Star Wars: 50 Greatest Moments - Ranked

19. Han's Death (The Force Awakens)

Star Wars The Force Awakens Han Solo death
Lucasfilm

Death is a huge part of the franchise - as you'd expect from something that has Wars in its title. And over the years we've sad goodbye to a number of great characters, such as Obi-Wan and Yoda - albeit both lived-on as Force Ghosts.

No death in the saga, though, hits as hard as that of Han Solo. The charming rogue, the scoundrel, the reluctant rebel and daring hero, his death was one easy to see coming, and yet that didn't lessen the impact - or the devastation - of the moment.

Sent by Leia to bring their son back, the writing is on the wall when he steps onto the bridge and yells out "BEN!". From there it plays out with the longing of a father who just wants to help his child, and the inner-conflict within said son fully swaying to the Dark Side. The cinematography, with the blue and red lighting, may be gorgeous, but this scene is pure tragedy, and almost guaranteed to jerk a few tears out of you.

Advertisement
In this post: 
Star Wars
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.