Harrison Ford may be in his 70s, but he's no slouch in the action department, as a recent TV spot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens showed us. He will be running and ducking, and shooting Stormtroopers with abandon when he returns to screens this December as the iconic space pirate Han Solo. Two new banners have arrived, and the first shows Han locked into a laser blaster battle on what looks to be the new Starkiller Base. The second banner gives us a new look at Carrie Fisher as General Leia, who is overseeing a raid on the Starkiller base.
These latest posters come from Toyfiend on Instagram. They also include the previously seen Kylo Ren and Rey banners. The banners were spotted out in the wild. If you're going to the movies between now and December 18th, you may be lucky enough to see one for yourself in person. In a recent chat with EW, Ford offers new insight into the former smuggler, and promises that this is not a new take on the mythos. Solo is still very much the charming rogue we've come to know and love over these past three decades.
Han Solo is arguably the most popular human character in all of Star Wars lore. He's a scoundrel, he's scruffy, but above all, he's, dare we say, lovable? And it came as a shock back in 1983 when Harrison Ford revealed that he desperately wanted to kill off the character in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. Back then, he was glad to see the costume go back into storage. But the years have softened him some. And now, he's happy that George Lucas didn't follow through with Solo's demise.
"I was glad that the character was still alive for me to play in this new iteration. He was always the cynical member of the original characters. While we were invited to engage on the questions of some pretty arcane mysteries - the Force and the mythology that surrounds it - he was the guy who said, 'What? Huh? Come on.' There was a callow youth, a beautiful princess, a wise old warrior, and there was a smart-ass."
Harrison Ford has never been too removed from the Han Solo persona. And as he tells it, the character has been 'living with me - out back, in the shack.' The latest trailer seems to tease that Han Solo is more open to the Jedi and all the supernatural elements that come with it. When we first met him in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, he was much more the skeptic. But Harrison Ford doesn't want fans coming into the new movie to get the wrong idea. He is not taking the place of Old Ben to wax philosophically about 'hokey religions' and 'ancient weapons'.
"No, there's not an abandoning of the character. He does not aspire to the position of Obi-'Ben' Kenobi, nor do I aspire to be some New Age Alec Guinness. His development is consistent with the character, and there are emotional elements which have occasioned his growth. We spend a lot more time [in the movie] on his failure to master basic skills, like accounting. And accounting for his own behavior. There's a lot of the rogue still left in Solo. Some things don't change. [Thirty-two] years is going to put some rings on the tree, some experience in the bank. You might make an elaborate conjecture [about who Solo is now], but I think we answer that question in the film. It's best left answered there."
Take a look at these latest banners. Do you have a favorite new character yet? Or do Han, Luke and Leia hold a special place in your heart that can never be replaced? Hopefully we won't see too much more from Star Wars: The Force Awakens before it arrives in theaters. But we're at least guaranteed a few more TV spots, some clips and some behind-the-scenes featurettes. Will you have the force power to stop yourself from watching it all?
