Entertainment | Film & Cinema
Han Solo
If Anakin Skywalker is the hero gone bad, Han Solo is the bad egg turned good. Where did George Lucas find the inspiration for Solo's character?
- By Orus Villacorta, Gulf News Report
- Published: 00:00 May 12, 2007
- Image Credit: Illustration: Nino Jose Heredia/Gulf News
- Han Solo is the captain of the Millennium Falcon, a decrepit ship that was essentially a relic.
Star Wars excels at producing a variety of anti-heroes. We've already seen how Anakin Skywalker, who should have been the Chosen One of the Jedis, is actually a flawed, conflicted and vulnerable "hero". He's the hero gone bad.
Click here to download Han Solo artwork (pdf)
Han Solo is the other side of the coin: the bad egg turned good. Despite his capricious, apathetic and coarse attitude, Han Solo, not only took a leading role in the rebellion against the Empire and won the heart of Princess Leia, but also won the hearts of millions of Star Wars fans.
Where did George Lucas find the inspiration for Solo's character? The answer is in Westerns, a movie genre filled with real guys who are neither good nor bad, but always manage to do the right thing.
He's got rugged looks, poor manners, uses only pistols (no lightsabres for this space cowboy) — and we first meet the small-time smuggler in a tavern. George Lucas has said that his friendship with the director Francis Ford Coppola helped him to develop Solo's personality.
Born on Corellia, Solo is the captain of the Millennium Falcon, a decrepit ship that was essentially a relic. Nevertheless, it has the capacity to fly at lightspeeds.
Solo had several bounties placed on his head (including many as a result of being hired by Jabba the Hutt) before being swept up into the Galactic Civil War (against his wishes) due to a chance meeting with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. This cocky Corellian became a general in the Rebel Alliance and eventually married Leia Organa, with whom, according to the expanded universe, he had three children: Jaina, Jacen and Anakin.
The expanded universe also narrates how years later Han Solo and Leia had many adventures in the Galaxy. Among them, Solo became a hero of the New Republic and participated in the offensives against the Yuuzhan Vong.
Homeworld: Corellia
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 1.80 metres
Weapon: Heavy blaster pistol
Vehicle: Millennium Falcon
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance, New Republic, Galactic Alliance
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