We're still struggling to digest The Last Jedi, the eighth installment of the Star Wars saga. The film directed and written by Rian Johnson has sparked plenty of controversy, to the point that even Mark Hamill himself showed his displeasure. It's time to turn the page, though the aftertaste from Episode VIII makes it all harder, especially after learning that Disney expects a complete failure for this second spin-off after the success of Rogue One. Here at NeoTeo, we give you the details of the cast, the first leaked images, and Disney's concerns.
Release and Leaked Images
It's not far-fetched to think about the next movie in the Star Wars universe, since "Solo: A Star Wars Story" has a release date for May 25 of next year. Just five months before its premiere, we still haven't seen any trailer, and only today can we see a decent image.
This is the second spin-off since Disney acquired LucasFilm a few years ago. Recall that originally after the first trilogy, two spin-offs were made about the Ewoks and the bizarre Holiday Special.
In the leaked images (which we still don't know if they're official) we get a first look at Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo), Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian), Joonas Suotano (Chewbacca), and Emilia Clarke, star of Game of Thrones, whose character we don't yet know. The rest of the cast includes Paul Bettany, Woody Harrelson and Wawrick Davis, among other figures.
The uncertainty remains regarding a concrete trailer, since just five months from its release we've seen nothing more than these posters, whose veracity we can't even confirm.
Troubled Production
Worth remembering that this new story has come with serious problems from the start. The project was a constant sea of instability from the beginning, starting with the departure of its directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, known for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. What the directors of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" wanted was for the actors to improvise not only dialogue but also action scenes. Well, Miller and Lord's creativity and irreverence didn't last long; just a few months later, specifically in June, Lucasfilm fired the dynamic duo to make room for veteran Ron Howard (Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind). This caused a series of production problems, leaving a half-finished work that would become a headache for Howard and his team, who practically had to reshoot the film. Another rumor involves Alden Ehrenreich, who apparently had to hire a dialogue coach.
Disney's Fear
According to ScreenGeek, "Disney is bracing for the Han Solo movie to bomb. They were concerned before the Last Jedi controversy, but now they're basically writing off Solo. Lead actor Alden Ehrenreich can't act, and they had a dialogue coach for all his scenes. On top of that, the script is unsalvageable. It's going to be a car crash."
This surely wasn't what Disney expected, beyond it being a corporate product that only seeks to sell merchandise. Nor are production problems with Disney and LucasFilm new. With The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams had time issues to resolve several scenes, and thanks to Harrison Ford's injury during filming, the release was delayed, allowing the movie to be finished. With Rogue One, there were also post-production problems that brought its release to the brink of delay. And of course, the most relevant is the departure of another director for Episode IX, Colin Treverrow, due to creative differences with LucasFilm.
Beyond the rumors and reports circulating online, it wouldn't be surprising if the movie is a flop, not only for fans, as The Last Jedi was for many, but for the general public. A movie that has had problems since its birth and from which not much is expected. We'll have to wait a few months for its arrival.
Here, your humble servant firmly believes, after seeing The Last Jedi, that the best we can do as fans of this saga is to hold tight to the original trilogy and pretend everything else didn't exist, except Rogue One.
