Star Wars: Han Solo's Epic A New Hope Callback was Removed from TFA Novelization


There is little doubt that Han Solo's return in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an awesome one for fans. But did you know that Han was supposed to have an epic callback to one of his most memorable A New Hope lines in the novelization of Episode VII? Unfortunately, that particular scene was changed in the final draft.

Alan Dean Foster is the author who turned the screenplay for The Force Awakens into a novel. In a recent interview with Midnight's Edge, the writer revealed that there were several things that Disney didn't want him to add into the novel. That included an epic throwback to the oneliner Han dropped when Luke Skywalker shot his first TIE Fighter.

"There's a scene in the film and in the book where Rey has come aboard the Millennium Falcon, and Han Solo can't get things to work, and she fixes it. Han says something to the effect of, 'good work' or 'good job,' reluctantly, he says it. And then I had him say, 'Don't get cocky, kid.' Which, of course, is a throwback to what he says to Luke in the first film," Foster said.

"I thought that was a wonderful way of connecting the character to the first film and the first story. I thought fans would love that, and they made me take it out," he added.

It's pretty disappointing that an awesome line like that was removed from the novelization but it wasn't in the film so it somehow makes sense. Nevertheless, it would have been great to have a nice throwback to that scene in A New Hope.

Related: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Novelization Removed Finn and Rey Romance

This Article's Topics

Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!

Star Wars