Solo: A Star Wars Story marks a lot of firsts for Lucasfilm’s prized franchise.
For one, it’s poised to become Ron Howard’s first entry in the Star Wars canon, while also welcoming viewers into uncharted territory, which is to say that the upcoming anthology pic is about to deep dive into the mysterious origins of Han Solo.
He’s the wise-cracking smuggler made famous by Harrison Ford, who actually offered his own insight early on in the film’s production. That tidbit was buried within the pages of Entertainment Weekly’s latest issue, which also draws attention to L3-37, a quirky, self-modified droid played via motion capture by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Indeed, according to co-writer Jon Kasdan, she’s unlike any droid we’ve ever seen before:
She’s a self-modified droid. The idea is that she’s sort of a mutt, if you will, of various parts of different kinds of droids who has improved upon herself. She’s a complete individual in the galaxy. We wanted to have it be a completely different kind of droid than you’ve ever seen in the movies. And we definitely wanted it to be a female. We thought it was more than time for that.
Kasdan, who penned Solo‘s script alongside his father and all-around Star Wars expert, Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens) went on to speak about L3-37’s relationship with Lando Calrissian, Donald Glover’s ice-cool gambler and the original owner of the Millennium Falcon.
She has a working relationship with Lando, and it’s very sophisticated and informed by years of working together. And, Phoebe, herself, is hilarious. The effect that she will appear in is amazing, but she comes through very strongly even with this astounding [CGI], both her humor and her physicality. If you meet Phoebe, she’s one of these people you just fall in love with immediately.
She’s the Chewbacca to Glover’s Lando, then – a fiercely loyal ally who helps guide our heroes on their journey through the cosmos. And after K-2SO (Rogue One) and BB-8 (The Last Jedi), L3-37 has some pretty big, metallic boots to fill. We’ll be able to find out if Waller-Bridge’s droid is all she’s cracked up to be once Solo: A Star Wars Story begins screening on May 25th.
Published: Feb 9, 2018 09:48 am