Insert “I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This” Joke Here
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When word spread that Harrison Ford injured himself on the set of Episode VII, the speculation of how, if at all, his injury would impact the production began in earnest. Well, things just jumped up a notch. From the UK’s Metro:
Rumours have been floating around, first posted by UK website Jedi News, that Harrison Ford’s injury is worse than first reported, to the extent that his return to the film could be six months, possibly a lot longer.
Word of an emergency meeting at Pinewood Studios this morning reached Star Wars fandom, with the upshot being that with Ford returning to the States to convalesce, the film could have little option but to either cease production, rewrite the script to remove Ford from the film altogether or at the very least make significant changes to accommodate Ford’s recovery schedule.
If true – and as ever, until confirmed by Lucasfilm, Bad Robot or Disney this is merely a rumour – it could deal a crushing blow to the production. Ford is thought to be THE lead actor of the movie, with the plot centered around him. Beyond that little is known, but if it is the case then there is some heavy work to be done to keep the huge production rolling along.
A few items of note about this. First off, it is an incredibly slow news day, which is the only reason this story is getting as much play as it is. Nothing concrete about the severity of Harrison Ford’s injuries are known as of yet, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Secondly, one has to wonder why they just don’t give Han Solo a spacecast on his leg, or have him wheel around in a space wheelchair?. Just a few lines of dialogue about tripping over Chewie’s grandson’s spacetoys would do. (Think of all the possibilities for action figure variations!) The real question here is whether or not Disney will finally relent from their seemingly carved-in-carbonite release date of December 2015 in order to accommodate Harrison Ford’s recovery without having to change the script drastically. I personally just hope the rest of the production goes smoothly, if for no other reason than to spare us all “Star Wars Curse” think pieces.
About The Author
Chris Cummins is a pop culture writer and Archie comics historian who has contributed to The Robot's Voice, Den of Geek US, Philebrity, Geekadelphia, Uproxx, and Unicorn Booty. He is the co-producer and co-host of Nerd Nite Philadelphia, and is regularly involved in producing and hosting New York Super Week events. In 2014, Chris began Sci-Fi Explosion, a mix of live performance, trivia and funny clips celebrating the weirdest in science fiction that regularly travels around the United States. He wrote the introductions to the compilations Archie's Favorite Comics From The Vault and (with Paul Castiglia) Archie's Favorite High School Stories. You can find Chris on Twitter at @bionicbigfoot and @scifiexplosion.