Origins movie of ‘Star Wars’ hero Han Solo in the works
HAN SOLO, the StarWars space hero who always has a fast ship and a good blaster, will get his own stand-alone film, the Walt Disney Co said this week. It will be directed by the LegoMovie film makers.
The untitled Han Solo project, slated for release on May 25, 2018, will be the second stand-alone StarWars anthology film, following the release of RogueOne next year.
These films will explore a separate part of George Lucas’s intricate inter-galactic universe and will intersperse the new trilogy of StarWars movies, starting with December’s highly anticipated StarWars: TheForceAwakens.
The new Han Solo film will focus on the origin story of the character made famous in the StarWars films by actor Harrison Ford, who will reprise that role in TheForceAwakens.
Solo was introduced in the original StarWars film as a former smuggler who takes Luke Skywalker aboard his ship, the Millennium Falcon, and helps him escape Darth Vader.
Solo becomes the lovable scoundrel of the Rebel Alliance, fighting against the oppressive Galactic Empire along with his friend and co-pilot Chewbacca, a bear-like “wookie”.
“The story focuses 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,” Disney said in a statement.
Filmmakers Chris Miller and Phil Lord, best known for LegoMovie, the reboot of 21JumpStreet and also Fox TV’s hit comedy series TheLastManon Earth, will direct the movie, which has yet to announce a cast.
“We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us,” Miller and Lord said in a statement.
Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, best known for co-writing TheEmpireStrikes Back, ReturnoftheJedi andThe Force Awakens, will pen the screenplay with his son Jon Kasdan.
TheForceAwakens is the first of three newStar Wars films being produced by Walt Disney Co since it purchased the franchise from Lucasfilm in 2012.
The six previously released StarWars films have grossed more than $4.4 billion at the worldwide box office since 1977 and spawned a legion of devoted fans. – Reuters