Solo: A Star Wars Story really is something of an outlier in the galaxy. Caught in the aftermath of Rian Johnson’s divisive The Last Jedi, all following a tumultuous production, the Alden Ehrenreich starring origin story stalled at the box-office, which caused the cancellation of future A Star Wars Story spin-offs (Obi-Wan, Boba Fett) by Lucasfilm head-honcho Kathleen Kennedy.
However, over time this fun but unnecessary addition to the Star Wars canon has been reappraised, and when director Ron Howard was asked about whether we might see any further adventures of Solo he responded “never say never”.
This isn’t the first time Howard has spoken about a Solo sequel, and while he offered up his note of characteristic optimism, the overriding message was that there are still no plans to extend the franchise. Howard was talking with NME when he said “The only discussion that I’m aware of about a sequel for Solo is coming from the fans at this point. I don’t think it’s a Lucasfilm priority, as I understand it.”
He continued “But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen so I would never say never – but I’m not aware of any concrete plans right now to extend the story or deal with that particular set of characters.”
Released in 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story starred Alden Ehrenreich as the titular space pirate made famous by Harrison Ford and also featured the impressive ensemble of Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Joonas Suotamo, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Emilia Clarke. It grossed $393 million at the worldwide box-office from a reported $275 million budget.
Those are the kind of figures that wouldn’t fly with Han Solo, let alone Lucasfilm, and so the studio refocused their efforts on Disney+ content, with the cancelled Star Wars stories becoming Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett.
There have been rumours of a similar fate for Ehrenreich’s take on the character, but for now we’ll have to make do with his appearance on the streaming service in Marvel’s forthcoming Ironheart series.
Let us know whether you’d like to see Solo given a limited series on Disney+, or whether you hold out hope for a sequel by heading to our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
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 Han Solo, Donald Glover (Atlanta) as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Tobias Beckett, Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as Chewbacca, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) as L3-37, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Qi’ra, Thandie Newton (Westworld) as Val, and Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War) as Dryden Vos.
