Anyone who has seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens (that should be pretty much everyone at this stage) will remember the huge death that ripped our hearts to pieces. Yes, we’re talking about Kylo Ren murdering his father Han Solo.
Since the movie was released, we haven’t heard much from either actor Harrison Ford or director J.J. Abrams on the thought process behind killing off the character but the latter has been speaking about it, explaining Ford’s initial reaction, write Squareeyed.
“He was very thoughtful about it, and he got it. He understood why it was so powerful. And I think part of it was because Harrison himself — Han, the character— has so much ahead of him. Has so much life and fight and adventure—that this was the time to do that thing.
“If we felt like the character was sort of at the end of his days, it wouldn’t have been as powerful. The thing that made it potentially meaningful wasn’t just who does it and how it happened, but that it’s a character that is so vital that is meeting his demise.”
Elaborating on his decision to kill off one of cinema’s most beloved characters, J.J. Abrams continued: “I’ll also say that Harrison’s always said that he knew that Han needed to have clear utility, and that’s what he wanted to do. And that’s why he argued back in the day that Han should die and George [Lucas] didn’t want to do it.
“And I don’t know what his utility in that regard would’ve been, though I’m sure Harrison would’ve come up with a clever pitch for it. But in this case there was such a clear utility— it’s about bringing this new villain to the fore, and there’s nothing I could think of that is more hideous than patricide, especially when it comes to Han Solo.”
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Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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