Han Solo could have looked drastically different if George Lucas followed his earliest draft for Star Wars. Lucas started the development of the space opera in the early '70s, but it went through many changes before debuting to the public in 1977. A New Hope, as it was later known, introduced to the world a young trio of heroes: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. The actors behind the characters received their breakout roles — but that may not have been the case for Harrison Ford and his portrayal as Han Solo, had Lucas stuck to his original vision.
Han Solo was one of the key protagonists in the original Star Wars trilogy. He was the owner and pilot of the Millenium Falcon and became an integral figure in the Rebel Alliance's war against the Galactic Empire. Han was sarcastic and very cynical, caring more about his own rewards and well-being. That gradually changed as time went on while he continued working with Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and the rest of the Rebels. The smuggler wound up being a fan-favorite for his quotable dialogue and suave attitude.
In Lucas' earliest Star Wars draft, Lucas went through many concepts that would never come to fruition in his epic franchise. For example, lightsabers would have been more common and some of the mythology would have been much different. Some of the main characters would have additionally been unrecognizable, especially Ford's character. Han Solo didn't carry the "cool guy" persona, mainly because he wasn't even meant to be human: The initial conception of Han described the character as a giant green alien resembling something like Swamp Thing.
Han Solo Kept Changing With Each Star Wars Draft
Han was supposed to be a member of the Ureallian (also referred to as "Yourellian") species. Ureallians were large green-skinned reptilian creatures covered in a slimy material. Han, in particular, was also described as having no nose and gills. The first draft by Lucas additionally had Han as a member of the Jedi Bendu before becoming an acquaintance of Luke. Each subsequent draft of Star Wars resulted in drastic changes, especially to the Han character. After being a green extra-terrestrial, Han was transformed into a flamboyant pirate. A few more adjustments were made until Lucas settled on the tough-guy human version of Han. In the end, Lucas wanted his three core protagonists to be human so they could better connect with audiences. The developer worried that making Han an alien would push him into the sidekick role, like in the case of Chewbacca.
The Star Wars, a comic based on Lucas' original draft, provides more details into Han's initial characterization. Not only was he an alien, but he also hunted and trapped Wookiees on Yavin. This was in far contrast to what Han actually became, being the closest allies to a Wookiee for decades. It's unclear if Ford would have had an interest in playing Han Solo if the character required embodying a deformed alien, but one could assume the answer would be no (or at the very least, the role wouldn't have led to his leading-man stardom). Lucas and Star Wars made the right choice with Han Solo, and it paid off in the long term.