Disney’s expansion of the Star Wars universe in recent years has reinvigorated interest in the starry saga. The Content Machine has introduced a slew of exciting new characters like the impossibly cute Grogu (A.K.A. Baby Yoda) and his Space Daddy, the Mandalorian Din Djarin.
For better or worse, it has also revisited some of Star Wars’most recognizable figures. We learned Han Solo’s backstory in 2018’s widely panned Solo: A Star Wars Story, and we’re currently following the adventures of the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunter in The Book of Boba Fett. On May 4, the Disney streaming service will launch a limited series that explores the trials Obi-Wan Kenobi faced after his padawan, Anakin Skywalker, turned to the dark side. Despite the influx of (occasionally questionable) new content, we still have more to learn about these characters.
First up: Han Solo.
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1
In "Star Wars’" First Draft, Han Solo Was Green
Mike Mayhew
In George Lucas's original script for Star Wars, Han Solo wasn't a square-jawed humanoid scoundrel. The first draft of Han was decidedly more ...green than the final cinematic version. A member of an alien race called Ureallians, this Swamp Thing-like creature was supposed to be the best pilot in the galaxy.
Years later, Dark Horse Comics eventually adapted the original script (pictured above), finally showing the world Han Solo's true origins.
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2
He Was Also Supposed to Be a Jedi
Disney
That green monster was going to be a Jedi, at least until Lucas changed his mind. We like to think Solo's brief handling of a lightsaber in The Empire Strikes Back is a callback to this little-known piece of Star Wars trivia.
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3
Director Francis Ford Coppola Was the Inspiration for Han Solo
Gerald Israel//Getty Images
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola was a friend of George Lucas's before Star Wars, and his smooth-talking persona inspired the feel of Han Solo. Like Lucas, he was an embattled young director creating world-changing cinema, so the homage is fitting.
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4
Harrison Ford Had Stiff Competition During Auditions
Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell were either offered or auditioned for the part of Han Solo, but it was Harrison Ford—through a stroke of good luck—who landed the job, fitting for someone as lucky as Han Solo.
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5
Han’s Blaster Is Based on a German Mauser...
Chris Trevas/Disney
Known to Star Wars fans as the DL-44, Han's famous blaster is actually based on a Mauser C96, a popular pistol in the mid-20th century and a personal favorite of Winston Churchill.
And the Prop Gun Made Its Movie Debut 10 Years Earlier
Warner Bros. Pictures
The original prop of Han's blaster wasn't built for Star Wars specifically. According to Tested, dedicated fans trying to create the perfect DL-44 replica identified the gun used in 1967's The Naked Runner as the same one that would come to be strapped to Han's waist.
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7
Han Solo Served in the Imperial Navy and Saved Chewie...
Dark Horse Comics
When Disney bought rights to Star Wars in 2012, it did away with a lot of established Star Wars canon. One of the most interesting bits of lore is that Han actually served in the Imperial Navy and helped save Chewie from a life a slavery. It would certainly help explain his disdain for the Empire.
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8
But Really Chewie Saved Him
Disney
Although the story remains that Han saved Chewie from the tyranny of the Empire, there is a new, in-canon novel called Aftermath: Life Debt that turns this long-accepted notion of Han as savior on its head. Han says in the book:
“I saved him, at least that’s what he says, the big fuzzy fool, but really, he saved me. I was on a bad path, and Chewie, he put me straight."
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9
Han and the Millennium Falcon Are From the Same Planet
Star Wars Wikia
In a galaxy filled with a seemingly endless amount of planets and spaceships, it's a pretty incredible coincidence that the Millennium Falcon (also known as the YT-1300 492727ZED Corellian light freighter) is also from Hans' home planet of Corellia (pictured above).
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10
Han Solo’s “Kessel Run” Boast Was Originally a Lie
Suhaimi Abdullah//Getty Images
Han's famous throwaway line in A New Hope, that the Millennium Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, has been blown up to epic proportions in the decades since—so much so that it played a central role in Solo: A Star Wars Story. But is Han Solo's most famous boast actually a lie?
The original shooting script for A New Hope describes Ben Kenobi "react[ing] to Solo's stupid attempt to impress them with obvious misinformation." That would suggest Han's boast is a pretty egregious lie and Kenobi knows it.
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11
Han Solo’s Gold Dice Appeared in the Original Trilogy...
Disney
Some fans may have been confused when Luke Skywalker gives Leia Organa Solo a pair of gold dice at the end of The Last Jedi. But eagle-eyed Star Wars acolytes have pointed out that those dice did in fact appear in A New Hope—they're just a little hard to see.
In Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han has the gold dice even when he's living on his home planet of Corellia. It's still uncertain where he got the dice—possibly from his parents?—but its appearance in The Last Jedi now has even more weight.
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13
The First Marvel Star Wars Comic Story Was About Han Solo (And Chewie)
Gil Kane/Tony DeZuniga/Marvel Comics
Star Wars #7-10 was the first original Star Wars story arc published by Marvel Comics (the first 6 issues recounted the events of A New Hope). Featuring a Magnificent Seven-type plot structure, the story followed the incredibly strange adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca as they traipse across the universe. Here's a brief synopsis by io9 if you want a better feel for how truly strange these four issues were.
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14
In France, He Was Called “Yan Solo”
LucasFilm Ltd.
La Guerre des Etoiles went through a fit of character renaming for the French audience. C-3P0 became Z6P0 and Chewbacca became Chiktabba. But Han Solo's Frenchification might be the most entertaining: Yan Solo.
So close...but so incredibly far at the same time.
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15
Han Solo Met Chewie’s Family In the Much-Maligned Holiday Special
Han Solo was a truly good friend to Chewbacca. He even visited his family for the holidays! Here, Han Solo meets Chewbacca's family on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk and helps to save them from Imperial harassment.
Unfortunately, there was no one to save the actors themselves. Just look at Harrison Ford's obviously pained expression throughout this cinematic disaster.
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16
What Exactly Is a Nerf?
Leinil Francis Yu/Marvil Comics
A frustrated Leia famously decries Han as a "half-witted, scruffy-looking nerfherder." Han is more upset about the "scruffy-looking" bit, but did you ever wonder what a Nerf was? Turns out, they're space cows. In one particular Star Wars comic (pictured above), Han even has to transport some on the Millennium Falcon, finally fulfilling his destiny as a nerfherder.
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17
Han Solo’s Stepfather Nearly Showed Up in "The Empire Strikes Back"
Disney
Han Solo's exit from The Empire Strikes Back is undeniably cool (no pun intended), but the first script for the 1980 film had Han Solo going on an epic journey to hunt down his stepfather who supposedly had information vital to the rebellion.
Han Solo's most famous line wasn't planned at all. The original script called for this exchange before Han's descent into the carbonite chamber:
Leia: ... I love you. I couldn't tell you before, but it's true.
Han: ...just remember that, 'cause I'll be back.
After a conversation with director Irvin Kershner, Harrison Ford delivered the "I Know" line and solidified this emotional moment into cinematic history.
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19
Harrison Ford Wanted Han to Die in "Return of the Jedi"
Disney
He survived scrapes with Boba Fett, carbonite, and Jabba the Hutt, but Han Solo's biggest enemy was actually the very actor playing him. As Ford explained on Conan in 2015:
"I thought the best utility of the character would be for him to sacrifice himself to a high ideal and give a little bottom, a little gravitas the enterprise, not that there wasn't some already but I just wanted in on some part of it."
To Ford's credit, the character arc of a selfish rogue turned venerated martyr would have been incredible to watch on screen, but we're happy Han Solo lived to fight another day.
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20
Leia Married Han Immediately After the Battle of Endor
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.
Jennifer Leman is a science journalist and senior features editor at Popular Mechanics, Runner's World, and Bicycling. A graduate of the Science Communication Program at UC Santa Cruz, her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Science News and Nature. Her favorite stories illuminate Earth's many wonders and hazards.
Zarnon Kalgon, executive editor at Galactic Republic Gazette, lives on Corellia with his pet womp rat. He is an ex-engineer at Sienar Fleet Systems who found a love for researching the iconic starships that formed the galaxy. While twin-ion engines are his specialty, his first love will always be the T-16 Skyhopper. You can find his work at The Republic Courier, the All Things Palpatine weekly newsletter, the Rebel Alliance Underground Bulletin, and the First Order Times.