WARNING: Possible spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story ahead
If you’re a Star Wars fan, it isn’t much of surprise that Han Solo was originally going to be introduced in George Lucas’ final installment of the Star Wars prequels, Revenge Of The Sith. According to a feature over at Den Of Geek earlier in the month, it was one of many small plot details that Lucas wanted to include and wrap up in his final film to help bridge a few gaps towards the original movie. This includes Padme laying what would be the foundations of the Rebellion — something we saw fully come together in Rogue One — and give young Boba Fett a chance to shine as he sought revenge for the death of his father in the previous movie.
But the Han Solo appearance seems to be the biggest that was left out, and as Inverse points out, it would’ve seriously thrown a wrench into Lucasfilm’s plans for the iconic smuggler:
George Lucas’s original script for Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith featured a young Han Solo cameo that would have given the character a radically different origin story, making him an orphan raised among the hairy Wookies. Han Solo would have appeared as a 10-year-old child being raised by Chewbacca the planet Kashyyyk…
In the original Revenge of the Sith script from George Lucas, a 10-year-old Han would have found a transmitter on a smashed droid during the Battle of Kashyyyk. He would have presented it to Yoda, and the Wookiees would have traced that back to its source to find General Grievous. So in a way, we would have had Han to thank for Obi-Wan’s victory over the droid general.
This is a significant departure from the story we’re about to get in Solo: A Star Wars Story and also quite the split from what we’ve seen in the past from Han Solo’s backstory in the non-canon books. A lot of elements from A.C. Crispin’s Han Solo trilogy will make it into the new film, though, and none of it involves the young Solo living with Wookies. It would have explained why Han could understand Chewie, sure, but there really isn’t a need. It was weird enough that Yoda was pals with Chewbacca.
But as Den Of Geek adds, the appearance would’ve been short and sweet, only lasting a few seconds in one of the early drafts of the script:
Solo’s appearance in Revenge of the Sith would have been fleeting – perhaps amounting to a few seconds. In an early draft of the script, Lucas gave him just one, rather pedestrian line: “I found part of a transmitter droid near the east bay. I think it’s still sending and receiving signals.”
Pretty harmless, but also unnecessary. Something folks might even say about the prequels in retrospect, Jar Jar Binks aside. Luckily, Han Solo will get an entire movie to tell his backstory and how he is owed a life debt by Chewbacca.
(Via Den Of Geek / Inverse)