Will ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ Kill Han Solo?

We know 'Star Wars: Episode 7' will bring back Han Solo but how long does J.J. Abrams plan on keeping him around? Could - gulp - the new 'Star Wars' trilogy start with the death of one of the film's most memorable characters?

Mike Ryan of The Huffington Post published an editorial begging Disney and J.J. Abrams to not kill Han Solo in 'Star Wars: Episode 7' and in that story he brings up a few good points, most importantly that Harrison Ford wanted to kill Han Solo a long time ago.

Ford told ABC in 2010, "As a character [Han Solo] was not so interesting to me. I thought he should have died in ['Return of the Jedi'] to give it some bottom." Adds 'Star Wars' producer Gary Kurtz:

The original idea was that they would recover [the kidnapped] Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George [Lucas] then decided he didn't want any of the principals killed.

So a lot of people involved with 'Star Wars' (most importantly Harrison Ford) wanted Han Solo dead and only George Lucas saved him. With Lucas out of the way, does that leave room for Ford to finally get his wish? Was this one of the conditions of his return to 'Star Wars: Episode 7?'

Obviously, this is all speculation right now as we continue to figure out what storyline 'Star Wars: Episode 7' will follow. If Harrison Ford is indeed coming back as Han Solo, his death would allow for both a return and a "passing of the torch" to the twins he had with Leia.

But as Ryan argues, this should never happen. "I don't want to see Han give one final tearful speech to Leia after being shot or stabbed or whatever. He already said 'I know.' You cannot top 'I know'!"