The Mandalorianmight be all the rage right now, but the effort to branch out from the mainStar Warslive-action universe actually began in 2018, withSolo: A Star Wars Storydetailing the adventures of a young Han Solo. The film built up a loyal following over time, and fans have been demanding a sequel for some time now. In a recent appearance on theLights, Camera, Barstoolpodcast, Ron Howard, the director of the originalSolofilm, provided an update on the possibleSolo 2.
“No rumblings, though, and this is not a spoiler or anything, but I think there is interest in those characters. I think there’s interest in the gangster world somewhere down the line. But I can assure you there isnothing being developed right now for a movie or Disney Plus. But, one great thing is there has been a lot of affection shown for Solo, and so of course that keeps boding well for them to eventually turn it around.”
The final answer fromRon Howardseems to be… maybe. At this point, even a “maybe” is a better answer than what fans have been hearing for two years, thatSolo: A Star Wars Storydid not make enough money to warrant greenlighting a sequel.
This particular take on the film’s box-office performance is one that fans have a problem with. Made on an estimated budget of $275 million,Solo: A Star Wars Storyended up making roughly $393.2 million worldwide. According to trade analysts, the film needed to make at least $500 million just to break even. Thus,Solowas called the firstStar Warsfeature to fail at the box office. According to Alden Ehrenreich, who starred in the movie as young Han Solo, this type of box-office analysis was unfair to what the movie managed to achieve.
“[Solo] didn’t do as well as other Star Wars movies, but it still did well for a movie. And so it was kind of this medium thing. But that’s not newsworthy. Even at high-level journalism, there’s an intense pressure, sometimes, it feels like, to [either] catastrophize or celebrate. And I think that’s really fucking dangerous, especially when it pertains to the stuff that really matters, like the state of the world. An article headline that says “things are complicated, and there are good sides and bad sides” isn’t getting the emotional response. And I just think we really have to take a step back, and give a lot more thought to the way our emotions are being run by the stories we’re getting inundated with.”
The closest thing to aSolosequel at this point appears to be theLando Calrissian spinoff moviethat was teased by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy back in May. That and the fact that Ehrenreich signed a three-picture deal with Lucasfilm means fans may very well get to see young Han Solo on the big screen eventually, whether in the lead or as a supporting character. This comes fromLights, Camera, Barstoolpodcast.
