Young Han Solo Almost Appeared In Revenge of the Sith

Audiences finally have a chance to meet young Han Solo when Solo: A Star Wars Story opens later this month, but they almost got that chance many years ago. George Lucas was never shy about including original trilogy characters in the prequels. While some of these were logical and had to be there (Anakin and Obi-Wan, for instance), others drew criticism in some circles for being shoehorned in. Nearly 20 years have passed since The Phantom Menace, and fans still roll their eyes at Anakin building C-3PO or R2-D2 being there from the beginning. Odds are, child Han would have fallen into the latter category for many.

Revenge of the Sith marked the first canonical appearance of the planet Kashyyyk, known as the home world of the Wookiees (including the beloved Chewbacca). During the battle sequences in this location, we got to see Han's future co-pilot fight alongside Yoda in the Clone Wars, but there was no sight of Han. Originally, however, Lucas intended for all three members of the classic trilogy's main trio to make cameos (the film ends with the birth of Luke and Leia). That's right. Young Han was nearly in Episode III, and it would have drastically changed things.

Han Solo's Deleted Revenge of the Sith Role

Han Solo Revenge of the Sith concept art

The initial plan called for Han to appear in Sith as a 10-year old orphan on Kashyyyk, being raised by Chewbacca. Solo would have actually made a key contribution to the plot, seeing that he was to discover a droid transmitting signals from Utapau, pointing the Jedi in the direction of General Grievous. Things were so far along here that there exists official concept art of a child Han with messy hair and tattered clothes, but the scene was eventually cut as Lucas attempted to iron out the story. The young Han even had a single line of dialogue, informing none other than Yoda about the droid he found. The hypothetical interaction may have raised the question of how Han never saw any proof of the Force before meeting Luke, but that bullet was dodged.

Of course, since Han's Sith cameo was cut, it freed Lucasfilm up to do whatever they wanted for his backstory when it came time to make Solo. Based on what we know about the spinoff, there are significant alterations to Lucas' idea. Han spent his early youth as an orphan on Corellia, running scams on the streets from the age of 10 with his friend Qi'ra. He doesn't meet Chewie until he's an adult, presumably saving the Wookiee from Imperial captivity on Mimban. Since there was a point in time Episode III was supposed to be the last Star Wars movie, it's somewhat easy to understand Lucas' temptation, but had Han remained in the film, it would have backed Kathleen Kennedy and crew into a corner. And Han wasn't the only near-miss from Sith.

Boba Fett Was Almost In Revenge of the Sith

One original trilogy fan-favorite who did have his backstory revealed in the prequels was Boba Fett. In Attack of the Clones, Boba is the 10-year old son (in reality, an unaltered clone) of bounty hunter Jango Fett, learning the ropes of the trade from one of the galaxy's best. Tragedy struck Boba at an early age when Jango was decapitated by Mace Windu during the Battle of Geonosis. The younger Fett swore revenge, and those plans nearly played out in Episode III.

Much like the child Han, there's concept art of Boba killing Mace during the infamous Order 66 executions, but Lucas later decided it would be better if Palpatine was the one to defeat Windu. His reasoning was simply that a teenage boy (Boba is 13 in Revenge of the Sith) would not have been a realistic threat to a highly-trained Jedi Master. Instead, Boba's plot for vengeance was repurposed into an arc on the Clone Wars animated series, where Fett worked with Aurra Sing and Bossk to take the Jedi down. Their mission was unsuccessful, and Boba realized he had taken things too far.

Cutting these two cameos (which honestly wouldn't have contributed much to the story) was for the best, but certain elements connected to Han and Chewie did make their way into Revenge of the Sith, including the piece of junk the two would grow to call home one day.

Page 2: Did You Spot The Millennium Falcon In Revenge of the Sith?

The Wookiees preparing for battle in Revenge oif the Sith

Kashyyyk's Role In Revenge of the Sith

After making the switch from Wookiees to Ewoks for Return of the Jedi, Lucas finally unleashed a Wookiee army on the big screen in Sith. Presented as an area of key importance, the Jedi Council sends Yoda to the planet to help deal with the Separatist invasion. In the midst of the battle, Darth Sidious commands the clones to execute Order 66, which Yoda of course survives by killing a pair of clone troopers. Chewbacca and his friend Tarfful helped Yoda escape Kashyyyk by taking the Jedi to a shuttle, and the three bid farewell, never to see each other again.

By sending clones to Kashyyyk, the fledgling Empire had a military presence there, which allowed them to easily take over and enslave the Wookiee population. The Imperials severely mistreated the species, forcing them to work in locations such as Kessel. Their occupation of the planet probably began shortly after Yoda left, and went on to last decades. It wasn't until after the Galactic Civil War when the last traces of the Empire were eliminated from Kashyyyk. These events are detailed in the novel Life Debt, where Han works with Chewbacca to liberate the planet once and for all.

The Millennium Falcon Is In Revenge of the Sith

We've known since 1980 Han Solo wasn't the original owner of the Millennium Falcon, but the ship is so old, neither was Lando Calrissian. The Falcon makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, following the opening sequence. As a transport approaches the Senate building, a YT-1300 freighter can be seen docking. While this could have been just another of that kind, the official Star Wars databank confirms that is the Millennium Falcon, looking very much like the hunk of junk audiences have loved for four decades.

Since Revenge of the Sith takes place prior to Solo, this seemingly creates an inconsistency within the canon. The ship looks fresh off the assembly line under the care of Lando, but that may have more to do with the owner than the vehicle. Lando, who is known for his sophisticated and luxurious tastes, made several modifications to the Falcon so it would fit his needs. When Han got his hands on it, he intentionally reverted it back to its worn-out, grungy aesthetic, feeling that was the better way to live. The Falcon, it appears, can adapt to whoever is its captain. Perhaps when Rey has the time, she'll fix it up for herself.

It may have been fun to see Han as a child in war (depending on how it was executed, of course), but instead Lucasfilm seems to be drawing more from the discarded Expanded Universe to flesh out Solo's past, which is probably for the best. The prequels already had numerous connections to the original trilogy that Lucas made the right call cutting Han's cameo out. And while he couldn't have known it at the time, he freed up Lawrence and Jon Kasdan to drop Han in whatever story they wanted, as opposed to having to follow Revenge of the Sith and build something from there. Han was never one for righteous causes prior to meeting Luke and Leia, so it makes more sense for him to have been an aspiring smuggler before anything else.