Solo: A Star Wars Story Adorns EW Cover As Kathleen Kennedy Teases “Gunslinger Type Movie”

There has never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan.

Take The Last Jedi as an example. Rian Johnson’s spectacular (and surprisingly divisive) sequel has only been on the market for six weeks and already, Disney and Lucasfilm are banging the drum in anticipation of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the standalone adventure film that’s poised to uncover the mysterious origin story behind the galaxy’s most endearing scoundrel.

Alden Ehrenreich is the man faced with the somewhat daunting task of playing a character popularized by Harrison Ford (Blade Runner 2049), but after Solo‘s back-to-back teasers, we’re willing to lend him the benefit of the doubt. It’s still draped in secrecy, of course, but thanks to Entertainment Weekly, today heralds another peek at Ehrenreich’s smuggler standing next to his future co-pilot, Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo).

Embedded below, you’ll notice that EW’s latest issue also gives a shoutout to the women of Wakanda, who are all set to light up the big screen via Black Panther next week.

Circling back to that famous, far-away galaxy, though, and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy describes Solo to be a “heist, gunslinger type movie,” one that’ll follow Han’s defining journey through a criminal underworld.

He might be a little more immature, he may be a little less experienced, and he may hone his cynicism over time, but he’s very wary. He needs to gain the respect of the people he interacts with, even if they’re the lowest of the low.

He won’t do so alone, mind you, as Solo: A Star Wars Story features an ensemble cast for the ages, what with Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) on board to play Qi’ra. Elsewhere, we have Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and his droid sidekick L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), along with Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), blaster-toting Val (Thandie Newton), and crime boss Dryden Vos, the latter of whom will be played by Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War), who assumes the role once earmarked for Michael K. Williams.

With Solo: A Star Wars Story now adorning the cover, Entertainment Weekly will likely roll out various scraps of intel over the coming days. And we’ll be keeping a close eye on Ron Howard’s anthology flick as it begins to coalesce, particularly now that Disney is pushing ahead with a fifth Star Wars trilogy (Rian Johnson is in charge of the fourth) and multiple TV series set in that famous, distant galaxy.