Han Solo May Have Survived, 'Star Wars' Suggests

“No one’s ever really gone,” Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) tells Leia (Carrie Fisher) in Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017). Oh, how right he is. These days, it seems that not a single character in Star Wars has the ability to actually die.

Whether it’s because they’re literally brought back to life (Maul, Boba Fett, the list goes on), or the fact that the non-linear franchise can pick and choose any moment along its extensive timeline and reintroduce us with characters who will die much later on.

'The Book of Boba Fett' throne scene — Credit: Lucasfilm

Or maybe it’s because they’re seemingly invincible. A bit like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) in Ahsoka (2023). The Internet was set ablaze in 2022 when the first two episodes of the highly anticipated live-action Star Wars series made a landing on Disney+.

But not every fire was of the celebratory kind. Many fans took issue, and understandably so, with the fact that the Mandalorian graffiti artist, while in combat against Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) in “Part One: Master and Apprentice”, took a lightsaber right through the gut.

Sabine Wren searching for Ezra on Peridea in 'Ahsoka' episode 6 — Credit: Lucasfilm

The problem with this? After a brief stint in a medical facility on Lothal afterwards, Sabine Wren is walking around without a care in the world, despite her enemy’s searing blade impaling her torso — right through the middle of her abdomen — just the day before.

While the Star Wars universe obviously has far more advanced medical care than we have here on Planet Earth, naturally this scene in Ahsoka led to some online discourse, with many wondering why lightsabers are no longer the deadly blades they once were.

Shin Hati saying "we almost got them" in 'Ashoka' — Credit: Lucasfilm

Some even questioned why characters such as Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) had to die in the first place, considering he’s also stabbed through the abdomen by Darth Maul (Ray Park) in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999).

The same goes for Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019), who’s delivered a should-be-fatal blow in the same area by Rey (Daisy Ridley). Okay, so Rey does use her Force-healing abilities on Kylo, but you see our point.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren holding a red lightsaber — Credit: Lucasfilm

What was Dave Filoni thinking when he decided to have Sabine Wren stabbed by a lightsaber only to walk away unscathed, and also when he knew full well that fans wouldn’t suspect for a single minute that the beloved Rebels character’s life was ever truly on the line?

Either way, many of us have been left wondering two things: a) What is the point in lightsabers if they’ve been rendered so ineffectual? b) Are there any Star Wars characters who’ve died by lightsaber–or by any other means–that may have actually survived?

Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren — Credit: Lucasfilm

Our attention turns immediately towards Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015), when he’s impaled through the body by a lightsaber — that of his son, Kylo Ren/Ben Solo — before falling to his death in a misty chasm.

It’s unclear what exactly kills Han Solo, though. Is it the lightsaber or the fall? We’re inclined to believe it’s the fall, especially with lightsabers now proving to be useless. But we never actually see the smuggler land anywhere, which, of course, feels very familiar.

Han Solo's death scene from 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' — Credit: Lucasfilm

Darth Maul meets a very similar fate in The Phantom Menace, after Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) avenges the death of his fallen master, Qui-Gon, and slices the Sith Lord in two, sending his two halves falling into a deep chasm. But Maul actually survives this.

As revealed in Season 4 of the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 — 2020), Maul (Sam Witwer) is shown to have survived both the dismembering and the fall. Although during the 10 years he’s been in hiding, he has completely lost his mind.

Ray Park as Darth Maul in 'The Phantom Menace' — Credit: Lucasfilm

Soon enough, though, Maul’s legs are restored by the Nightsisters of Dathomir, and he then embarks on a quest to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor). So, if Maul can survive a worse fate than Han Solo, then surely the smuggler could have also survived?

While Han appears as a ghost to his son in The Rise of Skywalker, it’s widely assumed to be happening in Ben’s head. It was always possible that Han survived somehow, but the lightsaber problem Ahsoka has contributed towards seems to suggest a greater possibility.

Han Solo may very well have survived Kylo Ren’s attack, and is perhaps in hiding somewhere during the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, waiting for the war between the Rebellion and the First Order to end. Or, more than likely, just recovering.

So, what other Star Wars characters may have survived offscreen?

Han Solo — Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Daisy Ridley as Rey (L) and Harrison Ford as Han Solo (R) in 'The Force Awakens' — Credit: Lucasfilm

What would be the implications had Han Solo actually survived in The Force Awakens? While many Star Wars fans would lose their minds in a bad way (and rightly so), there are others who would be thrilled at the prospect of seeing their favorite smuggler return.

Or even just knowing he’s alive out there somewhere would be enough for some of us. After all, Harrison Ford is reportedly done with Star Wars (he’s also hung up his fedora hat in the Indiana Jones franchise). We just hope he lets Chewbacca know he’s okay.

Mace Windu — Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Mace Windu pointing his lightsaber at Palpatine in 'Revenge of the Sith' — Credit: Lucasfilm

This is one death that has been hotly debated since Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005) was released.

Jedi Knight Mace Windu (Samuel L Jackson) gets one of the most brutal deaths in the franchise, after he gets his arm cut off by Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), before being electrocuted and then blasted out of a skyrise into the aerial traffic lanes of Coruscant by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

Despite things not looking so good for him, many fans believe Windu is alive (there were even some wild theories involving Snoke). And his absence would make perfect sense given the fact he was killed right before Order 66 took place. Who wouldn’t want to stay in hiding?

Aayla Secura — Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Aayla Secura with the Clone Troopers — Credit: StarWars.com

One of the most gut-wrenching deaths in Star Wars is that of Jedi Knight Aayla Secura (Amy Allen), who’s ambushed by her own company of clone troopers on Felucia during Order 66, in a scene that director Steven Spielberg contributed towards.

While we see Aayla being gunned down by several troopers and hitting the ground, the Force works in mysterious ways. Of course, Aayla is completely dead, but where there’s lazy writing and a total lack of imagination, there’s always a way.

Kuiil — The Mandalorian

Kuiil in 'The Mandalorian' — Credit: Lucasfilm

Kuiil (Nick Nolte) was one of the best characters in The Mandalorian Season 1. However, we never actually see him get killed by those scout troopers in “Chapter 7: The Reckoning” — we only see his unconscious body on the ground.

While Din Djarin/The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) returns to bury the Ugnaught’s body in “Chapter 8: Redemption”, creating a makeshift tombstone with his dead friend’s helmet, it’s entirely possible that Kuiil “has not spoken” his last word just yet.

Do you think Han Solo could be alive? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!