Harrison Ford was a mainstay in the original Star Wars trilogy as the dour space smuggler Han Solo.
Is Harrison Ford really going to reprise Han Solo in the new Star Wars movie or is this just another Jedi mind trick?
Following the teasing and unsubstantiated announcement by Carrie Fisher that she would return to her Princess Leia character in the planned Disney reboot of the sci-fi franchise (her publicist eventually admitted Fisher was "joking") a few weeks back, Ford's comparatively offhand comments yesterday have Star Wars fans buzzing.
During a brief interview with the Chicago television station WGN-TV, the 70-year-old actor said slyly that rumours of his return to the franchise are "almost true" and that he's "looking forward to it."
In a possible attempt to avoid incurring the wrath of Disney, which purchased the Star Wars franchise from creator George Lucas last fall for $4-billion U.S. , Ford amended his comments with the coda: "It's not in the bag yet, but I think it's happening."
Directed by J.J. Abrams, who recently reinvigorated the Star Trek movie franchise, the tentatively titled Stars Wars: episode VII, is slated for a 2015 release. Disney's unofficial game plan is to release Star Wars sequels every two to three years thereafter, with possible spinoff films focusing on individual characters.
Ford's was a mainstay in the original Star Wars trilogy as the dour space smuggler Han Solo. He subsequently gained fame in the Indiana Jones film franchise and played the heroic CIA operative Jack Ryan in the features Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His current roles include guest-starring opposite Will Ferrell in the upcoming Anchorman sequel, titled Anchorman: The Legend Continues.