Star Wars: Here's where Leia's famous 'Nerf Herder' insult comes from

'You stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder'

Han Solo gets called a lot of things in Star Wars, but the most famous and quotable is probably in The Empire Strikes Back when Leia calls him a “stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder”.

Thanks to Disney’s ongoing attempt to expand their newly bought Star Wars universe, they’ve revealed just why she refers to the loveable rogue as a nerf herder.

In the upcoming Star Wars #17 comic book, released by Marvel (also owned by Disney), (via i09) Luke and Han go on an adventure to find supplies for the Rebellion.

Unfortunately, Han manages to lose all their money gambling in a game of Sabaac, and to earn the money back they do the only thing Han knows how to do well: smuggle stuff.

Eventually, Luke makes a deal on Nar Shadaa. And the loot they’re smuggling?

Star Wars #17 (Marvel Comics)

Nerfs, of course. In case you didn’t know what a Nerf looked like - we’re not talking about the children’s toy - they’re just like Yaks in looks and more like cows in their smell.

Unfortunately for our heroes, those Nerfs are being tracked by none other than the Empire, who then start shooting at the Falcon.

They get away in the end, but Leia is - as you can imagine - slightly annoyed by the whole event, especially because while they were off adventuring, she was having a moral crises over how to lead the rebellion.

Thus, in The Empire Strikes Back, Leia calls Han a nerf herder. In other Star Wars news, Harrison Ford had some encouraging advice for any actors audition for a young Han Solo: “Don’t do it”.