Harrison Ford became a star after starring in the iconic role of Indiana Jones and Han Solo back in the 1970s and the 80s. Portraying the role of Solo in the iconic Star Wars franchise, the actor often got to work on the set of Solo’s spaceship, the Millennium Falcon.
During the original trilogy, the studios did not have the budget necessary to perfect Millennium Falcon. In 2015, the actor returned to his beloved spaceship in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but this time, he had requested a modification to his spaceship, and luckily for Harrison Ford…they had the budget this time.
Harrison Ford’s Spaceship Was Modified For Star Wars: Episode VII
After the original phase of George Lucas ended with Star Wars: Episode III, new directors picked up from where Lucas left on to add to his legacy. In 2015, director J.J. Abrams took charge of directing Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, and Harrison Ford happily obliged to reprise his role.
During the original movies, Ford’s character operated his spaceship, the Millennium Falcon. While working on the set, the actor realized that the switches did not have spring in them. Talking about a random encounter with a production designer on the 2015 film, Ford revealed to Star Wars Insider that he asked for the springs to be added to give him a sense of realism. Much to the actor’s delight, they had the budget to modify the Millennium Falcon, and they happily obliged.
“They bought broken switches because they were much cheaper. So if you stood there long enough, the switch, which was in this position [points down], and you moved to this position [points up], would slowly come down behind you while you were standing there because there was no spring in it. No budget for springs.”
Harrison Ford further continued that he asked the production designer Darren Gilford if they could add the springs.
‘Can you put the springs in the switches this time?’ He says, ‘Yeah boss, we got the budget for that.'”
Talking and reminiscing about the old days, Harrison Ford further revealed that Han Solo was actually supposed to die early on in the film but George Lucas changed his decision.
Han Solo Was Supposed To Die Early On In The Franchise
Starring in the first two films of the franchise, Han Solo was quite loved by the people. But before they knew about the fame that they were going to receive, George Lucas had planned to kill off Harrison Ford’s character early on in the franchise. Producer Gary Katz revealed to the LA Times (via CBR) how Solo’s fate was saved due to some reasons.
“The original idea was that they would recover Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George then decided he didn’t want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason.”
Whatever the reason may be, people are indeed glad that Solo wasn’t killed off and instead, Harrison Ford continued to shine in the role. The Star Wars franchise is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
