Missing Harrison Ford Still Inspires 'Star Wars' Zeal at Celebration

When the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted at the Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim today, Harrison Ford left fans giddy when he appeared as Han Solo, with Chewbacca, delivering the nostalgically appropriate tagline, “Chewie, we’re home.” Unfortunately, Ford himself could not be at the event with director J.J. Abrams and reunited costars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew. The 72-year-old actor is still recuperating from a plane crash he was in more than a month ago, but filmmakers reassured the eager audience that Ford will be “very actively involved” as the film’s Christmas Day release nears.

The Force Awakens producer Kathleen Kennedy, onstage with Abrams, marveled at Ford’s recent plane crash: “He’s the only person who could make an emergency landing on a golf course in front of two doctors,” she joked. “He’s home and resting and getting well as fast as he can. I can’t even begin to tell you how much he wanted to be here.” Abrams, who also expressed awe over Ford’s miraculous landing made him “more of a hero with that move” than he was as any of his characters in his movies. He also noted that he had texted the actor just the day before, inviting him to meet for lunch — but Ford rebuffed him, having already made other plans. Hope he wasn’t having drinks with Greedo: That rarely ends well.