The blaster Han Solo used in Star Wars: A New Hope was once considered lost forever. Two new prop blasters had to be made for Solo in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
We have got a ballpark cost for those replacement blasters, too. One, the Return of the Jedi prop, sold in auction in 2018 for $550,000. So, imagine what the original A New Hope blaster could go for?
Rock Island Auction Company has the original, the documentation to prove it and will put the prop on auction in August. The pre-auction price is £300,00 – £500,00.
It’s possible Han Solo’s blaster could set a new Star Wars record, but it’s a high bar to beat. The original R2D2 droid sold in 2017 for $2.75m; more recently, an original X-Wing prop went for $2.3m.
Those who know about guns might recognise the Solo blaster as a modified Mauser C96 broom handle pistol. It had been used in movies, once by Frank Sinatra in “Naked Runner”, where he played an assassin.
Roger Christian, the set decorator for A New Hope, is believed to have wanted a western vibe for Solo’s weapon in the film. As a result, the Mauser was modified with a World War II era sope and a muzzle from an aeroplane-mounted machine gun.
The Star Wars prop isn’t the only gun going under the hammer in August. Rock Island Auction Company has loads more, including a pair of Lara Croft pistols used by Angelina Jolie and the real-life revolver of Wild Bill Hickok. The latter of which, some historians believe, was on the fighter when he was killed in Deadwood.
Quick Links
- Han Solo Blaster auction page.
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