I’ve long said that Han Solo is my favorite movie character. Cool, capable, and played with a perfect roguish swagger by Harrison Ford. He is someone who you know is dangerous and has been through it all, yet still retains a heart. Solo gets all of the best lines in the original Star Wars trilogy, and he gets the girl too. It’s no surprise that the “Han Solo-type” character has become a modern archetype and go-to example of an antihero: a bad person who does good for selfish reasons, or a good person who is pushed to do bad (both could apply to a certain Corellian pilot at different points in his arch).

It’s also no surprise that Disney turned to Han Solo as the first choice to helm the franchise’s first character-driven spinoff film. The character has built-in, proven appeal, and makes as much sense as any other Star Wars character to lead a movie. Unfortunately the main news story surrounding the film’s production was a change in director halfway through filming, which lent the idea that the studio was unsure of how to proceed. A lack of confidence in direction points toward a messy movie.

A secondary, and I must admit more personal, concern was more esoteric: could anyone portray Han as well as Harrison Ford? Ford completely inhabited and elevated the character, to the point that he pretty much embodies Han in every subsequent appearance. It’s understandable that Disney would recast, as Ford is now 75 years old and people want to see Han in his prime. While I didn’t have anything against eventual cast Alden Ehrenreich, I have to admit that I thought…is it worth it? Can you have Han without Harrison?
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