Whether you loved or hated ‘The Rise of Skywalker‘ (in the interest of transparency, I’ll admit I enjoyed the film), one of the highlights of the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga was the cameo by Harrison Ford as Han Solo. The scene, which marked the transition for his son from Kylo Ren back into Ben Solo and gave Ben Solo closure for everything that happened with his family, was a powerful and somewhat poignant moment in the movie, with a few memorable callbacks, and Ford bringing some real heart and gravitas to the decision by Ben Solo to return to the light side. Coupled with the fact that in the movie it was the love of his mother which sparked the apparition of Han (Leia is holding Han’s old medal while she lays in bed during this scene), and one can definitely feel the emotional weight of the moment, and forgive the film a bit if Ben Solo’s return to the light seemed a bit rush following this scene.
Of course, it was also one of the bigger surprises in the movie for fans, as everyone had thought Ford was done with the franchise following his character’s death in ‘The Force Awakens.’ When asked on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live‘ about his character dying in ‘The Force Awakens,’ Harrison Ford stated:
“I figured that his utility had been exhausted, bled out, and was … well, I was willing to die for the cause. Bring some gravitas.”
When he was next asked about coming back for ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ Ford jokingly answered:
“No good deed goes unpunished…J.J. said, ‘This is a good idea. I, J.J., have decided that this is a good idea and I would like you to do it.'”
Kimmel followed that statement up by asking Ford is he trusted J.J. Abrams on these types of decisions, to which Ford replied, somewhat comically:
“Don’t you?”
Speaking of Abrams, during a recent interview he had with Vanity Fair, the vaunted director spoke on the decision to bring back Ford for one scene in ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ explaining what it was like convincing the man to come back knowing that Ford had been aiming to kill off Han Solo for years but also knowing that Ford would come back if there were a genuine need and motivation for his presence:
“We had a meeting and talked about what it would be. Harrison, who is one of the great people ever, and incredibly thoughtful about everything that he does, all he ever wants is to understand the utility of the character. ‘What is my role?’ It was about sitting with him and explaining what our intention was. We talked about it for quite a while, I sent him the pages. He got it, and of course, as you can see, he was wonderful.”
Did you enjoy seeing the specter of Han Solo in ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ as much as I did? Did it all make sense in the context of the movie? Feel free to weigh in with your opinions below!
