While Disney has been operating under the one-Star-Wars-movie-per-year policy since its historic acquisition of Lucasfilm, Solo: A Star Wars Story really is the exception to the rule.
Indeed, one glance at the cinematic calendar will tell you that there are only five months separating The Last Jedi and Ron Howard’s Han Solo spinoff, meaning it won’t be too long before we’re whisked off to that galaxy far, far away once more.
Plot details are still few and far between, but with talk of a teaser trailer being released in the coming weeks, it appears Lucasfilm is finally ready to lift the curtain on Alden Ehrenreich’s nerf herder. And not a moment too soon.
Of course, Solo: A Star Wars Story has been somewhat overshadowed by its storied production, during which time Ron Howard was drafted in to replace Phil Lord and Chris Miller. That high-profile changeover led to a huge amount of reshoots, while Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War) recently admitted that Howard reshot a lot more than was originally intended.
Couple this with those potentially troubling rumors and it’s small wonder why many are expecting Solo to bomb. Still, there’s reason to be hopeful, as Empire Magazine (via CBM) has uncovered one or two new plot points concerning Howard’s offshoot.
As previously reported, it’ll focus on the galaxy’s greatest smuggler during his 20s, right around the time that he first saved Chewbacca from an Imperial Officer. There’s also word that Lucasfilm’s second Star Wars anthology movie will introduce us to a “different Solo.”
It’s part of Solo lore that, as a young gifted pilot, he studied at the Imperial Academy at Carida. Solo is kicked out of the Academy for rescuing Chewbacca from an Imperial Officer, and thus one of the cinema’s greatest friendships was formed. Some variation on this is likely in Solo.
Story-wise, the spice mines of Kessel are all but confirmed to appear, as Empire points to a previous tweet from Ron Howard that included the word ‘spicy.’ Perhaps we’ll see Han perform that near-impossible feat in 12 parsecs?
This is most likely a nod to the spice mines of Kessel, a galactic prison where inmates mine a precious spice. It also suggests the Kessel Run, the hyperspace route used by smugglers, will play a part.
Solo: A Star Wars Story blasts off on May 25th, 2018 – exactly three weeks after the launch of Marvel’s Infinity War.