Star Wars: Episode VII’s scruffy-looking nerf herder revealed!

By Adam Rosenberg Published August 15, 2014

star wars episode viis scruffy looking nerf herder revealed harrison ford han solo — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Stormtrooper shmormtrooper. Who cares about the Empire’s legion of white-armored soldiers that don’t know how to shoot straight when you’ve got this opportunity to see what a bona fide hero of the Rebel Alliance looks like?

Purportedly leaked concept art of Han Solo, shared once again by Stormtrooper leaker Indie Revolver, gives Star Wars fans a glimpse of what Harrison Ford’s aging general (or perhaps ex-general?) is looking like during the events of Star Wars: Episode VII, director J.J. Abrams upcoming Return of the Jedi sequel, due for release in December 2015.

Recommended Videos

Related: Amazing Star Wars supercut alphabetizes every word from the first movie in one video

Take a look:

star wars episode viis scruffy looking nerf herder revealed han solo concept art 2

star wars episode viis scruffy looking nerf herder revealed han solo concept art 1

That’s certainly a familiar mug, eh? The pic on the right looks like Han by way of Firefly, which is pretty much the best. And the pic on the left looks like an older Han wearing a very similar parka to the one he wore in Empire Strikes Back.

Abrams and company had to know that a mega-leak would happen at some point, and it looks like the infodump has begun. What do you think of what you’re seeing here?

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Entertainment

George Lucas abandoned a Star Wars twist that would have changed Obi-Wan’s story

Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor stand back to back in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Few Star Wars characters have a story as well-known or important as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The character, first introduced as an older Jedi in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, is both a noteworthy mentor to Luke and Anakin Skywalker and a tragic figure due to the dissolution of his friendship with the latter. Thanks to Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness' dual, decades-spanning performances as the character, Obi-Wan's story has been brought to life in almost its entirety over the years, too.

However, it turns out that Star Wars creator George Lucas originally had a very different idea for Obi-Wan Kenobi's story. In an interview with StarWars.com, Iain McCaig, who worked as a behind-the-scenes artist on Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, revealed that Lucas originally intended to swap the names of Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn in that film. "It’s interesting how things evolve,” McCaig commented. “For a time, the older Jedi was named Obi-Wan and the younger Jedi was named Qui-Gon."

Entertainment

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer: The Jedi kids are alright in new Disney+ show

A group of children gather around Jude Law.

A new generation of heroes is born in the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer.

After making a startling discovery on their planet, four kids — Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) — find themselves lost in a foreign galaxy. In need of desperate help, the kids encounter Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), a Force user who agrees to help them get home. The trip will be dangerous, evidenced by murderous pirates breathing down their necks.

Entertainment

Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley reveals why she finds her return as Rey ‘scary’

Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.

Last year, Lucasfilm announced a handful of promising new film projects set within the Star Wars universe, including one that will follow Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order following the events of 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy subsequently confirmed in an interview with IGN that the film will take place 15 years after the conclusion of Star Wars' Sequel Trilogy and will find the Jedi "in disarray" and Rey trying to rebuild the Order "based on the books, based on what she promised Luke (Mark Hamill)."

Since then, progress on the project has been slow. Its original writers, Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, departed the project in March 2023, and their replacement, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, reportedly parted ways with the film recently as well. For her part, Daisy Ridley has remained fairly tight-lipped about the project and its status. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, though, she did open up about actually preparing to reprise her life-changing Star Wars role.