The internet threw itself into a tizzy recently when Woody Harrelson kinda sorta said he was
playing Garris Shrike in the Han Solo film. So this seems like a good time to talk about
who Garris Shrike is in Star Wars Legends, and I’ll discuss whether or not I think
the character will actually show up in the film. Unfortunately there just aren’t any
pictures of Garris Shrike. They don’t exist. So just bear with me on the visuals.
So in Star Wars Legends, Garris Shrike was the man who raised Han Solo. Han was an orphan
on Corellia, and Shrike quote unquote saved him from the streets. Of course what he was
actually doing was collecting a gang of orphans to use in cons and scams. He was once a bounty
hunter, but he failed in that life, so I guess his plan b was the orphans. He treated them
very poorly, beat them, didn’t give them medical attention, and only used them for
profit. As you probably could have guessed, Han was not an easy child to control. He received
the worst of the beatings and received them often. Ten years before the events of A New
Hope, Han finally escaped the gang, and then racked up a number of bounties for himself.
Wanting to teach the young man a lesson and collect the bounty, Shrike tracked him down,
but was killed by a competing bounty hunter.
So that’s his basic history, and now it’s time to talk about whether or not that’s
the character we’ll be seeing in the Han Solo film. I would say it is definitely possible.
There are some things pointing in that direction at least. We know for sure that Woody Harrelson
will be playing a mentor of sorts to Han. That fits. Lawrence Kasdan has said the film
will take place about ten years before A New Hope. That fits too. So yeah, the facts we
know for sure line up.
Then of course there is the clip in which Woody straight up says he’s playing Garris
Shrike. Now I think everyone is going to have a different opinion on this. Personally I
don’t think I can take Woody at his word. He may have just been confirming that he is
playing Han’s mentor, and the name Garris Shrike could have gone way over his head.
I just don’t want to get my hopes up based on one interview and no official statement
from Lucasfilm.
Even so, I’m not writing off the possibility of Shrike’s inclusion. At the very least,
I think Woody will be playing a character very similar to Garris. Shrike was created
for the novel The Paradise Snare by A. C. Crispin. Crispin says that she was told by
Lucasfilm that Han had been raised by a gang of thieves that forced him into a life of
crime. Also, Han was written into the first draft of Revenge of the Sith as an orphan.
Now neither of those things are canon, or have to be followed by new stories at all,
but there are just some things about Han’s characters that had already been thought out
and considered by Lucasfilm. The fact that he was an orphan forced into a gang.
I would say it’s pretty likely that those elements will still be a part of his canon
story. And if that’s the case, why not Shrike too? Again, I’m like 50/50 on this, and
definitely don’t think we can consider Garris to definitely be Harrelson’s character,
but if all these other story elements are kept, I’m having a hard time thinking of
a reason to not include Shrike as well. With Thrawn’s appearance in Rebels, we know Lucasfilm
is cool with cherry picking here and there from Legends. So there’s precedence. Also,
we have Han, Lando, Chewie, and I’m assuming Emilia Clarke will be a love interest of some
sort, and I’m betting they’re all protagonists. What we don’t have in the cast right now
is a villain. And Garris Shrike would be a very interesting antagonist. Someone very
personal to Han. A mentor that is kind of an abusive father figure. The story could
center around Han’s exit from the gang, and then Shrike’s pursuit.
Not too long ago I talked about this in one of my Q&As, and at the time I thought it was
more likely that Woody would be playing a new character. But the more I thought about
it and looking into things, the more I’ve been swayed. Earlier I said I was like 50/50
on this, but now I think I’m more 60/40 in favor of Harrelson playing Garris Shrike.
Again, he doesn’t necessarily have to be named the same, but I ask why not? The only
reason I can think of is if they plan to tell a wildly different story. But I think most
signs point towards seeing something that will, at least in broad strokes, be pretty
similar to Han’s Legends history. In my opinion Garris would be a perfect fit. He
would be awesome for long time fans of Star Wars to see again, but he would also be very
easily integrated into the story so new fans wouldn’t feel like they’re missing anything.
But what do you think? Will Woody Harrelson play Garris Shrike, or a new, similar character,
or will he be a new and very different character? He could always be a really great guy, you
never know! Let me know what you think in the comments. If you haven’t already please
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Force be with you!