During the production of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas considered a Han Solo cameo that was ultimately cut from the movie. Due to their nature as prequels, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith all include many tie-ins to the original Star Wars trilogy. From the overall explanation of Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side to the birth of Luke and Leia, George Lucas’ second Star Wars trilogy set up many of the plot elements of his first.
One element that Lucas considered connecting to the original trilogy was Han Solo himself. Since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, Han Solo’s origins have gone in a different direction with projects like Solo: A Star Wars Story. That being said, Lucas initially intended for Han to make an appearance in Revenge of the Sith, a decision the creator of Star Wars ultimately decided against.
Han Solo Would Have Been An Unexpected Ally Of The Jedi
As per the book “The Star Wars Archives: Episode I-III 1999-2005” written by Paul Duncan, Han Solo was initially part of the storyline that took place on Kashyyyk during Revenge of the Sith. In the book, Duncan mentions the elements of Han’s backstory that Lucas initially envisioned in 1977 that has since changed under Disney’s leadership:
“During your story conference with Leigh Brackett in November 1977, you tell how Han had been orphaned on the Wookiee planet, been raised by Wookiees, and befriended Chewbacca. You resuscitated that idea for Episode III and in the rough draft script a young Han Solo helped Yoda on Kashyyyk.”
As evident by this draft, a young Han would have been shown as living among the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. During Revenge of the Sith, Yoda is sent to Kashyyyk to aid the Wookiees in a Separatist attack. Initially, Han would have been stated to have lived among the Wookiees from a young age and grew up alongside Chewbacca. In this plan, Han would then have aided Yoda somehow in the battle against the Separatist army. However, Lucas decided against including this subplot, explaining his reasoning in the book:
“I rejected it after I read it. I said, ‘This is stupid.’ I was being a smart aleck, tying things together and being a little too clever for my own good.”
Lucas clearly felt that he was trying too hard to tie the events of the prequels into the original trilogy. With the Wookiee attack playing such a minimal role in the movie, including a big legacy character like Han Solo likely would have detracted from the story at hand. As such, Lucas made a good decision opting against Han Solo’s inclusion in Revenge of the Sith.
George Lucas Made The Right Choice Cutting Han’s Revenge Of The Sith Role
One of the first reasons as to why Lucas made the right choice in cutting Han’s Revenge of the Sith role is that it would have made the universe feel smaller. Having too many connections to the original trilogy would have hindered the ability of the prequel films to stand on their own. Relying too much on established Star Wars characters would have made the galaxy feel a lot smaller, as somehow Han was on Kashyyyk at the same time as Yoda during the Clone Wars.
Chewbacca’s appearance makes sense, as he is over 200 years old and was raised on Kashyyyk. Altering Han’s backstory to take place on Corellia was a much better choice from Lucas, in that it does not feel too convenient for Han to be part of the battle. Similarly, other elements of Han’s personality from A New Hope would not have made sense if he had appeared on Kashyyyk during Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
In A New Hope, Han makes it clear that he does not believe the Force exists. After labeling the Jedi as a “hokey religion, ” Han states that he has never seen anything to make him believe that an all-powerful Force is binding the universe together. This would not track if it was revealed that Han Solo was an aid of Yoda during the Battle of Kashyyyk. Surely if young Han was around, helping Yoda directly, he would have been aware of the Force. For these reasons, Han Solo’s role being cut from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith was one of Lucas’s better decisions with the franchise.
