51 Years Later, Star Wars Just Brought Back a Forgotten Harrison Ford Character
Before George Lucas became known as the creator of Star Wars, he made a little movie in 1973 called American Graffiti. Set in 1962, American Graffiti famously stars Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, and Cindy Williams. It’s also the movie that technically launched Harrison Ford’s journey into stardom.
And now, fifty-one years after Ford played cocky drag racer Bob Falfa in American Graffiti, the world of Lucasfilm has suddenly made that nearly-forgotten character relevant again. In the first episode of the new Disney+ Star War series, Skeleton Crew, it seems that drag racer Bob Falfa exists, sort of, on the periphery of this strange, new world.
Primarily a pirate space adventure starring Jude Law, Skeleton Crew focuses on four kids from a Star Wars planet called At Attin. Because of the isolated nature of this planet, these kids are restless and ready for adventure, and, in the first episode, they accidentally board a pirate starship and are whisked away into the rest of the galaxy.
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Now, it wouldn't be Star Wars unless there were some speed demon kids obsessed with racing, and that’s where Harrison Ford’s old American Graffiti character comes in. In the first episode, Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and KB (Kyriana Kratter) discuss the finer points of racing speeder bikes, including the need for those all-important power converters. (Luke wined about those in A New Hope, remember?) But, it’s also here that Skeleton Crew goes full American Graffiti.
A kid named Bhonj Phalfa (Shane Almagor) challenges Fern to a race, calling her and KB “wastoids.” He is the spiritual Star Wars version of “Bob Falfa” from American Graffiti making him a kind of teenage version of Ford’s character, but in space. Shane Almagor as Bhonj Phalfa also looks suspiciously like an Adam Driver-type, which makes the Harrison Ford/Bob Falfa/Han Solo connection even stronger.
Is this deep-cut super nerdy? Yes, but for once, it’s a Star Wars reference in a new Star Wars show that isn’t technically about Star Wars. And, if this connection between Skeleton Crew and American Graffiti gets a few people to rewatch American Graffiti, then the worst that can happen is a very underrated, and brilliant film will find some new love.