The Rise of Skywalker features the return of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo character. Star Wars fans had theorized about his possible return for months before the movie hit theaters. One of the theories going around was that Solo would come back as a Force Ghost, though it didn’t make much sense since he’s not a Jedi. In the end, he does return, but not in Force Ghost form. As for Ford, when asked about the ghostly return, he revealed that he has no idea what that even means, nor does he care.
Harrison Ford was asked about The Rise of Skywalker Force Ghost theory during a new interview. Obviously, Han Solo didn’t come back that way, but it’s pretty close. He came back as a memory of Ben Solo’s to give out some final wisdom after the young villain begins to question his Dark Side allegiance. However, Ford isn’t buying into the whole magical ghost idea. “A Force Ghost? I don’t know what a Force Ghost is,” Ford said, as he went into a whisper. He explains.
“Don’t tell anyone. I’m not talking loud enough for your recorder. I have no f***ing idea what a Force Ghost is. And I don’t care!”
Harrison Ford has never really enjoyed talking about Star Wars, so his answer makes complete sense. But, why did he come back for The Rise of Skywalker? Han Solo was finally killed off in The Force Awakens, which is something that Ford begged George Lucas to do in the 1980s. As it turns out, director J.J. Abrams can be pretty persuasive. Ford had this to say.
“When J.J. asked me to do it, I said, ‘Are you kidding? I’m dead!’. He said, ‘Sorta dead. You can do this.’ He hadn’t written anything at that time. But he said, ‘This is going to be great.’ So I said okay. If J.J. asked you do something, you’d probably do it too. He’s a very persuasive guy.”
Harrison Ford says that the real reason he came back was all about Kylo Ren’s growth. “It was a useful addition to the story and the continuing development of Adam Driver’s character,” Ford says. “And the chance to do another scene with Adam was great.” Driver and Ford previously worked together on The Force Awakens, though things didn’t end up so well for Han Solo. “Last time, it didn’t turn out so well for me,” Ford said. “But it worked for him.”
The fact that J.J. Abrams was able to convince Harrison Ford to return for The Rise of Skywalker is pretty unbelievable. However, the actor was probably told that he wouldn’t have to take part in the promotional tour or other interviews because his return was a big secret. Whatever the case may be, Ford has to talk about it now, and he might be bumming out some hardcore Star Wars fans in the process. But, as he says, “I don’t care!” The interview with Harrison Ford was originally conducted by USA Today.
