Ever since Harrison Ford's leg got Millennium Falcon'd, word has been swirling around about just how bad the damage was. What was initially thought to be a broken ankle turned into a broken leg and recovery time turned from weeks to months. I'm somewhat reminded of Ford's injury on the set of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, where a double had to take over the bulk of Ford's work (note the fight scene with Indy on the rock crusher). In any event, we all wish Ford a speedy recovery, but we've also been wondering where that leaves production. When JJ. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over writing duties from Michael Arndt, the big rumor at the time was that it was to beef up the role of some of the original cast members (namely Han Solo). The release date hasn't moved, so what now? Do we string up Harrison like a marionette? Stunt-double our way to wrap?
One solution may be to share the load and give some of the newcomers more screen time. The name being tossed around is Oscar Isaac, who may or may not have any relation to the Solo, or be Solo-like in nature.
While I don't think the story will change all that much, broken leg or no, I do hope that the newcomers get their fair share of screen time. The last thing I want to see next December is a repeat of CRYSTAL SKULL. Sure, Harrison looks great for his age, but that doesn't mean he isn't old. I'm hoping the script takes that into consideration and doesn't have him wrestling a Gundark or some such nonsense.
STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is still slated for a December 18, 2015 release.
On second thought, maybe I would pay to see Solo try and rip the ears off that thing.