Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo: A Star Wars Story is a 2018 American space Western film directed by Ron Howard and written by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan. Produced by Lucasfilm Ltd., and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the second Star Wars anthology film, following Rogue One. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, with Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany in supporting roles. The film tells the origin story of Han Solo and Chewbacca, who join a heist within the criminal underworld ten years prior to the events of the first Star Wars film.
George Lucas began developing a Han Solo prequel in 2012 and commissioned Lawrence Kasdan to write the screenplay. After Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012, Kasdan was hired to write The Force Awakens, leaving his son Jonathan to complete the Solo script. Principal photography began in January 2017 at Pinewood Studios, with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Both were fired in June 2017 following creative differences with Lucasfilm, and Howard was hired as their replacement. Solo is one of the most expensive films ever made, with a budget of at least $275 million.
Solo premiered in Los Angeles on May 10, 2018, and was released in North America on May 25. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, which praised the cast, visuals, score, and action sequences, while some criticized the storyline and screenplay. It was the first Star Wars film to be a box-office bomb, grossing $393 million worldwide. It received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 91st Academy Awards.
Plot
On the planet Corellia, orphans Han and Qi'ra escape a local gang. They bribe an Imperial officer with stolen coaxium, a starship fuel, for passage on a transport, but Qi'ra is captured before she can board. Han vows to return for her and joins the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet, being given the surname "Solo".Three years later, Han is serving as an infantryman on Mimban following his expulsion from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination. He encounters a trio of criminals posing as Imperial soldiers, led by Tobias Beckett. Han attempts to blackmail Beckett into letting him join the gang, but Beckett has him arrested and thrown into a pit to be fed to a Wookiee prisoner named Chewbacca. Able to understand Chewbacca's language, Han persuades him to cooperate to escape. Beckett, aware of the usefulness of a Wookiee's strength, rescues and enlists them in the gang to steal a shipment of coaxium on Vandor-1. The plan fails when the Cloud Riders, a band of space pirates led by Enfys Nest, arrive to hijack the shipment. The resulting chaos leads to the destruction of the coaxium and the deaths of Beckett's partner Val and their crewman Rio.
Beckett reveals that he was ordered to steal the shipment for Dryden Vos, a high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Han and Chewbacca volunteer to help him steal another shipment to repay the debt so that Vos will not kill him. They travel to Vos's yacht, where Han finds Qi'ra, who has joined Crimson Dawn as Vos's top lieutenant. Han suggests a risky plan to steal unrefined coaxium from the mines on Kessel. Vos approves but insists that Qi'ra accompany the team. She leads them to Lando Calrissian, a smuggler and pilot, who she hopes will lend them his ship, the Millennium Falcon. Han challenges Lando to a game of cards, with the wager being Lando's ship. Lando cheats to win but agrees to join the mission in exchange for a share of the profits.
After reaching Kessel in the Falcon and infiltrating the mine, Lando's droid co-pilot L3-37 instigates a slave revolt. They steal the coaxium, but L3 is fatally damaged in the confusion and Lando is wounded during the escape. With the help of L3's navigational data, uploaded into the ship's systems, Han pilots the ship through the dangerous and uncharted Kessel Run to elude an Imperial blockade. The Falcon, badly damaged, lands on the planet Savareen to process the coaxium.
Enfys arrives, having tracked the team from Vandor, and Lando leaves in the Falcon, deserting everyone else. Enfys reveals that she and her crew are rebels trying to strike back at the syndicates and the Empire. Han becomes sympathetic to their cause and tries to trick Vos, who reveals Beckett has already alerted him to the double-cross. Vos sends his guards to kill Enfys, but the Cloud Riders overpower them, leaving Vos defenseless. Having anticipated Vos's strategy, Han tries to take the coaxium, but Beckett betrays Vos and escapes with it, taking Chewbacca hostage. Qi'ra kills Vos and sends Han after Beckett. She contacts Vos's superior, Maul, to inform him of the mission's failure, which she blames on Beckett. Maul orders Qi'ra to meet with him on Dathomir.
Han confronts Beckett and shoots him dead before he can return fire. Qi'ra leaves in Vos's yacht, while Han and Chewbacca give the coaxium to Enfys, who offers Han a chance to join the rebellion against the Empire. He declines, and she gives him a vial of coaxium, enough to purchase a ship of his own.
Han and Chewbacca locate Lando and challenge him to a rematch, once again wagering the Falcon. This time Han wins after having stolen the hidden card that Lando used to cheat his way to victory the first time. Han and Chewbacca then leave for Tatooine to find the crime lord mentioned by Beckett who is putting together a big, profitable job.
Cast
- Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo: A cynical smuggler who joins Beckett's crew. When asked how Solo differs from Han's appearance in other Star Wars films, Ehrenreich stated, "I think the main thing that's different is that the Han we meet in this film is more of an idealist. He has certain dreams that he follows, and we watch how it affects him as those dreams meet new realities—realities that are harder and more challenging than he'd expected." Harrison Ford, who portrayed the character in previous films, met with Ehrenreich, giving him some insight and words of advice.
- Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett: A criminal and Han's mentor. The character of Beckett was based on Long John Silver from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra: Han's childhood friend and romantic interest. Describing her character, Clarke said: "She has a couple of guises, but essentially she is just fighting to stay alive. If you've got a really glamorous lady in a really sordid environment, you kind of know the glamor is hiding a few rough roads." With regard to her character's relationship with Solo, Clarke offered that "They grew up as comrades, essentially. They grew up as pals, as partners in crime. There is obviously the romantic side of things. But they grew up together. So they were kids together."
- Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian: A smuggler, gambler, and self-proclaimed sportsman on the rise in the galaxy's underworld. Billy Dee Williams, who portrayed the character in previous films, met with Glover, giving him some insight and words of advice.
- Thandiwe Newton as Val Beckett: Tobias Beckett's partner, a fellow criminal and member of his crew.
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the voice of L3-37: Lando's droid companion and navigator. When the character dies in the film, her consciousness and data are uploaded to the Millennium Falcon, which serves as a retcon of the previous Star Wars films, including The Empire Strikes Back, in which the starship is described as having "the most peculiar dialect". Screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan explained that this was done to give "the Falcon a personality that is fused with this amazing character played by Phoebe I think does actually enrich the other movies".
- Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca: a fierce Wookiee warrior. Suotamo reprises his role from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, in the former of which he acted as a body double for Peter Mayhew, who portrayed the character in previous films.
- Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos: A ruthless crime lord who has a history with Beckett. Michael K. Williams had originally been cast, but he was removed from the final film after being unable to return to set during the film's reshoots. Bettany was cast in his place, with the character being reworked from a motion-capture alien to a scarred near-human alien lifeform.
Screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan and first assistant director Toby Hefferman portrayed Tag Greenley and Bink Otauna, respectively—two characters that first appeared in the Star Wars Legends comics published by Dark Horse Comics. The scene was not included in the finished film.
Production
Development
A first attempt at an appearance of Han Solo as a child was present during the pre-production of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2002, showing an early draft of a young Solo that takes part in the battle on Kashyyyk.Later, a planned live-action TV series developed by Star Wars creator George Lucas titled Star Wars: Underworld would have depicted Han Solo's first meeting with Chewbacca and his winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. In 2012, about three weeks before Lucasfilm became a Disney property, Lawrence Kasdan had a meeting with Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy about relaunching the franchise and was presented with nine film ideas, devised and sketched by Lucas himself, which included the new sequel trilogy and various spin-offs. However, Kasdan wasn't sure if he wanted to make more movies even though the story about Han Solo was the one that inspired him the most, so Lucas commissioned him to write the screenplay. After Lucas sold his company to Disney in 2012, Kasdan was hired to help finish the script for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, leaving his son Jonathan Kasdan in charge of writing Solo until his return. The film was internally codenamed "Harry and the Boy" and initially planned to follow The Force Awakens.
In February 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the development of two Star Wars standalone films, one written by Lawrence Kasdan. Shortly thereafter, it was reported that Disney was working on a film featuring Solo. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo described the standalone films as origin stories. In July, Lucasfilm announced that an anthology film focusing "on how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley" would be released on May 25, 2018.
The film was supposed to be released after The Force Awakens, but the temporary departure of Kasdan led to the first development of the spin-off Rogue One. The project was to be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a script by Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan. Kathleen Kennedy would serve as a producer, with Lawrence Kasdan and Jason McGatlin as executive producers; Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel also produce. Solo's Wookiee friend Chewbacca was also announced to appear in the film. In May 2016, Lawrence Kasdan stated that filming would start in January 2017.