Ever since Ron Howard took over the reins on Disney’s Han Solo spinoff – at the expense of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, no less – the Oscar-winner has maintained an open dialogue with the Star Wars community through a series of candid set photos depicting the Millennium Falcon and, potentially, our first fleeting glimpse of Donald Glover (Spider-Man: Homecoming) kitted out as the young Lando Calrissian.
That stream of content continued over the course of the weekend, when Howard shared yet another set photo, one that appears to be taken within a Cantina-like setting. Flanked by cinematographer Bradford Young (Arrival), the director is surrounded by crew members on all sides, but peer a little closer and you’ll be able to identify a potential alien ally hiding in plain sight. Posted to Twitter, Howard’s message came tethered with the caption: “Working out a shot w/cinematographer Bradford Young for #UntitledHanSoloMovie”.
The exact origins of that extra-terrestrial are up for debate, though it does appear to be sporting some form of space helmet. Will it turn out to be an ally to Alden Ehrenreich’s young solo? Or are Ron Howard and Co. about to introduce one of the smuggler’s early adversaries? Heck, it could well be that this E.T. is actually a pawn working for Jabba the Hutt, who’s rumored to appear in the 2018 anthology pic. Time will tell.
Hardly one to stop the presses, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Disney and Lucasfilm’s Han Solo pic will seemingly take place over a seven-year period, and will therefore chronicle Solo’s rise to prominence (infamy?) between the ages of 16 and 24. That opens up a fairly huge canvas from which Howard and his team can work from, and we’re excited to see the final product light up theaters in the spring.
Creative differences aside, Disney’s Han Solo origin movie is beginning to coalesce and remains firmly on track for a release on May 25th, 2018. Closer to home, Star Wars fans can look forward to the arrival of The Last Jedi on December 15th.
