I have to say I’m not surprised by the first bit of news to come from the shooting of Star Wars Episode VII. Reprising his role as Han Solo, Harrison For, who is 71, broke his ankle on the door of the Millennium Falcon. He was filming a stunt sequence when a hydraulic door closed on his leg.
According to the Verge, the injury is not expected to slow down the shooting of the film as a whole. But as Han Solo is expected to “play a major impact in the film” (sic), it’s unknown how Ford’s ankle break will effect Solo’s part or Ford’s time-table.
There are more important lessons to learn here, though.
For one, we can now say for certain that Han Solo, whose space-pirate adventuring defined a generation of imaginations (including my own), is not invincible. He is, like so many other aging pirates, subject to the whims of a space-craft doorway.
Get well soon, Han.
