inky_skin said:
Didn't Ford want Han Solo dead before the end of Return of the Jedi (thinking his 'sacrifice' would give greater weight to the drama) ? So he's already indicated that he's open to offing his iconic characters in the right situation...
Indeed, though I think it also had something to do with Harrison feeling Han had no real future, dramatically speaking - that he had taken the character as far as he could/would go, and that there wasn't anything interesting left for Han to do except perhaps die. With Indy, on the other hand, Harrison seems to have always seen potential for further adventures, more to explore dramatically, more room for character growth and development, etc.
This always stuck out in my head because for a little while it was pretty much the exact opposite of what
I thought - I thought that with
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we'd already seen the full extent of the character development workable with Indy, while I'd long anticipated seeing a future for Han in the then-oft-discussed
Star Wars episodes
VII,
VIII and
IX. Then along came
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which opened my eyes to just how much fresh, unexplored territory there was for the Indiana Jones character, and I began to see what I think Harrison might have been thinking of.
Of course, it could just be a case of an actor being most interested in a franchise that's centered around him to the fullest extent possible, but that doesn't really strike me as Harrison's bag. He seldom returns to
any role; of the many characters he's portrayed over his career, there are only four he's done more than once (three of them created by George Lucas, incidentally). I think he really is simply interested in exploring new ground, and sees untapped potential in Indy that, for him, isn't as strongly present with Han (or other characters he's done).