With the May 15 world premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story barely two weeks away, Disney has released a new featurette (watch the video below) pitching the cool factor and comprehensiveness of Han Solo’s back story.
The two-minute piece, titled Becoming Solo, includes numerous new shots likely to get the fan base salivating, though there has been angst in some corners as the May 25 commercial opening approaches. There was a major jolt during production when Howard replaced Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and some fans and observers of the franchise have wondered what the decision to debut in Cannes means in terms of Disney’s strategy.
Aiming to cruise past all of that, the featurette begins with an assertion by Howard that “the Star Wars universe that we see in Solo is different than anything else we’ve seen in any of the previous Star Wars movies.” At the same time, he reminds us, the film also features plenty of familiar elements for fans of the original trilogy. “Those first encounters with Chewbacca, with the Millennium Falcon, with Lando Calrissian — they’re in this movie!” Howard enthuses.
Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, whose Star Wars writing credits include many fans’ favorite installment, The Empire Strikes Back, calls Han “the most exciting character” of them all. “You never know what he’s going to do. He’s reckless.” Donald Glover’s young Lando is shown in the featurette playing poker with Han, and the two banter about the famous wager for the Millennium Falcon, which is referenced in the earliest films. “We get to meet Han right before he becomes the Han that we know,” Glover says.
Alden Ehrenreich, who steps into the Harrison Ford holster for this spinoff, says all of that back story makes the film “part of the great expansion of the Han Solo world.”
(via DealineHollywood)
