11
Credit: LucasfilmWhile Luke Skywalker may be the hero of the original Star Wars trilogy and Anakin its tragic villain, Han Solo has always been the humanity of the franchise. Although he’s only part of the Skywalker clan by marriage, it is still shocking that a major re-release of the series will cut out Solo entirely.
Han Solo was introduced in the very first movie in 1977 (retroactively titled A New Hope), portrayed by Harrison Ford. Although the actor has been vocal about his dislike of the character for decades, it was the role that launched him to global stardom and, along with his other Lucasfilm franchise, Indiana Jones, made him a permanent part of pop culture.
After starring in each film of the original trilogy (largely because George Lucas refused his pleas to kill off the character), Ford later returned for the Disney-produced sequel films.
Related: Dave Filoni Rewrites ‘Star Wars’ History, Fixes George Lucas’s Stormtrooper Problem
However, after killing off Han Solo in The Force Awakens (2015) and giving him a brief spectral appearance in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Disney was in a predicament. It had the IP rights to one of the most beloved sci-fi rogues ever, but Harrison Ford had made it clear that he had no interest in coming back. What to do?
The answer was to produce Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), a prequel film directed by Ron Howard and starring Alden Ehrenreich as a younger version of the character.
The movie was something of an origin story for the Corellian orphan turned Imperial soldier turned smuggler, and co-starred Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the voice of Jon Favreau, Erin Kellyman, and Paul Bettany (who replaced Michael K. Williams in reshoots).
Among other things, it explained how Solo had come into possession of the Millennium Falcon, became buddies with Chewbacca, and, most notoriously, got his last name.
Solo was the first Star Wars movie to bomb in theaters, grossing less than $400 million worldwide. While that would be a huge amount for most films, it had a production budget of $330 million, and its marketing budget was likely somewhere in the $200 million range, putting it deep in the red at Lucasfilm.
Plans for a sequel have not materialized and the studio seems to have pivoted from the notion of recasting iconic roles with younger actors, and now even the movie itself is being removed from memory.
Related: Lucasfilm Chief Kathleen Kennedy Blames “Male-Dominated” Fan Base for ‘Star Wars’ Flops
Odeon Cinemas, the largest theater chain in the United Kingdom, recently announced “Star Wars Season,” a three-month-long re-release of the movies, but, notably, has cut Solo from the running.
The official social media post reads, “ODEON Presents… STAR WARS SEASON🌌🤯 Dust off your Jedi robes. For the first time EVER we are showing ALL of The Skywalker Saga Star Wars movies and Rogue One, PLUS a Weekend Marathon! Playing in chronological order from August to October, BOOK NOW!🤩”
ODEON Presents… STAR WARS SEASON🌌🤯 https://t.co/kqBIJl1F7N
Dust off your Jedi robes. For the first time EVER we are showing ALL of The Skywalker Saga Star Wars movies and Rogue One, PLUS a Weekend Marathon!
Playing in chronological order from August to October, BOOK NOW!🤩 pic.twitter.com/rGB8p11Vkj
— ODEON (@ODEONCinemas) July 26, 2024
Notably, Odeon is showing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) in both its weekend marathon and its longer re-release. That means it is all the more likely that not including Solo in the running is a deliberate snub by either the theater chain or that Lucasfilm (or Disney) is actively suppressing the release of the movie in an attempt to sweep it under the rug.
The Star Wars franchise is currently in the midst of something of a reset, with Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni working overtime to push the series forward while not completely alienating fans. However, it doesn’t seem like any Solo fans are out there to complain about this snub.
Do you think Solo: A Star Wars Story deserves to be ignored?