Near the end of the film, The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo is just a few seconds away from being made into a carbonite frozen mold block. He may or may not survive this encounter. So in the original script the director, Irvin Kershner, made news when he had Leia say, “I love you,” and Han would reply, “I love you, too.”

Because no one at that time including the director was happy with how this key exchange felt, they tried it over and over until finally, director Kershner asked Harrison Ford to improvise. “I love you,” Carrie Fisher said in the next take. “I know,” Harrison Ford answered. This was the final take of this scene in the film. It has become a thrilling, heartbreaking moment. Now there is major agreement that It’s really the only way Han would reply. He is still seen as tough, vulnerable and very cool. To this day for most people, the “I love you/I know” defines both Han and Leia and their relationship.

Following the Star Wars saga over its many years, much has been made of this purportedly ad-libbed line in Empire. Even director Irving Kershner himself recalled, “I regarded that scene as entirely Harrison Ford’s ...” "This help to allow the characters of Han and Leia to set a definite Star Wars overall and on-going heroic bold tone."

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