Solo: A Star Wars Story 2: Will We Ever Get To See The Sequel?
It wasn't all that long ago that the hearts of Star Wars fans across the world were aflutter at the news that Disney and Lucasfilm were forging ahead with spin-off film based on the early days of the roguish fan favorite Han Solo. As the character (originated by Harrison Ford in 1977's Star Wars) had just featured heavily in J.J. Abrams' 2015 franchise re-boot The Force Awakens and (given Han's ultimate fate in that movie), it's not hard to understand why so many fans were keen to learn a little more about the man who most frequently commanded the Millennium Falcon.
But after a late-game shakeup in the director's chair saw Ron Howard replace Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and further news of production struggles started to surface, fans began to worry that their long-awaited Han Solo solo flick might not deliver the goods. Those worries were bolstered during the production of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which had reportedly suffered similar production issues (yet was still largely well-received, and broke a billion dollars worldwide). Still, Solo: A Star Wars Story had a ton of talent behind it in the form of screenwriters Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan, and an absolutely stacked cast that included Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, and the voice of a then-largely unknown Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
In spite of those production setbacks, Solo proved to be a genuinely entertaining, if slightly underwhelming, addition to the Star Wars universe. More importantly, Solo's open-ended narrative clearly left room for a potential sequel. To date, that sequel has not been announced by Disney and Lucasfilm — and if Jonathan Kasdan is to be believed, there are currently no plans to produce one.
Solo screenwriter says sequel would be a tough sell
We know this thanks to Kasdan's Twitter feed, where the writer candidly responded to a fan's inquiry about a sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story. Kasdan stated simply, "Don't think anyone's pursuing a Solo sequel at the moment. I think a feature, at this point, would be a tough sell & the [Disney+] Star Wars slate is really... pretty packed, all shows I'm [looking] forward to."
Sad as that news may come to Star Wars fans eager to spend more time with a pre-Resistance Han and Chewie, or those simply wanting to find out more about the smooth-talking Lando Calrissian, it'll hardly come as a surprise to many. Though Solo managed a decent reception from critics, many of the galaxy far, far away's staunchest fans were less than impressed by the film. As such, the flick didn't exactly set the U.S. box office ablaze, netting just $213 million domestic against a staggering $275 million budget.
The film fared even worse internationally, and considering Solo's disappointing box office, the prospect of a big screen sequel obviously doesn't make much sense for Lucasfilm or Disney. Fans of the film still clung to hopes that a Solo followup might someday arrive on the Mouse House's shiny streaming platform Disney+ — but unfortunately, Kasdan also shot those hopes down with his tweet.
As it is, it seems in regards to his, ahem, solo stories, it'll be one and done for poor Han. But hey, maybe we'll get lucky and Disney will slot a Donald Glover-fronted Lando Calrissian spin-off into its streaming slate instead.