'Star Wars: Episode 8' spoilers: Han Solo still alive? Kylo Ren betrays Snoke?

The plot of the hotly anticipated "Star Wars: Episode 8" is kept tightly under wraps, but this hasn't stopped avid fans of the franchise from trying to cobble together a plausible storyline for the film.

The most recent rumors about the sequel to 2015's box office hit "Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens" indicate that a beloved character could return and that a despised villain could be revealed to be a double agent of sorts.

While the death of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) at the hands of his son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in "Episode 7" seemed to be a definitive end for the character, some just can't seem to let go of their favorite smuggler-turned-Rebel Alliance leader. Fans are now theorizing that Han actually survived his fall and will return — alive and well — in the upcoming "Episode 8."

According to the Morning Ledger, this theory holds water given that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was previously shown to survive a similar fall in "Star Wars: Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), after Darth Vader (David Prowse) revealed his true parentage.

Because Luke survived his fall through the air shaft, the theory suggests that it isn't entirely impossible for Han to survive his "Episode 7" fall as well. Fans also point out that "Episode 7" director J.J. Abrams has been recreating many events from the original "Star Wars" trilogy and that Han's fall may have been a recreation of Luke's.

In addition, a new fan theory proposes that Han's death was merely orchestrated to serve a larger plot twist. According to this theory, Kylo was secretly working with his father to destabilize the First Order and had faked his father's murder to prove his loyalty to Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), his master, and the First Order.

According to Reddit user shocktroopco, Kylo could have stabbed his father in a non-fatal location and then used the Force to direct Han's fall so that his father would survive.

While there's currently no way of verifying this theory, Ford was remarkably noncommittal when Jimmy Kimmel asked if he will appear in the two upcoming films in the current "Star Wars" trilogy.

In a March 2016 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," Ford merely mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key instead of answering "no," which is what many who had seen "Episode 7" expected.

"Star Wars: Episode 8" is scheduled to arrive in theaters Dec. 15, 2017.