is that Han Solo is killed in action leaving the field clear for Luke. But then, we've also heard that Mark Hamill doesn't want to be in Star Wars 3 and so Luke gets killed; or that both Luke and Han die and the saga continues with either the Princess or one of the new characters in the lead.

So there's only been one Star Wars movie where there haven't been rumours Han Solo will die - the 1977 original. It's interesting that there's Luke's death hinted at too, which definitely seems to be layers of lies.