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Harrison Ford Turned Down Han Solo Role

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the call-him-doctor-jones dept.

eldavojohn writes "It's being widely reported that Harrison Ford turned down a £20 million deal to play Han Solo once again in a George Lucas spin off of Star Wars. The source of this information seems to be a tabloid called bangshowbiz. Harrison was approached by Lucas with two roles but instead opted for the same amount to play Indiana Jones for the fourth time. Could the spin off centered on the rugged Han Solo save the Star Wars franchise from its prequels or would it have been another mediocre release disappointing demanding fans?"

8 of 472 comments (clear)

  1. George Lucas has lost credibility by boxlight · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Harrison Ford knows crap when he sees it. He turned down the part because he wants to try and do good work, he's not interested in resurrecting an old character just for a cash grab -- like Ford once said about returning to Han Solo in a Barbara Walters interview, "That character is a little thin for me now".

    George Lucas, on the other hand, has lost a tonnes of credibility with the Star Wars prequels. As Brent Spiner said, "it took him twenty years to come up with something lousey". George's quickness to return to the Star Wars well is more evidence that he has become a sell-out of the highest order.

    George should forget about Star Wars spin-offs, go back to his roots and start a new project. Maybe a remake of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers ... something he loved as a child.

    boxlight

    1. Re:George Lucas has lost credibility by naoursla · · Score: 3, Interesting

      To be fair, Lucas used to tell fans that he would make more Star Wars movies when he needed more money. At least that is what I used to hear before the Special Edition movies were released. I think he flubbed the prequels on purpose just so he wouldn't have such a rabid group pestering him all of the time. He knew they would still make swimming pools and swimming pools of cash, and the little extra they would make as great movies would not be worth becoming an even greater living legend to people for whom he could barely hide his distain.

    2. Re:George Lucas has lost credibility by camperdave · · Score: 4, Interesting
      But there are so many small things Lucas could have done (or not done) to the series that would have made it a lot better.
      1. Han shooting first. This is what made Han such a cool character. He's a chaotic neutral in a world of lawful goods and lawful evils. He stands out.
      2. When Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn are waiting for the force fields to part, there could have been some dialog about the rivalry between the Sith and the Jedi, possibly referring to the prophecy about balance in the Force.
      3. The Midichlorians should have been left out. The Force lost a lot of it's mystique.
      4. R2D2 should not have flown. For me, this is when the series jumped the shark. He should have dropped onto some passing machinery, and used a magnetic grapnel to pull himself up to the control panel instead.

      5. So, if he spent a little more time polishing the dialog/plot instead of the effects, we would have had passable movies.

        The only feedback I'd give him at this point is: If you want to make more Star Wars movies, get some good writers.
      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  2. Would they have to pay to do that? by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If they did an entirely CG Han Solo, would they have to pay Harrison Ford anything? I mean it would be "Ford's likeness", but the "Han Character" is what they would be depicting...

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    1. Re:Would they have to pay to do that? by Firehed · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Not to mention the voice. While I seem to remember the new computer-generated voice in Leopard from the WWDC preview sounding pretty realistic, it wasn't the slightest resemblance to Harrison Ford. Even a good impersonator wouldn't be the same.

      Of course, I doubt that Ford would have anything to sue over if Lucas used his likeness for profit, without permission. It's the business model of most, if not all, tabloids.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  3. Re:Does it matter? by Nutty_Irishman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is what they ended up doing for X-Men 3 on Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen for their 20+ year prior shot. It's actually pretty impressive what they were able to accomplish digitally, check it out: http://www.fxguide.com/article357.html . A little bit different if you had to do it for an entire movie, but the technology is getting there.

  4. Disappointed? by freeze128 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why waste $100 Million just to disappoint the fans in 2 years, when you can disappoint the fans right away for free.

  5. Re:Good by Blondie-Wan · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Well, not only that, but Harrison has always seen potential in the Indy character for more than just the action heroics; the character's development in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles bears this out. Indy can work as a purely dramatic character even in a non-action-oriented movie. Ford apparently sees Han as more dramatically limited by comparison, and feels he's fully explored the character already. Many years ago (late '80s or early '90s), an interviewer asked Ford if there was "any talk" of a new Star Wars movie, and Ford replied, "not in my house."


    The article summary is slightly wrong, incidentally (so what else is new?). Ford has already played Indy a fourth time (in the "bookends" wraparound segments for a Young Indy two-parter, "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues"). For that matter, he's also played Han Solo four times already, too (the second time being in The Star Wars Holiday Special).