How Harrison Ford Really Feels About His Big Rise Of Skywalker Scene

When Han Solo returned to counsel his son Ben, the erstwhile Kylo Ren, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it surprised the heck out of just about everyone. After all, the beloved character had met a tragic end at his offspring's hands in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fulfilling a request to be killed off which actor Harrison Ford had first put in with series creator George Lucas decades prior.

We were no more shocked by Han's return, though, than was Ford himself. In a recent conversation with USA Today, the famously gruff thespian revealed that he had been floored by writer-director J.J. Abrams' request that he reprise his iconic role one last time for the ninth and final installment in the Skywalker Saga.

"When [Abrams] asked me to do it, I said, 'Are you kidding? I'm dead!'" Ford remembered. "He said, 'Sorta dead. You can do this.' He hadn't written anything at that time. But he said, 'This is going to be great.' So I said okay. If J.J. asked you do something, you'd probably do it too. He's a very persuasive guy."

Apparently so; if you threw Ford into the deep end of a pool, you probably couldn't persuade him to start swimming if he happened to not be in the mood. He did say, though, that he found Han's reappearance to serve Rise of Skywalker's story well, and that he found the prospect of working once again with Kylo Ren actor Adam Driver to be agreeable. "It was a useful addition to the story and the continuing development of Adam Driver's character," Ford said. "And the chance to do another scene with Adam was great."

Ford's interviewer got the bright idea to ask the actor for his opinion on an issue which fans have been debating ever since Rise of Skywalker's release: whether Han Solo was a Force ghost. As you're surely well aware, all kinds of characters have come back from the dead via the Force throughout the entire Skywalker Saga, from Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker himself — so, at first glance, it seems obvious that this was how Han was able to return, as well.

Wait a minute, though: Han was never a Force user, and he in fact had been completely skeptical that such a thing as the Force even existed until well into his old age. Perhaps his spirit received some kind of Force assist... from Luke, maybe? Or could it be that all living things become one with the Force after death, and so Han was finally able to tap into its mystical power? Then again, maybe Kylo/Ben just got really drunk offscreen, and he was seeing things? Nobody knows for sure, so USA Today asked Ford to clear it up. And did he? We'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.

"A Force ghost? I don't know what a Force ghost is," Ford said, before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Don't tell anyone. I'm not talking loud enough for your recorder. I have no f***ing idea what a Force ghost is. And I don't care!"

Ah, yes... that is the Harrison Ford we all know and love. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be available on digital platforms on March 17, and on DVD and Blu-ray March 31.