Solo General Discussion Thread

Given that it was May 4th on Tuesday and the fact that I finally had some free time after months of non-stop work, I had planned on dedicating last weekend to Star Wars and marathoning through it... the only thing I ended up watching was Solo. I've said in the past that I don't mind Solo, it doesn't really have any extreme highs for me but there's nothing about it that I don't like, (though I still roll my eyes at the Imperial officer going, "Han... Solo"). I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen it, and that's the only Star Wars film I can say that about, but my most recent watch was probably my favorite yet. I'm almost positive it was just due to the fact that I had been away from Star Wars for so long, and it was great to be back in that world. There was so much riding against this film through almost every phase of its production and it really could've ended up being an absolute disaster, kudos to everyone involved for steering it away from that.

 

I was very skeptical about the Solo movie when it was being made. Yes, it was a gamble to recast someone in the role. To me Solo is a much more amusing movie than some of the Skywalker saga movies. I can see how some parts of the movies were considered cheasy, but they never really bothered me. I thought the whole heist crew and L3 were incredible new characters that really added to the Star Wars universe. Donald Glover was brilliant as Lando and showed recasting can really work. Alden Ehrenreich did a decent job, but also had bigger shoes to fill. He would deserve another live action Solo project.

Looking back at where Star Wars is now, I am even more appreciative of

Spoiler: Solo spoiler

Maul appearing at the end.

Animation had always been a storyline in the background. Rogue One was the first time they started putting in some easter eggs in which animation was acknowledged as part of the live action universe.

Spoiler: Solo spoiler

Maul in Solo was groundbreaking to me as they dared to introduce an animation storyline as crucial to a live action plot

. I still believe this was the moment where Lucasfilm made a change in mindset, embracing animation, eventually leading to

Spoiler: The Mando spoiler

Ahsoka appearing in Mandalorian

and

Spoiler: Rise of Skywalker spoiler

TROS including Ahsoka, Kanan and others

.

I respect people's opinion about any movie, but it was sad to see how Solo never got the chance it deserved. I think without the whole backlash, it would have done fine as a movie. I hope that one day we will get a Solo 2 project, whatever that might be. Or perhaps some characters could turn up in Andor or Obi-Wan.

 

I believe it, based on the reseption of the character, that is more likely than not that we'll see Cassian encounter the Cloud Riders -- or at LEAST Enfys Nest & Weazel -- in the Andor show. I'm pretty sure that even IF we get another Solo project down the line, Han & Chewie won't run into the Cloud Riders again, as Han shouldn't have too much experience with the Rebellion prior to the Princess rescue mission, but Enfys Nest's story is, I believe, far from over. She'll be an integral part of the formation of the Rebellion to Restore the Republic, for sure

 

I agree. That would be a great story line. Cassian might have been the one who recruited them in the first place. It would also be great to hear their theme song again.

Han and Chewie might indeed be less likely to show up in Andor, but who knows about Lando. Or Qi'ra and Maul. "We've all done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion", Cassian said in R1. Who knows what they have gotten into. Working with crime syndicates does not sound like a far stretch.

But I guess it will be one or the other for now, and then Cloud Riders / Enfys Nest make more sense.

 

I wish Solo2 would happen. 2 solo for you should be it’s title

 

I think Chewbacca letting Han using a nickname for him was a sign of trust and friendship. Han just deciding to give him a nickname is rude.

I also dislike how Chewbacca's personal past is often ignored especially in a movie about Han Solo's origins. In the old EU he was non-stop rescuing his fellow Wookies from Slavery before being enslaved himself.
In the new EU he was just captured on Kashyyyk and enslaved... Really lame in comparison. Bringing back his family would be a good way to give him some more history. They would benefit from a reboot. Yes, they are from the Holiday Special but that doesn’t make them unsalvageable. The Holiday Special was bad but it didn’t ruin anything Star Wars and it lore in any meaningful way, on the contrary it enriched it.
Who doesn’t want Bea Arthur in their universe?

This movie is too fast and is overstuffed with important events, achievements and acquirements of Han Solo. The old EU did so much with Han Solo’s characters, even more than one book before he won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in a Sabbac game in which Lando DID NOT CHEAT by the way. There could have been SEVERAL movies about a young Han Solo. Instead he seems to go through all the motions quickly and the ending implies his next job is the one for Jabba he blew, leading to the events of “A New Hope” which really limits any writers of the new EU of what they could do with Han Solo before he meet Luke Skywalker.

 

Agreed on many points, A-W. My issues lie in the nickname line along with others like how Han got the Solo name (I could go on). This movie was full of horrible moments like these. It seems obvious to me that it was a conglomeration of the two different director (teams). Use some footage, re-shoot some, edit it all together.... there's no real cohesion. Look, I'm a huge SW fan and saw it in the theatre. A half hour in I was like, "How much longer do I have to sit through THIS?!" Needless to say, that's a bad sign. I understand many here loved this movie; it just wasn't my cup of tea.

On a positive note, I saw a Rebels marathon on Disney XD today (first time ever?) , kicked back and watched a few episodes and was a happy, happy dude. And on Father's Day, no less!

 

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, with that said, I wonder how Lord & Miller's Solo film would have turned out... maybe worst, the film crew didn't get along with them; however, who really knows...

Solo has some good parts and some very awful ones, still watchable... the ending was pretty good to say the least.

IMHO, Lawrence Kasdan was concerned with elevating his son's career. He should have turned out a better script...
I would have loved to see the villain as a lion species, as mentioned in the art of Solo.... oh well.

BTW, Happy Father's Day

at least you enjoyed Rebels

 

Thanks Rogue!

 

I agree with your points about it not having extreme highs about it but I feel everything about it was executed well and it fits in really nice to the rest of the story, I think it’s like the icing on the cake for the mystery of Han ! It’s a very fun watch !

 

Best script?
He must have read the first draft of Lord & Miller. And I would like to read that script, I'm sure it was more original and interesting than Ron Howard's film.

It's a shame that Lord & Miller couldn't show their vision.
I wanted a movie about the criminal world. I think one of George Lucas' most prominent projects was Star Wars: Underworld.

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I think it was great missed opportunity to create something more grounded and gritty. The movie for itself is not bad and it's far from being the worst one.

I loved Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover in their respective roles, and everyone else does their job quite well.
I would like they didn't kill Val so quickly (Rio's death was enough) and that's say something because in other SW movie I don't really care if the characters die or not.
I wanted they stuck to the original idea of Dryden being an human-lion alien (even if Paul Bettany didi a good jov). iìIt seems that for both the standalone movies they prefer stick with human characters (less money I guess) instead of creating new and interesting species (I know they created new alien species, but noone of them it's a character).

Spoiler

We can argue all day about the bad thing in the PT but at least Lucas create a bunch of alien characters (not always successfulll, but still...)

I wish they explained Sabacc's rules, it a real game and this was the only chance to showcase that.
I liked Han and Chewie relationship, even if that was not how I would immagine their first encounter.

Spoiler

I liked Kemfys Nest revelation, but not the Darth Maul cammeo.

In the end, I don't think the story is particularly interesting and it feels like some kind of useless checklist for questions about Han's backstory that no one had asked for. Still better than the PT and the TROS. reveal, but no the Darth Maul "cameo".

 

This movie was very indifferent. Plus woody in it nowadays is an indication of a crappy film

 

The script was written by Jon Kasdan and his son Lawrence. Neither Lord & Miller, nor Ron Howard had anything to do with the writing, and the film's troubles were never about the script. What Iain McCaig praised is the script they filmed (which, by the way, is very excellent).

 

I know people like to beat down on "Solo", especially because of its production troubles. But I have to be honest. I really enjoyed the finished product a lot. I saw it in the theaters back in 2018 at least two or three times. As for Lord and Miller . . . I don't know what kind of movie they would have produced, but I don't miss them. Not one bit. And that's because I enjoyed "Solo" too much.

 

Yes you're right. Lord & Miller were never involved in writing the Solo script. But also ... I was trying to make a joke and share a provocative thought. I just want to compare my vision of the film with that shared by Ian McCraig (who, by the way, is a desiger so I don't know how much credit he had in reviewing a movie's script, although in all fairness neither do I).
I should have said the first version of the script before Disney #### their pants after the backlash of The Last Jedi and decided to rewrite the script into a "safer" movie. (sorry for the redacted language )

This is what I have felt too, and probably many other people as well. The setting (the underground crime world) of this film had such good potential and could have leaned Star Wars into a more "edgy" environment, but it didn't.
Still... I don't blame Disney for making that decision. It was an understandable decision by the time it was released. Disney had to make any effort to "please the fans" after the Last Jedi "subvert their expectations". It couldn't take any risks. Was it a business(greedy) decision? Yes. Was it a smart decision? Maybe not. But maybe it was the right decision.
Also I'm not sure Lord & Miller will give us a better movie (I'm a huge Spider-verse fan, but they didn't direct it, they wrote it; while their other stuff are funny but not amazing, they also definitely are not the directors of the film I would picture in my mind).

I'm just curious what the movie could have been. I want to read which script Ian McCraig considers the best he had EVER read.
Because it ain't this... where our hero's goal is: -to leave Correlia -to become a pilot -to return to Correlia. I NEVER said this movie is awful, and it's far from beong the worst Star Wars movie (I think it's in the middle of my ranking) but the BEST script EVER written? Come on, let's be serious... talking about a space opera with droids who #### with human and a giant octopus who live near a blackhole.

YES!!! That's sum up my viewing... (well... maybe I wouldn't sayed "a lot of fun" but there still some fun in it)... it was not the movie the fans deserve, but what the fanbase needed (in a more larger scale).

I wish THIS movie was the darker one with "more betrayal or heartbreak". I would have liked this film took some inspirations from some great thriller like The Departed or from some classic heist film like The Sting: where you never know which side the characters end up to choose, full of tensions and twists. But there are some hints to this. The train chase scene is pretty good (although it reminds me of an episode of Firefly, which was also pretty good). And some characters are quite memorable and interesting (except the villains).

Overall it's not that bad, I just wonder what it could have been.

 

Again, they did not rewrite the script. Howard shot the script that was written for the film (which L&M chose to ignore and, from what we can gather, chose to just wing it instead which Disney, since it was their money they were spending, didn't much approve of). Howard's reshoots were completed in the summber of 2017, months before TLJ was released. Nobody rewrote the script in reaction to TLJ (and S:ASWS came out 5 months after TLJ); in fact, nobody rewrote the script at all.

Howard shot the script that the Kasdans originally wrote, and this is the script that Iain McCaig read and praised. What you see is what they intended to make, based on the script that was written for the film. Reshoots were to fix the stuff that L&M had bungled.

 

The only aspects of "SOLO" that I disliked were the visual settings for Corellia and making Han Solo at least three to five years older.

 

I saw an interview with Kennedy in which she more or less laid the blame for the film not doing particularly well at the BO because of the actor playing Han; I found that a bit unfair as I thought he did a pretty good job, especially with the shoes he had to fill. I actually thoroughly enjoyed it...as far as this viewer is concerned, it was a lot better than TROS. Good acting and great fun.

 

Actually for me the main reason for the movie not doing well wasn't the movie itself at all. It was a too early release date and almost no marketing.

 

Kennedy recently alluded to a reason why S:ASWS failed being the fact that Harrison Ford didn’t play Solo, as in people were only interested in seeing the movie if it was Ford doing it. She did absolutely not indicate that S:ASWS failed because of Alden Ehrenreich. Again, as is so often the case with these discussions, people present their own reworded take on what is said to advance their own view; in other words, to prove themselves right. Don’t do that, please. It is rude and disingenuous.

That said, Kennedy’s interview was very strange and frequently contradicted other sources (like Bob Iger confirming that it was he who dropped to ball on Solo, with the lack of promotion and insistence on releasing the film in May, just months after the previous one). It was very confusing, that interview.