The first Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One, was a well-received $1 billion box office hit, which bodes well for the next spinoff Lucasfilm has on the docket. That would be Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s young Han Solo prequel, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as the fan-favorite smuggler. The directors have spent the past few months rounding out the supporting cast, bringing the likes of Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, and Woody Harrelson on board. It’s also been confirmed that Han’s loyal friend Chewbacca will appear, as the movie is an “origin story” of sorts for the pair.
Harrelson’s character has been the subject of much discussion ever since he signed on. Described as Han Solo’s mentor, the Oscar nominee seemed to confirm he would portray Legends character Garris Shrike in the film, before Pablo Hidalgo of Lucasfilm cast some doubt on that. Regardless, many viewers are excited to see what Harrelson brings to the galaxy far, far away, and it may not be too long before some official details come out. According to the actor, he starts filming soon.
While at the Sundance Film Festival, Harrelson spoke with Yahoo! and was of course asked about his upcoming Star Wars role. He stated that the project commences principal photography in March, which is a little off from the February 2017 start date Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had mentioned back in December. Nevertheless, cameras will be rolling in the spring, and Han Solo remains very much on track for its 2018 premiere - whether that be in May or December of that year.
It’s exciting that the Han Solo team will be together for shooting in a couple month’s time, and it will be interesting to see if there are any other developments that take place between now and then. To date, the ensemble has just four main actors, so it stands reason to believe more additions will be made in the coming weeks. For instance, nobody is said to play Han Solo’s villain - unless Harrelson’s “bit of a criminal” mentor fits that bill. In typical Lucasfilm fashion, plot details are being kept under wraps, but there likely are some more supporting parts to fill out before the cameras roll. An announcement on that matter could be made on day one of filming, as was the case with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Even though the modern Star Wars films do a great deal of shooting on location, fans should not expect there to be that many leaks from the set. Disney runs a pretty tight ship, and unofficial photos and/or videos rarely make their way online. During production on Last Jedi last year, the only set images of note were a recreation of the planet Ahch-To on a studio backlot and some sights from Dubrovnik. Lucasfilm maintains their secrecy, so viewers probably have a ways to wait until they see Ehrenreich and his co-stars in costume - especially with Episode VIII promotion about to get underway.
Source: Yahoo!
- Star Wars 8 Release Date: 2017-12-15 Han Solo Release Date: 2018-05-25
