A Young Han Solo Was Almost in THE CLONE WARS, and He Could’ve Been Played by Sam Witwer
The galaxy far, far away nearly gave us a glimpse of a young Han Solo in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and it turns out Darth Maul’s voice actor, Sam Witwer, was close to playing him.
During Dragon Con 2025, Witwer revealed that George Lucas and Dave Filoni considered introducing a 10- to 12-year-old version of Han during the animated series.
“There was a moment on Clone Wars where George Lucas was thinking about bringing on a young Han Solo,” Witwer said. “I know that Dave [Filoni] auditioned a whole bunch of actors, and I was one of the actors they auditioned.
“I know that George knows that [imitates grumpy Harrison Ford voice] when I want to, I can do a serviceable Harrison Ford, or I can do an old grumpy Harrison.”
Instead of just copying Harrison Ford’s iconic performance, Witwer decided to take a different approach.
“What I did was Bob Falfa from American Graffiti,” he explained, referencing Ford’s role in George Lucas’s 1973 classic. Witwer even demonstrated a few of the lines during his panel.
“I did that, and I don't know if Dave got what I was doing, but if you're doing young Han Solo, he surely isn't Han Solo yet,” Witwer added. “He's trying to be Han Solo.”
Ultimately, the idea never materialized. Han never showed up in The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels, even though both Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker managed to sneak in.
While Witwer didn’t get the chance to voice Han, he’s far from done with Star Wars. He’ll be reprising his role as Darth Maul in the upcoming Disney+ series Maul: Shadow Lord, which was officially announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025.
The story picks up after The Clone Wars and, according to GamesRadar+, the first trailer (shown exclusively behind closed doors) teases Maul recruiting a Twi’lek apprentice.
Maul: Shadow Lord will premiere in 2026, but fans won’t have to wait that long for more Star Wars on the big screen. The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026, marking the first Star Wars film release since The Rise of Skywalker.
Via: Popverse