New Han Solo movie details and this awesome first photo are enough to make your heart stop
Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy—though, if this photo's any indication, it is a hell of a lot of fun.
Lucasfilm released the above photo on Tuesday morning from the still-untitled Han Solo movie, starring Alden Ehrenreich, which officially started rolling Monday. Better yet, the movie is slated to hit a cineplex screen near you on May 25, 2018, according to Lucasfilm.
The Disney subsidiary also confirmed a number of things you might've already suspected:
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Chewbacca will be in the movie (played by basketball giant Joonas Suotamo, rather than the aging Peter Mayhew; Suotamo already inhabited the walking carpet for some scenes in The Force Awakens). Also back in action is the Millennium Falcon, with or without a few special modifications.
The movie will focus on Han and Chewie's adventures prior to the 1977 original Star Wars film, including "early encounters" with Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). Which makes it the second Star Wars prequel to enter the canon since Disney bought Lucasfilm (the first being 2016's Rogue One.)
Also now confirmed is Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the British actor to Woody Harrelson's right, who's rumored to be playing a CGI character in the style of Alan Tudyk's K-2SO from Rogue One.
Thandie Newton, best known as a host robot on HBO's Westworld, is also now confirmed in the cast—though apparently there wasn't enough room in the cockpit for her.
“We can’t think of anything funny to say," said Phil Lord and Chris Miller, mirth-filled creators of the Lego Movie and now directors of the Han Solo picture. "We just feel really moved, and really lucky."
Little is known yet about the role Emilia Clarke (at center) will play, though the young scoundrel seems in need of a love interest. Woody Harrelson told us he will play a mentor from the seedy underworld of galactic smuggling.
The father-and-son team of Lawrence and Jon Kasdan wrote the script, meaning we can expect double the Empire Strikes Back-style sparkling dialogue.
Whether that May 25 2018 date is for real is an open question. Another Disney subsidiary, Marvel, is set to launch its third blockbuster Avengers movie on May 4. Both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi slipped from their initially-announced May dates to December releases.
But for now, just take in the thousand words of joy that is the above photo, and hit the countdown clock: Only fifteen or so months until Solo finally gets his spotlight.
Topics Star Wars
Chris is a veteran tech, entertainment and culture journalist, author of 'How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,' and co-host of the Doctor Who podcast 'Pull to Open.' Hailing from the U.K., Chris got his start as a sub editor on national newspapers. He moved to the U.S. in 1996, and became senior news writer for Time.com a year later. In 2000, he was named San Francisco bureau chief for Time magazine. He has served as senior editor for Business 2.0, and West Coast editor for Fortune Small Business and Fast Company. Chris is a graduate of Merton College, Oxford and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a long-time volunteer at 826 Valencia, the nationwide after-school program co-founded by author Dave Eggers. His book on the history of Star Wars is an international bestseller and has been translated into 11 languages.