Last weekend at Disney’s D23 Expo, Harrison Ford was given perhaps the loudest round of applause from the enthusiastic crowd as he came on stage to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Even the people who made The Force Awakens seem to share an admiration for Ford and Han Solo, his iconic character within the Star Wars universe. Last week, Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan both shared their memories of the hushed tones that fell over the The Force Awakens set on the very first day that Ford reprised his role. During a recent interview, The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams appeared to indicate that some of the reverence for Ford may spill over to his character as well.

“It’s almost like cheating, because you bring Harrison Ford out and they went crazy…they love Han Solo,” explained Abrams. “It made me realize that there is a generation of people…of characters in this world who may have heard of him, who may not have heard of him at all. What would he mean to people now? And that just struck a nerve for me. So, it’s certainly part of our story.”

Because the Star Wars Expanded Universe is no longer canon, Han Solo’s story after Return of the Jedi is wide open. All we know for sure is that 30 years after the Battle of Endor, Han is still flying the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew). But we should learn more about Han Solo’s life when Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18.

Star Wars fans, what does Han Solo mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

HT: Variety