Interview with Harrison Ford on Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Nobody ever expected it to happen – a sequel to Return of the Jedi 32 years after it first hit the big screen. And nobody ever expected it to happen with Harrison Ford returning in the role of Han Solo. After all, Ford had openly expressed his desire to permanently leave behind the Wookiee and blasters once the Ewok dancing was done. In fact, he even at one time wished to have Han Solo die in the films to add gravitas to the character….and to possibly ensure he was left behind forever. Yet here we are with The Force Awakens just days away and Harrison Ford not only promoting the film, but doing so cheerfully. It’s dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
It was in this upside-down world that I found myself in this past weekend. As a lifelong Star Wars fans, I jumped at the chance to attend the Star Wars press junket. Despite never having done video interviews with actors before, I blindly rushed headlong into the task. But as the time neared to interview Harrison Ford, my nerves started setting in. After all, this was the man who helped define my love for movies. I pretended to be this guy on the playground. And as any of his fans know, this is an actor that does not suffer fools or fanboys lightly. And as a notoriously difficult interview, even the other more experienced press members were nervous about talking with him. But as I walked in the room to meet him, I found Harrison Ford to be as friendly, open, and genuinely excited about the film as any Star Wars geek would hope him to be.
Opening in theaters on December 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and features a new generation of swashbuckling heroes and shadowy villains, as well as the return of fan-favorite smugglers, princesses, and Jedi.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, the highly-anticipated movie stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be followed on December 16, 2016 by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: Episode VIII on May 26, 2017, and the Han Solo anthology movie on May 25, 2018. No release dates have been announced for Star Wars: Episode IX or for the third anthology movie. It was recently confirmed, however, that Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow will be helming the third Saga chapter.
You can watch all the previously-released trailers and TV spots for the film by clicking here.
