The Star Wars Movie That Almost Killed Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford has been a mainstay of the "Star Wars" franchise since it first began in 1977. He has continued to return to the saga as Han Solo, but an accident during one of the films could have killed him, according to a court report from The Guardian. Ford wrapped up Han's storyline in 2015's "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens," which finds him reuniting with Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) as a new villain named Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) comes to the forefront.
The movie features big moments, including the appearance of Han and Chewie's Millennium Falcon, but an incident involving a hydraulic door on the legendary ship left Ford with serious injuries in 2014. A court hearing explained that the door was accidentally closing while Ford was standing underneath it. He told The Jonathan Ross Show, "The door came down and hit me on my left hip 'cause I was turned to my right, and it flung my left leg up, and I dislocated my ankle. As it drove me down to the floor, my leg slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon, and [I] broke both bones in my left leg."
According to The Guardian, prosecutor Andrew Marshall told the court, "It could have killed somebody. The fact that it didn't was because an emergency stop was activated." Foodles Production Ltd. was fined nearly $2 million dollars over the incident. And Ford was not the only team member who was hurt.
J.J. Abrams suffered an injury while trying to help Ford
Director J.J. Abrams told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he jumped into action upon seeing the hydraulic door on top of Harrison Ford. He tried lifting it but soon realized that the door did not work that way. "I could not lift the door, and I broke my back. I felt this pop. I was like, 'That hurts,'" Abrams said, noting that he didn't see a doctor until one week later. He continued, "[The doctor] did a scan, and he was explaining to me how everything was fine, but then as he was saying it, looking at the scan, he's like, 'Oh dear. ... You fractured your L4.'"
Ford was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery. He later reiterated to MTV that this was purely an accident that happened before filming. "I wasn't doing a stunt. I was just standing there talking to J.J.," he said. And the hydraulic doors are a new addition to the Millennium Falcon, according to Ford. He told The Jonathan Ross Show that during the days of the first "Star Wars" film, the ship's doors were operated by way of a pulley system.
As for Ford's recovery, Abrams told Jimmy Fallon that Ford returned to set in full force, running just a few short months later.