‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s John Boyega Misses Working With Harrison Ford

Star Wars leading man John Boyega missed working with his The Force Awakens co-star Harrison Ford, […]

December 2, 2017, 10:28pm

Star Wars leading man John Boyega missed working with his The Force Awakens co-star Harrison Ford, the actor shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“I mean, it’s a different change when you’re coming onto the next movie, and Harrison Ford is not there, Han Solo is not there,” Boyega said. “It’s the reality of Han Solo’s death, and it’s just mad. But whenever I can see him, it’s great times.”

Videos by ComicBook.com

Harrison Ford’s grizzled Han Solo served as mentor to Boyega’s Finn, a defecting Stormtrooper formerly of the nefarious First Order. The elder Han perished at the hands of his son, Darth Vader wannabe Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), his body falling to a shaft below — never to be seen again.

Ford, who championed killing Han Solo off as far back as 1983’s Return of the Jedi, admitted he’d “rather not” reprise the role, opting instead to do “something else.” The actor reiterated his disinterest on a recent visit to Live! With Kelly and Ryan, saying unequivocally, “He’s dead.”

“I’d been begging to die for the cause for a couple of years,” Ford said. “I thought Han Solo’s got no mama, got no papa, doesn’t believe in the Force. What can we do here? What’s his ultimate utility? To sacrifice himself for others. Well, they figured a different idea, but it worked for them, worked for me, and brought on some fresh horses.”

One of those fresh horses, Boyega, is an admitted Star Wars fan boy. During their time together on The Force Awakens, the young actor asked Ford to autograph a doll depicting Han Solo dressed in Stormtrooper gear — a moment captured in the video above, showing a beaming Boyega and his prize.

“I went over to Harrison and said, ‘Can you sign my doll?’” Boyega told the audience during a cast and crew panel session at Star Wars Celebration 2015. “And he was like, ‘This is weird, but I’ll sign it for you.’”

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15.