Solo: A Star Wars Story Expanded Edition is shaping up to be a cut above your average tie-in novelization. Perhaps stinging from the movie’s muted reception from both critics and audiences, Disney and Lucasfilm may be set on retroactively rehabilitating its reputation with a novel that seems to promise the ‘full’ story. At any rate, it’s the first time I’ve seen a proper trailer for a film’s novelization, which has now been released in advance of its September 4th publication (which itself seems a little late).
The book promises to put some flesh on the bones of the story we saw in cinemas, with the trailer going so far as to show us unused footage, promising “more of Han and Qi’ra’s adventures on Corellia” and giving us a quick glimpse at them on the run (at 00:35 in the trailer). This would presumably have been early on in the film, when they’re desperately trying to escape the planet, scrabbling for any way they can to get through the Imperial restrictions on travel.
The trailer also promises that we’ll learn more about Han’s time in the Imperial Academy training to be a pilot, “a further glimpse into the origins of the Rebellion” and much more. Given that Disney discarded a lot of what original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller shot, there’s presumably a ton of unused material for the author to work from here. Perhaps it’ll be worth picking up a copy and imagining the film Solo might have been rather than the damp squib we actually got?
The novelization’s release will soon be followed by the home video debut, with Solo: A Star Wars Story landing on Digital HD on September 14th with the Blu-ray shortly behind it on September 25th. Extras include a number of making-of featurettes that should tickle the more technically minded Star Wars fans, an impressive amount of deleted scenes and, most interestingly, a roundtable led by Ron Howard which promises an “intimate and entertaining discussion of the film’s making.” If Disney has the balls to be honest about the production woes, that last entry could be fascinating, but I suspect they’re going to gloss over it as best they can.
