Star Wars: Han Solo Was Not Anakin Skywalker's First Carbonite-Freezing Victim
One of the most pivotal scenes in "Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back" is Han Solo's (Harrison Ford) encasement in carbonite. After sharing a kiss with his love, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), he's lowered into the carbon-freezing chamber and emerges trapped within a grey slab. He's then taken by Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch) and eventually transported to the palace of crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Darth Vader (David Prowse) oversees all of this, having a rather deep firsthand knowledge of the carbon-freezing process and how it can be done on living beings.
On "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," back when he was still known as Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), he uses carbon-freezing in a pretty inventive way. In the episode "The Citadel" from Season 3, he and his allies, such as Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), and Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) use it to enter the near-impenetrable titular prison undetected. Bearing in mind how understandably hesitant his friends are to try being frozen in carbonite, those who go along with Anakin's first time putting people through carbon-freezing can easily be regarded as his first "victims."
Within a brief span, Anakin and his allies exit their carbonite blocks to resume their mission, but for Solo, there was some uncertainty surrounding the matter of him doing the same.
Solo's carbon-freezing had to do with Harrison Ford's contract
Narratively, Han Solo's carbon-freezing makes sense for multiple reasons. In addition to the carbonite making it easier for Boba Fett to deliver him to Jabba the Hutt, it gives Darth Vader a chance to test the carbon-freezing chamber before Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) arrives. This way Vader can bring him to the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) with ease. However, outside of the "Star Wars" canon, there's a much bigger reason for Solo being turned into a carbonite block that boils down to Harrison Ford's contract.
Back when the original "Star Wars" hit theaters in 1977, Ford's contract stated he only had to appear in a single sequel. Thus, when "Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back" premiered, the actor was free of his obligations to the franchise and his character. Still, the folks behind "Empire" were hopeful Ford would return to play Solo one last time, so they chose to put him on ice. This way, if Ford chose not to return for "Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi," the character could be easily written out of the story without being killed.
Whether it's helping Jedi infiltrate a maximum security prison or giving storytellers an out should their big-name star not return, carbonite has proven incredibly useful.