Star Wars Icons: Han Solo Chronicles the Journey of a Legend | Star Wars.com Sneak Peak
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Phil Roberts 
Get a special sneak peek at a new book celebrating the galaxy’s greatest scoundrel.
The countdown is on to the release of Star Wars Icons: Han Solo, one of the most anticipated Star Wars titles of the year which has been described as a beautiful new tribute to our favourite scoundrel. The book, written by Gina McIntyre is coming on November 13. Published in the US by Insight Editions and in the UK by Ilex, the tome covers Han’s entire journey in great detail; complemented with arresting imagery and photos, McIntyre charts the character’s history from George Lucas’s first explorations in the mid-’70s to Harrison Ford’s performance in the original trilogy and The Force Awakens, up to the high-adventure and personal origin tale in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
It delves into his role in novels, comics, and video games, and features exclusive new interviews with Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Peter Mayhew, Ron Howard, J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Jonathan Kasdan, and more. To borrow a phrase from the man himself, Star Wars Icons: Han Solo has got it where it counts.
StarWars.com caught up with author Gina McIntyre to discuss crafting Star Wars Icons: Han Solo, interviewing a staggering number of legends, and what the ol’ pirate means to her:
StarWars.com: Having been able to take an early look at the book, I was really surprised at how deep it goes in telling both the behind-the-scenes and in-universe stories of Han Solo. You start by exploring early scripts, concept art, and casting for A New Hope and go all the way to The Force Awakens and beyond. What were your goals for the book and how did you approach writing it?
Gina McIntyre: Setting out to write the book I really hoped to tell the most comprehensive story possible about the character. The approach was incremental — I think if I had stopped to consider how much there was to review and analyse, I quickly would have become overwhelmed. The first steps involved watching all the movies again and listening to commentary tracks. I poured through archival magazines and biographies of George Lucas, in addition to previous books chronicling the making of the original trilogy. I read or re-read as many novels and comic books as possible, I fell down a few YouTube rabbit holes, and then finally, I dived into the interview process. Each conversation informed the next, and it was fascinating to hear first-hand about Han from so many of the influential creators who had played a role in shaping the course of his story over the decades.
I feel tremendously grateful that so many people were so generous with their time, especially Harrison Ford. Talking to him was just as thrilling as you might imagine. I’ll never forget listening to him tell the story of how he arrived on the Norway set of The Empire Strikes Back with an empty bottle of scotch and a costume not built to withstand sub-zero temperatures — it’s one of my favourite anecdotes in the book. Honestly, though, there were so many highlights along the way, speaking with Star Wars authors and artists as well as people like J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Ron Howard, Alden Ehrenreich, Adam Driver, and of course, Mark Hamill. When it came time to sit down and begin writing, I felt a tremendous responsibility to do their stories justice and to try to honour the legacy of this character who remains so important to so many people, myself included. I wanted it to be the best possible tribute to Han, to capture what is so special about him. That sense of obligation to get things right never left me.
Read the full interview over at StarWars.com NOW!
Star Wars Icons: Han Solo will be released on November 13th.
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Source: StarWars.com
Phil Roberts is the owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. He is a huge fan of Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies.
If he’s not in the cinema he’s probably streaming something equally awesome!
