So, there was the big STAR WARS fan expo the other day, STAR WARS: CELEBRATION, and some geek sites are going to town on the news that the television series announced in George Lucas's keynote speech is to be set "between episodes 3 & 4" and "features previous adventures of established characters". So far, I've heard predictions of a "Young Boba Fett" series (and yes, done right, that could be cool), a live-action version of the old "Droids" cartoon (highly unlikely) and a series about the relentless march of the empire (too grim).
Is it just me, or isn't it obvious that the one character who would actually have a character arc worth telling between III and IV is Han Solo? Young buccaneer, drafted into the service of the imperial forces, goes A.W.O.L.; meets young Lando, nicks his ship; meets young Chewie, frees him; meets young Boba Fett, pisses him off; meets young Jabba, works for him; has many interesting japes, loves 'em and leaves 'em ( hasn't met the woman who's his equal yet, y'see), etc. Learns the valuable lessons that'll bring him to the verge of signing up with the rebellion, despite his insincere protestations of self-interest.
I can even think of the perfect actor for the part: SIX FEET UNDER's Peter Krause. Not that he looks that much like Harrison Ford, he just shares a similar demeanour and delivery. As long as they didn't repeat the mistake of YOUNG INDIANA JONES and cast some kid with a charisma bypass, it might turn out okay. And, if they did get Kevin Smith as the show runner, it'd probably end up pretty funny, too (though that still sounds a fairly unlikely rumour - the guy is a terminally lazy dodger of deadlines, so working on such a big project might scare the baggy pants offa him).
******UPDATE******1st MAY, 2005******
Just saw Josh Hartnett in HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE with Hank Ford. Not a great film, but realised the guy could probably pull of a decent young Han, too. The long face, the drawl. The sarcasm.