Today Disney announced that a standalone Star Wars movie portraying the origin story of Han Solo is on the way. This is the third reported Star Wars movie, including Rogue One and Episode VII: The Force Awakened, since Disney took over the franchise.
The untitled Han Solo flick will be directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, both of whom directed The Lego Movie. From a joint press release:
“We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us.
This is a dream come true for us. And not the kind of dream where you’re late for work and all your clothes are made of pudding, but the kind of dream where you get to make a film with some of the greatest characters ever, in a film franchise you’ve loved since before you can remember having dreams at all.”
Personally, I’m excited for the movie but that’s because I’m a Star Wars nut who pretends that Episodes I-III didn’t happen. The very thought of watching Han literally destroy Dengar in a Swoop race, or watching the smuggler save Chewbacca’s life from an exploding planet gives me goose bumps.
A lot of other Star Wars fans are actually upset because they were hoping for new stories, rather than rehashed stuff from before.
As for who will play a young Han Solo? People seem to be calling Chris Pratt’s name an awful lot.