As much as we loved Star Wars: The Force Awakens – and we did love it – we wholeheartedly agree with the most common complaint lodged against it by fans. That being that it was too similar to what came before. There’s nothing wrong with paying homage of course, and sticking to what works is obviously fine – to a degree – but J.J. Abrams borrowed a bit too heavily from A New Hope and it resulted in a film that while tremendously enjoyable, also had an unshakable feeling of familiarity.
So, imagine our delight then when Rogue One turned out to be a blast of fresh air for the franchise, giving us a Star Wars movie quite unlike any we’d seen before. That trend looks set to continue into the future, too, with Rian Johnson promising fans that The Last Jedi won’t just be a rehash of The Empire Strikes Back. Not only that, but it seems that the next Anthology film, Han Solo, will be looking to carve its own path as well.
Thandie Newton recently sat down with The Wrap to talk about the project and while she didn’t reveal much, the actress assured us that it’s a “really different” film.
It’s fantastic, I’m loving [it]. It’s different from anything else I have done or am doing. … I can’t tell you [why]. It’s just different, OK? It’s just really different.
Given Newton’s long list of credits, hearing that Han Solo is unlike anything she’s done before is certainly exciting. Unfortunately, given that we know so little about it at the moment, it’s hard to say exactly how it’s looking to set itself apart, but after seeing what Rogue One was able to do, we have no doubt that the next Anthology film will be another unique and refreshing outing for the franchise.
Straddling the line between a Western and heist movie, Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo spinoff is booked in for a release on May 25th, 2018.
