Han Solo is a main character in the Star Wars original trilogy. He later returns in the sequel trilogy and also as the protagonist of Solo.
He is introduced as a Smuggler working for Jabba the Hutt and initially hired by Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to fly them to Alderaan. Prior to this, Han was an orphan from Corellia, who became best friends with the WookieeChewbacca and was in love with woman named Qi'ra. Han decides to join the cause after helping Luke destroy the Death Star. Since then, he became a Captain in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and one of Luke Skywalker's best friends. Throughout the trilogy, Han and Leia gradually fall in love with each other.
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he is married to Leia and has a son with her named Ben, who turned to the dark side and became Kylo Ren. Han becomes a mentor figure to Finn and Rey, but is killed while he is attempting to redeem his son. However, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Han appears to his son as a memory, and Kylo Ren's love for Rey and his parents turns him back into Ben Solo.
Han and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire. Over the course of the Star Wars franchise, he becomes a chief figure in the Alliance and succeeding galactic governments. Star Wars creator George Lucas described Han as "a loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good".
Personality[]
Han was initially a greedy, egotistical, cynical, reckless, selfish, and money-hungry smuggler. Despite these negative traits, the only thing Han did care about more than money was his best friend Chewbacca, who often served as his conscience in their smuggling endeavors.
However, after saving Luke Skywalker from Darth Vader and joining the Rebel Alliance, Han became responsible, intelligent, calculating, dangerous, overconfident, boastful, kind, caring, brave, loyal, moral, honorable, selfless, and trustworthy, as he would soon become loyal to the Rebellion. Aside from his seemingly self-centered ways, Han is actually very loyal to his friends.
Han is known to dislike droids, discouraging them from traveling in his ship, although he relented in certain circumstances. After he joined the Rebellion, he allowed the protocol droid C-3PO and the astromech droid R2-D2 free access to the Millennium Falcon, as a special case and in attention to Luke's and Leia Organa's wishes. Despite this, Han rarely had a good word to any of the droids, having a particular distaste for "bugs".
Han is shown to be overprotective of his ship, hating whenever the Millennium Falcon is modified or repaired too much, especially by droids. Han is also hesitant to let Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, or anyone else fly it.
Initially, Han did not believe in the Force, as he considered it to be nothing but nonsense. However, by the events of The Force Awakens, Han now fully believes in the Force, likely due to Luke's exploits and seeing his son's ability to use the Force.
Abilities[]
Expert Marksman: Han is extremely skilled in utilizing blasters, especially his signature DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. He is also skilled with a sniper rifle, which he rarely uses.
Expert Pilot: Han is extremely skilled in piloting every type of flying crafts.
Multilingual: Han is capable of fluently speaking Basic, Shyriiwook, Trader's argot, Rodese, Illodian, Huttese, and Mandaba.
Growing up with a local criminal gang on the shipbuilding world of Corellia, Han Solo longed to escape with his lover Qi'ra and become a pilot. They successfully bribed an Imperial officer to grant them passage on an outgoing transport, using some stolen hyperfuel coaxium as payment. Unfortunately, Qi'ra was apprehended by their pursuers before she could board. Han vowed to return for her, and with no means of income, he joined the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet. Three years later however, Han was expelled from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination, and was now serving as an infantryman during a battle on the planet Mimban. During that time, he encountered a gang of criminals, led by Tobias Beckett, posing as Imperial Officers. He blackmailed them into allowing him to join, but Beckett had him arrested and condemned to battle a "beast" held in captivity. The beast was revealed to be a Wookiee named Chewbacca, and after owing Han's ability to speak Shyriiwook, the two staged a fight for the benefit of their captors and escaped. Beckett sympathetically rescued them, and enlisted the two for a planned train heist to steal shipment of coaxium on the planet Vandor.
A young Han Solo piloting the Millennium Falcon for the first time.
Everything went as planned until they were forced to ditch their shipment after they were ambushed by the Cloud Riders criminal gang. Han realized that Beckett was ordered to steal the shipment for Dryden Vos, leader of the Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate. Han and Chewbacca volunteered to help him steal another shipment and met up with Vos on his yacht, where Han discovered that Qi'ra was now a member of Crimson Dawn. During their meeting with Vos, Han proposed a plan to steal unprocessed coaxium from the mines on Kessel. To procure a ship for the heist, the team hired Lando Calrissian, captain of the Millennium Falcon. After reaching Kessel, the team infiltrated the mines with Han and Chewbacca posing as slaves for sale. Lando's droid, L3-37, instigated a riot to keep the guards occupied while they stole a consignment of unprocessed, volatile coaxium. During the riot, Lando got injured while trying to save L3-37, leaving Han to pilot the Falcon. His prodigious piloting skills allowed them to evade an blockage and deliver the coaxium to the planet Sareen in less than twelve parsecs.
Upon arrival however, Han planned to sell the shipment to the Cloud Riders, who were in fact a rebellion group led by Enfys Nest. He tried to deceive Vos with fake coaxium, but he saw through Han's cunning plane thanks to his "inside man", Beckett. However, it is later revealed that the fake coaxium is real, and it was all a ruse to lure Vos' men into a trap. Beckett took Chewbacca hostage and escaped with the coaxium. Han, Qi'ra, and Vos engage each other in a gunfight, resulting in Qi'ra killing Vos. Han caught up with Beckett and Chewbacca and killed Beckett after a standoff. Han and Chewbacca delivered the coaxium to Nest, who revealed her plans to use the coaxium to aid the rebellion against the Empire. She offered Han the chance to join her but he declined.
Later on, Han and Chewbacca track down Lando and Han challenged him again to a game of Sabacc for possession of the Falcon. Han subtly relieved Lando of the cards stashed up his sleeve and won the game. Han and Chewbacca then took off together on the Millennium Falcon to Tatooine, where Beckett told Han a gangster was putting together an organization.
A New Hope[]
Han and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca first met Luke and Obi-Wan on Tatooine at a cantina in Mos Eisley, who were looking for a ship to Alderaan. He accepted to take them, with a promise of being paid seventeen thousand credits: Two thousand now to get them to Alderaan, and fifteen thousand when they arrive. Han later met up with Luke and Obi-Wan at his ship named the Millennium Falcon in Docking Bay 94 and flew them out of Mos Eisley just as Imperials showed up and attacked. Upon arriving in the Alderaan system, Han and his passengers saw that the entire planet had been destroyed by the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. They followed a lone TIE Fighter to the battle station and got pulled into a tractor beam. Han tried to break free (with Luke's "encouragement"), but it was no use.
After landing, Han and Luke took out two Stormtroopers and swiped them of their armor, after luring them onto the ship by ambushing the Imperial scanning crew that went aboard beforehand. When R2-D2 discovered that Princess Leia was aboard the station, Luke insisted on rescuing her. However, Han showed no interest in risking his life for a princess. But after being persuaded by Luke with a promise of a reward for her rescue by the Rebellion, Han realized he could pay his debt to Jabba and reluctantly went ahead with Luke's plan. Pretending that they were escorting a prisoner, Chewbacca, to the detention block, they took out the guards and found the princess. However, their escape route had been cut off by Stormtroopers and were forced to go down a garbage chute. After a near escape from being crushed by the garbage compactors and getting out of their swiped armor, Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca made their way back to the ship.
It was a running firefight back to the Millennium Falcon. When Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca ran into a Stormtrooper patrol, Han blasted one of them first before they could fire, before chasing after them, only to have been led right into the barracks, where he found himself terribly outnumbered by several battalions of Stormtroopers, forcing him and Chewie to make a hasty retreat to regroup with Luke and Leia. Together, they and the droids made it back to the ship and escaped, except for Obi-Wan, who was killed by Darth Vader. After defeating a squadron of TIE fighters acting as sentry ships, Han piloted the ship to Rebels' secret base on Yavin 4. Han was present at the mission briefing, and then afterwards went on his way, despite Luke's offer to join the fight, having gotten the reward as intended, telling Luke that attacking the Death Star was more like suicide, though not without wishing Luke good luck with the famous "May the Force be with you" quote. However, Han and Chewbacca showed up to help Luke mere moments before the Death Star could fire on Yavin 4. They took out the pursuing fighters, which included Darth Vader, giving Luke the clearance to destroy the Death Star. Following their victory, Leia rewarded Han, Luke, and Chewbacca with medals for their bravery.
The Empire Strikes Back[]
Han frozen in carbonite.
Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, Han is now a general of the Rebel Alliance. He also begins to develop romantic feelings for Leia Organa, which becomes obvious to her on Hoth. Han helps the Rebels escape the imminent battle there after Darth Vader arrives, possibly in fear of facing him. He was unable to get Leia to the last of the Rebel GR-75 Medium Transports fleeing Hoth, so he took her to escape on the Falcon instead. On the run, Han brings them into the nearby Hoth asteroid field, despite Leia's protests, and led the TIE fighters pursuing them to be destroyed by the asteroids. They later land on a large asteroid and fly into a "cave", only to find it is a 900-meter long space slug and they barely escape.
After losing pursuit of the Imperials again by latching the Falcon to the back of the conning tower of the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger before disengaging as the Avenger dumped its garbage before jumping into hyperspace, they proceed to Cloud City on Bespin, since Han thinks that his old friend, Lando Calrissian, can help them out. However, after spending a short amount of time there, they run into Vader inside the dining room. Han pulls out his blaster and fires at the Sith Lord, but Vader uses the Force to absorb the laser blasts and summon Han's gun to him. They are then surrounded by Stormtroopers, and Lando confesses that the 501st, Boba Fett, and Vader arrived just before they did, leaving him no choice but to cooperate with them.
Han is tortured for information. Later, he is handed over to Leia in a cell with Chewie and 3PO, who Chewie is trying to rebuild after being blasted apart earlier by Stormtroopers. After discovering a carbon-freezing facility, Vader has Han frozen in it, turning him into a carbonite statue, in hopes to test it to ensure Luke will survive being transported to the Emperor. (This backfires, however, when Luke escapes the freezing pit with a Force Jump and attacks Vader with his lightsaber.) Despite the efforts of his friends, Han's frozen form is loaded onto Slave I by Boba Fett, where he is to be given to Jabba the Hutt because Han never paid his debt to the latter.
Return of the Jedi[]
Han Solo during the Battle of Endor.
Han is rescued by Leia and unfrozen, but is caught by Jabba, who imprisons him in the cell that Chewie was placed in earlier after Leia turned him in while disguised as Boushh, while Leia is made Jabba's new slave girl to replace his old one, Oola, who he fed to the rancor earlier that day for rebelling against him. Han is later brought before Jabba along with Luke and Chewbacca, while Lando Calrissian remains disguised as one of Jabba's guards. Jabba condemns Luke, Han, and Chewie to be fed to the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon in revenge for Luke killing the rancor, but during the executions, R2 passes Luke his lightsaber, and Han saves Lando from being eaten by the Sarlacc, despite still being blinded from the carbon-freezing.
Leia strangles Jabba to death with her chain, before she and Luke destroy the sail barge with the deck gun and rejoin Han and the others as they depart Tatooine to rejoin the Alliance Navy. Han proceeds to lead the Rebel strike team on Endor, after lending the Millennium Falcon to Lando in his attempt to destroy the second Death Star. He also fights alongside the Ewoks and other Rebels, even using an All Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST) that Chewie took over with two Ewoks to lure the Imperial troops garrisoned inside the shield bunker out of it and force them into surrender when surrounded by the AT-ST, Ewoks, and Rebels.
During the fight, Leia is shot and wounded, and Han helps bandage her injury after planting detonators in the shield generator, causing it to explode. When they notice that the second Death Star has been destroyed, Han hopes Luke was not on it when it blew. Leia assures him Luke wasn't, having sensed it through the Force, and reveals that she and Luke are siblings to Han. He is also seen at the Endor celebration after the battle is won.
Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Han and Leia have a son named Ben, who studies the the Force under his uncle Luke Skywalker. However, Ben turns to the dark side, becoming Kylo Ren, and Luke decides to go into hiding out of shame for his failure. In the years following Ben's fall and Luke's disappearance, Han and Leia separate, and Han returns to a life of smuggling with Chewbacca.
Han speaks with Finn and Rey.
When Finn and Rey manage to escape Jakku with the Millennium Falcon, they encounter Han and Chewbacca, who pull the ship in with a tractor beam in their newly acquired freighter the Eravana. They board the ship, where they encounter the two stowaways, and learn about their plight. Han and Chewbacca agree to help the two return BB-8 to the Resistance, but before they can leave, Han is confronted by the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub, two clans whom he is indebted to. A brief skirmish breaks out when Rey accidentally released a cargo of Rathtars, and Han escapes in the Falcon with Chewbacca, Finn, Rey, and BB-8.
Han pilots the ship to Takodana, where he introduces his newfound allies to an old friend Maz Kanata. While there, the First Order attacks, and Han helps fight back the invading stormtroopers. At the end of the fight, he catches sight of his son Kylo Ren kidnapping Rey, as the dark warrior is carrying the unconscious girl in his arms and taking her towards his shuttle.
After the fight, Han encounters Leia for the first time in years, and the two have a bittersweet reunion. Han solemnly informs Leia that he'd seen their son during the battle.
Han with Chewbacca and Finn.
With BB-8 recovered by the Resistance, Han travels to the Resistance base on D'Qar, where he volunteers to help take down the superweapon's shield generator with Chewbacca and Finn. Before leaving, he and Leia discuss their son, and Leia encourages Han to bring their son home, despite Han's misgivings.
Once at Starkiller Base, Han and his allies force Captain Phasma to disable the shields, and he and Chewbacca begin to plant explosives around the base. In the midst of his task, Han spots Ren walking along the reactor chamber and, after a moment of indecision, calls him out by his real name. He then appeals to Ren to remove his helmet and begs him to come home. In a moment of indecision, Ren removes his helmet and hands his lightsaber to Han, but before he can let go, he activates the weapon through Han's torso, meaning Han was killed by his own son. In his last moments of life, Han strokes his son's face, showing that he forgives him despite everything. He then falls into the dark pit below, and elsewhere Leia is able to sense her husband's demise and her son's regret.
Han does not appear in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, due to his death, but he is mentioned many times throughout the film. While Supreme Leader Snoke is humiliating his apprentice for his failures, he tells him that he has too munch of his father's heart in him and accuses him of being emotionally unbalanced because of the remorse he feels for murdering his father. When Rey and Chewie arrive on Ahch-To to find Luke in his exile, the Jedi Master notices Han Solo's absence and asks where he is. They later reveal it to him, which he did not sense, due to the fact that he cut himself from the Force. Luke later tells Rey that Han was "Han" about Ben's training. Later, as Kylo and Rey are talking through their bond, she asks him why he would kill his own father, even after Han showing that he cared and loved him, and Ren replies that he never hated his father, but it's his greatest weakness that he can't stop needing his parents. While confronting Kylo Ren on Crait, Luke tells Ren that even if he kills him, he will always be with him just like his father.
Han's memory convinces his son to come back to the light side.
After Leia dies while using her last bit of energy to reach out to Ben Solo and Rey during their duel on Kef Bir, a grieving Ben is approached by a vision of his father. Similar to their last encounter, Han begs his son to come home, telling him that "Kylo Ren" is dead. Ben believes it's too late to come back as Leia is now dead, but Han tells him that despite her death, her beliefs still stand and have meaning. As Han strokes his son's face, Ben tearfully says that he doesn't know if he has the strength to do what needs to be done, and Han replies that he does. Ben tries to confess his love for his father, but Han smiles and tells him that he already knows. Motivated by this, Ben turns back to the light side, and throws his lightsaber into the ocean as the vision of Han disappears.
Despite what is widely believed, the iconic quote "I know." in The Empire Strikes Back was not improvised by Harrison Ford. He and director Irvin Kershner actually decided to change the lines while discussing the scene on set.[1][2]
In the original script, Leia would say "I love you. I couldn't tell you before, but it's true.", and Han would reply "Just remember that, 'cause I'll be back." However, before filming the scene, Harrison Ford asked the director to change the quotes to "I love you." and "I know." because he felt that this reply was more beautiful and funny. The director was contrary to the idea at first because he thought that the line "I'll be back." was important to set up Han's return in the next film.[1][2]
The quotes of this love declaration scene between Han and Leia had such positive responses from the audience[1][2] that they were later used them again in Return of Jedi with their roles reversed.
Many years later, these lines were used again in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when Ben Solo is struggling to say "I love you." to Han's memory, but before his son can speak those words, Han simply smiles and tells him "I know."
Harrison Ford was reluctant to sign onto the sequels of Star Wars, as he believed his character should have died in an emotional sacrifice during Return of Jedi because he felt Han had no purpose after being rescued from Jabba's palace and wanted his character to have a significant emotional weight to the story.[3][4][5]
Han Solo's death in Star Wars: The Force Awakens came about when writer and director J.J. Abrams felt the character wasn't evolving or contributing to the story's development. Thus, J.J. believed that Kylo Ren killing his own father would give him a chance to develop into a worthy successor for Darth Vader.[6] Han's appearance in the film was influenced by that of Jeff Bridges' character in True Grit during early concept development.[7]
In The Rise of Skywalker, Harrison Ford agreed to return to play the character one last time during the scene where Kylo talks to Han's memory while he is trying to forgive himself for what he did to his own father. With this, Han helps his son to reclaim his former identity as Ben Solo, giving Han Solo a significance as an emotional catalyst not just for Kylo Ren in the story but also for the fans, which is what Harrison Ford wanted to the character. Although, he is uncredited.[4][5]
In The Rise of Skywalker, Adam Driver was inspired on Harrison Ford's performance as Han Solo to show how Ben Solo looked before falling to the dark side and what he inherited from his father. It is possible to notice this during moments throughout the film, as when Ben points in the face of General Hux, when he fires a blaster over his shoulder without looking, and the shrug he gives the Knights of Ren.[4]
In the Legends timeline, Han also married Leia, and they had three children: Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin. He also is the paternal grandfather of Allana Solo.
Han Solo was originally set to appear in the Star Wars Resistance episode "The Platform Classic". Han would visit the Colossus, but the creators wanted to have the spotlight on Jarek Yeager, so they later decided have Yeager's brother as the visitor instead.[9]
In Brackett's early draft of "The Empire Strikes Back", Han Solo had a stepfather named Ovan Marekal who is an extremely powerful man, the draft ends with Han and Chewbacca going to meet him.[10]
Rough cut footage of A New Hope showed Han Solo with a woman named Jenny, who was flirting with him.
Originally, Han Solo was a green skin-monster with gills before Lucas decided to change to human in order for him to interact with the other human characters.[11]
Han Solo on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)
