Huge Star Wars Blowout Sheds Light On Ron Howard’s Han Solo Spinoff

Entertainment Weekly has capped off a busy week of Walking Dead scoops and Black Panther intel with a suitably huge blowout for Solo: A Star Wars Story.

From art books to companion novels, concept drawings to sticker collections, the gallery below is a treasure trove dedicated to the galaxy’s greatest smuggler, whose allies range from smooth-talking operators (Lando Calrissian) to a childhood friend (Qi’ra) who looks set to become the femme fatale of Ron Howard’s Solo spinoff.

Thankfully, Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain was on hand to offer some context to each companion piece, all the while identifying their ties to Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Up first, The Art of Solo, by Phil Szostak:

This is another of those really beautiful art books that shows various pieces of concept art that went into this film. You see the evolution of Solo through this book, and the insight that Phil gets from everyone in the production is incredible.

Further details on each tie-in will be released in the coming weeks as Lucasfilm begins to market its second Star Wars movie in only six months. Another highlight of the collection is Pablo Hidalgo’s official guide to Solo, which adopts the format of a visual dictionary:

This one combines the popular formats of a Visual Dictionary with part of a cross-sections book. This gives you insight into the characters, and the props, vehicles, and tech that you see in the film. And it’s written by [Lucasfilm story group member] Pablo Hidalgo, so we have it on good authority that all of this is correct.

Tucked away under the shadow of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, many felt that Solo didn’t stand a fighting chance against Hollywood’s pre-summer blockbusters (read: Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2), particularly when you factor in those alleged reports claiming that Disney was bracing to take a loss on their second Star Wars anthology pic – with Rogue One being the first.

But the first trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story changed all that, and there’s now a tangible excitement to see Alden Ehrenreich map out the origins of everyone’s favorite nerf-herder. May 25th is the date for your diaries.