Originally published December 16, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
Now that the first standalone Star Wars film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has arrived (you can read our review here), it’s time to set our sights on the next entry that will stand apart from the “Episodes” of the series: Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s untitled Han Solo origin film starring Hail, Caesar!‘s Alden Ehrenreich, which we now know will begin production soon.
While attending the UK premiere for Rogue One in London, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was asked by BBC about the future of the Star Wars saga. According to Kennedy, cameras will begin rolling for Han Solo’s big screen adventure in February, 2017. Kennedy also revealed that the film – which takes place in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope – will follow the vision of its two fan-favorite directors:
“I would just say that I think what’s really great about the fact that we’re now moving into these standalone movies is that we’re bringing in, essentially auteur directors, like Gareth [Edwards]. We’re really supporting those directors and their vision. We’re looking at each of these movies without a rulebook. We’re basically saying, ‘Okay, here’s a new story, a new movie, a new approach, and what do we want to do?’ We’re very open to that. I think it very much is in the spirit of what George Lucas did to begin with. He inspired ILM innovation – technical innovation was extremely important to him. It’s very much a part of the culture of this company.”
The untitled Han Solo film sees Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) directing a cast that includes the aforementioned Alden Ehrenreich as the titular smuggler, Donald Glover (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clark (Game of Thrones) in as-yet-unrevealed role. It’s set for release on May 25th, 2018.
