Everybody has a favorite Star Wars character, but Han Solo is one of the most iconic characters from the original trilogy. Han Solo is played by the one and only Harrison Ford, who is most known for playing Solo and the famous archeologist Indiana Jones. Solo returned for Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens, but died at the hands of his son Ben.
Han Solo is such a popular character that he was given his own movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018, although Alden Ehrenreich replaced Ford to play a younger version of the character. There are many famous lines in Star Wars like, “May the Force be with you”, but Solo himself has a ton of memorable quotes. Here is Star Wars: The 10 Best Han Solo Quotes From The Original Trilogy.
"LAUGH IT UP, FUZZBALL"
Anybody who is a Han Solo fan knows of his trusty partner Chewbacca. The two characters no doubt had a loving relationship, but it’s fair to say that they occasionally got on each other’s nerves. In Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia says, “I don’t know where you get your delusions, laser brain” after Solo insists that she is attracted to him.
Chewbacca finds her joke amusing and laughs, but Solo is quick to say, “Laugh it up, fuzzball”. Solo then continues to explain how Leia has feelings for him, to which Leia responds, “Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking… nerf-herder!” It was a memorable scene with dialogue that just can’t be beat.
“IT’S THE SHIP THAT MADE THE KESSEL RUN IN LESS THAN 12 PARSECS”
In the original Star Wars, later renamed Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi are attempting to deliver the Death Star plans to Alderaan per the Princess’ request. In order to travel that far, they need a good ship, and an even better pilot. This leads them to Han Solo, the pilot of the Millenium Falcon.
When Ben admits he’s never heard of the Millenium Falcon, Solo responds by saying, “It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs”. This became such a memorable line that Solo: A Star Wars Story had a whole segment of the film devoted to telling the line’s backstory.
“AND I THOUGHT THEY SMELLED BAD ON THE OUTSIDE”
Even though Han Solo started off as strictly a business partner to Luke Skywalker, the two quickly became friends. At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, Han heads back to Echo Base while Luke investigates what he thinks is a meteorite. Luke gets captured by a Wampa and after killing the creature (which still angers Mark Hamill), he is stranded in a snowstorm.
Despite it being incredibly dangerous, Han goes out to look for his friend on his Tauntaun. Not being able to survive the cold, Han’s Tauntaun dies, which saves Luke’s life. Han cuts the creature open with Luke’s lightsaber to keep his friend warm and says, “And I thought they smelled bad on the outside”.
“BORING CONVERSATION ANYWAY. LUKE, WE’RE GONNA HAVE COMPANY!”
In the first Star Wars Han, Luke, and Chewie are on a mission to rescue the Princess from the clutches of Darth Vader. After Han and Luke steal Stormtrooper armor and pretend Chewbacca is a prisoner, they are able to infiltrate the cell block that Leia is located. Having to use their blasters notifies the ship’s staff who ask over the radio what is going on. Han explains, “Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh… everything’s perfectly all right now. We’re fine. We’re all fine here now, thank you. How are you?”
Knowing that he probably blew his cover, he continues to explain that it’s dangerous to send a squad to their location due to a reactor leak. When asked for his operating number, Han gives up, shoots the control system, and says, “Boring conversation anyway. Luke, we’re gonna have company!”
“I KNOW”
After Lando Calrissian is forced to betray his friends on Cloud City, the gang finds themselves in a tough situation. Darth Vader has set a trap for Luke Skywalker, but given his importance, Vader wants to test it on Han Solo first. Right before he is frozen alive, Leia confesses her love for Han, to which he simply replies, “I know”.
After Leia says, “I love you” Han was originally supposed to say “just remember that, cause I’ll be back”, but Harrison Ford suggested the simpler line since he felt that it fit the scene and his character more appropriately.
“DON’T EVERYBODY THANK ME AT ONCE”
It's no surprise that a lot of the time Han Solo can come off as cocky and even arrogant. Many times characters like Princess Leia or Luke Skywalker call him out on it, but the character still always thinks highly of himself. After a while, Solo became much more of a team player, but in A New Hope, he was still pretty cocky.
In one scene after escaping a group of Imperial ships, Solo says, "Don't everybody thank me at once". Solo was no doubt a skilled pilot and this line shows that he wants to make sure everybody sees him that way.
“HOKEY RELIGIONS AND ANCIENT WEAPONS ARE NO MATCH FOR A GOOD BLASTER AT YOUR SIDE, KID”
Anybody who is even slightly familiar with Han Solo will know that his weapon of choice is a blaster; a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol to be exact. Many fans would have loved to see the character wield a lightsaber with Luke, but the only time the character ever used a lightsaber was when he cut open that Tauntaun to save Luke in The Empire Strikes Back.
In the beginning of the series, Solo didn't really even believe in the Force explaining, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid". After fighting the Empire alongside Luke, Solo quickly learned the truth about the Jedi and the Force and realized that it was all true.
"NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS"
Han Solo more than proved himself as a talented pilot in The Empire Strikes Back. While fleeing a group of TIE fighters, Han was trying to fix the ship before he realized he had flown into an asteroid field. Solo takes this to his advantage, thinking that the Empire's pilots won't be trained well enough to fly through an asteroid field.
Solo is, of course, correct, but he originally got some skepticism from Leia and C-3PO. After telling Han that the chances of making it out of the asteroid field in one piece was 3,720 to 1, Han quickly responds, "Never tell me the odds". The line shows that Han isn't just quick-witted, but isn't afraid to take chances.
"YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I AMAZE MYSELF"
In A New Hope after rescuing the Princess from the clutches of Darth Vader, Han says to Leia, "You know, sometimes I amaze myself". His line is a memorable line, but Leia's quick response, "That doesn't sound too hard" is honestly just as good of a line.
One thing Solo: A Star Wars Story does well is show how much of an ego Solo has always had. By the time Han meets Leia and Luke, he has made quite the career out of being a smuggler, even though he often runs into troubles with the likes of Jabba the Hutt. A lot of Solo's lines reveal how full of himself Han truly is, and this is one of them.
"YOU LIKE ME BECAUSE I'M A SCOUNDREL. THERE AREN'T ENOUGH SCOUNDRALS IN YOUR LIFE"
One of the few romantic relationships in the original trilogy was between Leia and Han. The couple seemed to have a love/hate relationship throughout the movies, but that was mainly because Leia kept Han in his place. While A New Hope planted seeds for the beginning of their relationship, The Empire Strikes Back is really when their romantic relationship started to blossom.
Right before the couple share their first kiss, Han says, "You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life". The line came at one of the most iconic moments of The Empire Strikes Back and is a perfect example of Han laying on his charm thick.