Star Wars IX: What if Han Solo survived The Force Awakens?

In the new trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, we hear Luke say, “No one is ever really gone.” What if this is foreshadowing the biggest story reveal yet?

The new trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dropped yesterday and just like many of J.J. Abrams movies, it raises a ton of questions and theories.

Even now the internet is ablaze over a single piece of audio – what seems to be Emperor Palpatine laughing sinister-like. This raises a thousand questions about whether he died at all in Return of the Jedi.

But what if there is something bigger at play here? What if this is purposeful misdirection to foreshadow the biggest Star Wars twist yet? It’s going to be a rough road to explain the possibility of such an event happening but if it comes true it would be massive.

Warning Spoilers ahead for The Force Awakens!

So which person exactly does this theory refer to? What absurd theory could this involve?

Well, here it goes…

More from Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

What if Han Solo is still alive?

Yes, the idea of this makes absolutely no sense considering a number of reasons. 1) Kylo clearly put that lightsaber in a place that feels permanent. 2) Han fell off that bridge from a pretty high distance. 3) To make it more evident he is, in fact, dead, Starkiller Base lit up like a galactic 4th of July. So, Han actually staying dead seems highly likely.

But what if he did survive? It’s not unheard of for characters to be retconned in the Star Wars canon. One example of this would be Darth Maul returning in The Clone Wars but falling to his death (like Han) in The Phantom Menace.

However, the reason this could be possible goes beyond retconning. The franchise has a strong theme of father and son dynamics. Especially, in regards to restoring relationships with its central characters.

For example, in A New Hope, Luke spends the entire film believing his father died only to find out later in the sequels that Vader was his father the whole time. By the end, of Return of the Jedi, the relationship was restored and Vader chose to protect his son over siding with the Emperor.

In a way, the prequels acted like a subversion of this formula where Obi-Wan was a father/mentor to Anakin, only for that relationship to be tragically destroyed by the events of Revenge of the Sith.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

How does this work for Kylo Ren’s story?

When looking at Kylo Ren’s arc, it seems to follow closely to that of the old trilogy where the father-son relationship is strained from the start and recovers in the finish.

This could easily be how the redemption of Kylo Ren unfolds. At this point, he believes his father to be dead–heck we all do. And the whole purpose of his death was to push Kylo aka Ben Solo closer to the dark side and away from his family.

If Han somehow miraculously survived all of it–the lightsaber stab, the fall, plus the explosion– and got off Starkiller Base by some grand unforeseen miracle., then his appearance could very well make Kylo vulnerable. His appearance alone could break Kylo Ren down to his core. It would also be a massive twist in the same vein of Empire which leads to a possible restoration of their relationship.

Next. Han Solo’s Top 5 Moments In Star Wars. dark

Maybe all of this is possible. Then again, maybe this is just the writings of a mad person.

What do you think? Could Han Solo have survived the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Tell us your thoughts below!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20, 2019.

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