“Yep. There are rumors,” Donald Glover says of the reports that he’s a front-runner for the role of Lando Calrissian in the young Han Solo movie. But hey, he does love the franchise:
I mean, I grew up on it. My dad was a big fan. I had all the toys when I was little. I had a Darth Vader with the lightsaber he has. It was cool. It’s a dynasty. It’s like the bible. I love that franchise.
The young Han Solo movie is casting for a “Chance” – aka Lando Calrissian, The Wrap reports today. With Chewbacca and (probably) the Millennium Falcon on board, it seems likely that we could be getting the tale of how Han won the ship from Lando in the first place.
UPDATE: According to Birth Movies Death, Donald Glover (Community, The Martian) is the first choice for the role.
Like Han, these are gonna be tough shoes to fill. We first met Lando, as played by Billy Dee Williams, in The Empire Strikes Back. (Empire screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan penned the script to the new film with his son Jon.) Williams has reprised the role recently on Rebels.
In less rumory news, co-director Chris Miller shared on Twitter a picture of him and Philip Lord on the Falcon set. (Presumably Episode VIII’s.) We do know they auditioned Alden Ehrenreich and other finalists for the role of Han on the Falcon set.
Jedi News has what’s likely the production name for the Han Solo film – Carbonado Industries (UK) Ltd. The second name is a tad more mysterious – PLT Productions Ltd. – but it could be for Colin Trevorrow’s Episode IX, the third spinoff or even another Lucasfilm production like Indiana Jones.
The Han Solo film will likely begin shooting early next year with directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord and star Alden Ehrenreich for a 2018 release. IX and the fifth Indiana Jones film are both expected in 2019.
The New York Daily News today reports that future Han Solo Alden Ehrenreich is signed for “at least” three films. With the Han movie supposed to be a standalone, this raises a few questions. But we should also note that multi-picture deals are fairly common among large franchises like Star Wars.
I doubt, for instance, that there are any solid plans for an actual Han-focused trilogy. But what if the third (or fourth, or fifth…) standalone turns out to be about, say, a young Lando Calrissian? It makes sense to sign your young Han actor now – just in case.
Another Celebration is over, and while this one felt a bit restrained, here are the big hits. Follow the links for all the details!
Rogue One
We didn’t get a Rogue One trailer – what was shown only to the live audience was mostly footage we’ve already seen with only a handful of new additions – but there was a nifty sizzle reel. And we learned a couple things about the worlds and characters of the film – plus a poster! And Gwendoline Christie is a fantastic panel host. Later, Kathleen Kennedy said they’re leaning towards not giving the film an opening crawl. Also, check out these amazing cast photos from behind the scenes at the con.
Rebels expands the GFFA
But the con’s big surprise – at least for our purposes – is Thrawn coming to Rebels. The rumor has been floating around since January 2016, but what really took it over the top was the additional news that Timothy Zahn will be writing a new novel about the character. In other book news, we learned that Alexander Freed is doing the Rogue One novelization, while James Luceno is writing the film’s tie-in, Catalyst. We also got a cover for the Ahsoka novel, as well as some hints as to what the character got up to between The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Episode VIII
With the focus on Rogue One, we didn’t get much on VIII. But Mark Hamill praised Rian Johnson’s dialogue, and Johnson showed a few new behind-the-scenes pics at the Future Filmmakers panel. We didn’t get a title because it doesn’t have one yet. But remember, there’s still one more Celebration between now and the film’s release…
And finally, here’s a sweet video that was played at the Closing Ceremonies:
We’ll have a new tweet roundup in a day or so, as well as continuing wrap-up coverage, but those are the highlights!
No Episode VIII title* out of the Future Filmmakers panel at Celebration Europe, but they did confirm Alden Ehrenreich as the young Han Solo and bring him out on stage. He was the first person to audition (out of 3000 people!) and won the role over 6 months. Directs Christopher Miller and Phil Lord have only just moved to London for pre-production, and they expect to start shooting in early 2017.
Earlier, Kathleen Kennedy said Episode VIII director Rian Johnson “moves the camera as well as Steven Spielberg.” We learned that Johnson spent about six weeks with Lucasfilm before even starting in on the script.
The panel winded down with surprise appearances from John Boyega, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. (Plus Gary and Millie.) It looked fun, but there was nothing really earth-shattering revealed. Check out the StarWars.com liveblog for details.
Below the cut, videos from the panel, and the interviews afterward!
Star Wars directors Rian Johnson, Chris Miller and Phil Lord will join Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, Kiri Hart and Pablo Hidalgo for the Celebration Europe’s Future Filmmaker Discussion, followed by the con’s Closing Ceremony.
Johnson’s Episode VIII is expected to wrap very soon, while Miller and Lord’s Han Solo standalone will be next up. Is it here that we’ll get the official title for VIII? Will Alden Ehrenreich be confirmed as the young Han Solo? Both, maybe? StarWars.com promises “some surprises” and ending “the weekend on a high note.”
The news was first revealed on today’s new The Star Wars Show:
We can only hope an official announcement is imminent, but these things can take a while.
The still-untitled Han Solo film, from The Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller with a script by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan, will be the second standalone Star Wars film. It’s due out in 2018 and expected to begin shooting at Pinewood Studios in London after Episode VIII wraps up.
@chrizmillr: Can’t wait to get “shooting”! #MayThe4thBeWithYouChris Miller, one of the directors of the upcoming Han Solo standalone, celebrated May the 4th by sharing a shot of Han’s iconic blaster. It’s not casting news, but we’ll take it. Episode VIII director Rian Johnson – who is currently shooting – opted for dry humor.
The still-untitled Han Solo film, from The Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, will be the second standalone Star Wars film, after this year’s Rogue One. It’s due out in 2018.
Rogue One
