It turns out that the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story was already in development at Lucasfilm before Disney purchased the company.
Solo is fast approaching and now at last the marketing campaign is in full swing. We are learning more and more about the film and its characters as the days go by, including how Lawrence Kasdan was working on the film before Disney’s takeover.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kasdan reveals that once Disney came in he started working on The Force Awakens instead. After Episode VII was complete, however, he felt a little burnt out and suggested that his son Jon could help write the screenplay for Solo:
“When I was done, I was sort of burned out. And I said, ‘I don’t know, do we still want to do this Han thing?’…And they said, ‘Yeah! We really want you to go ahead with Han.’ And I said, ‘Well, my son, Jon, is very enthusiastic and full of ideas about the saga.’ And he had directed two movies and had done other things. ‘What if he came on and worked with me? Because, that would give me a shot in the arm.’ And so, that’s exactly what happened. They made a deal with Jon, and he and I have been writing since for three years.”
It’s always interesting to hear about these behind the scenes goings on, and certainly intriguing to know how far back the plans for Solo actually go. Just how different would the film have been if Disney hadn’t taken over?
SEE ALSO: Solo: A Star Wars story pulls inspiration from The Big Lebowski, according to writers
A new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.
Solo: A Star Wars Story features Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) as the famous smuggler, Donald Glover (Atlanta) as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Tobias Beckett, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) as L3-37, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Qi’Ra, Thandie Newton (Westworld) as Val, Ian Kenny (Sing Street) as Rebolt, Harley Durst (Wonder Woman) as Moloch, Tien Hoang (Now You See Me 2) as Moloch’s henchman and Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War) and Warwick Davis (Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi) in as-yet-unrevealed roles. It is set for release on May 25th 2018.
