While some say the divisive reaction to “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is what started it, it was really “Solo: A Star Wars Story” that got Disney to sit up and realise not all was going great with its megafranchise.
It began with the major behind-the-scenes issues and retooling that saw Ron Howard replacing Phil Lord & Chris Miller, a shift that required massive reshoots that blew out the budget to $275-300 million.
It then got very apparent though when the film opened and bombed, pulling in just $393.2 million worldwide – a far cry from the three previous Disney “Star Wars” films which all cleared $1 billion each. Reviews were also quite mixed.
For its star Alden Ehrenreich, the film’s failure was a bit of a blow, but the actor has since gone on to solid turns in films like “Fair Play,” “Cocaine Bear,” “Oppenheimer” and most recently a major role in “Weapons” as well as Marvel series “Ironheart”.
Speaking with Collider recently, the actor said he is open to returning to the part once more, but it would have to be under a specific condition – “It would have to really, really be the right version of it [the character].” He also touched upon the film’s troubled production and its impact on him:
“Making a movie is stressful no matter what. Your job as an actor, in a way, is to use the energy that’s happening [around you]. And sometimes that energy involves stress, but characters are under stress. There are very few characters who are just having a ball. So it’s contributive sometimes. As long as it’s an environment where people feel safe.
It set the stage for a lot of things that I get to do now. It’s a great platform, and there were some really great times during it. And I’m happy I get to do what I do now”
Whether we’ll get a chance to see more young Han Solo adventures is another question. There was talk of a “Lando” TV series spin-off from “Solo” for a while, but that seems to have petered out. Both a second season of “Ahsoka” and the film “Star Wars: Starfighter” are currently in production, with more movies on the way but none are expected to involve original trilogy lead characters.
