A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (or, in 2018, before the likes of “The Mandalorian” and “Andor“), Ron Howard‘s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was a big deal to “Star Wars” fans. The film did alright commercially, taking in $393 million at the box office off a $300 million budget, but critics didn’t care for it. And “Star Wars” fans were a bit tepid about it, too, despite Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover‘s memorable turns as younger versions of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian.
So, no surprise that, according to Howard, Lucasfilm has no plans for a “Solo” sequel, . “The only discussion that I’m aware of about a sequel for “Solo” is coming from the fans at this point,” the director told NME in a new interview. “I don’t think it’s a Lucasfilm priority, as I understand it.” But that doesn’t mean priorities can’t change. “But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen so I would never say never,” added Howard. “But I’m not aware of any concrete plans right now to extend the story or deal with that particular set of characters.”
The post-credits scene to “Solo” certainly set up a sequel. With Emilia Clarke‘s Qi’ra now in charge of Vos’ (Paul Bettany) crime syndicate, she answers to her new boss, an old “Star Wars” villain (spoiler: it’s Darth Maul from “The Phantom Menace,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” and “Star Wars: Rebels“). Meanwhile, Han and Chewbecca are off to Tattooine for ther first meeting with Jabba the Hutt. But “Solo” introduced other characters are old fan-favorites in “Solo.” Erin Kellyman‘s space pirate Enfys Nest quickly won over “Star Wars” fans, as did the rest of her Cloud Riders.
Now it appears any kind of “Solo” sequel is dead in the water. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Enfys Nest couldn’t show up in a “Star Wars” Disney+ series at some point. Besides, since “Solo” Ehrenreich’s career has slowed down a tad. The actor stars in 2020’s “Brave New World” on Peacock, but hasn’t been in any other film or TV since taking over the Han Solo role from Harrison Ford. Still, Ehrenreich stars in three films next year: Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer,” Elizabeth Banks‘ “Cocaine Bear,” and Chloe Dumont‘s “Fair Play,” set for its world premiere at Sundance next month. As for Howard, “Thirteen Lives,” his most recent film, streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
So, discouraging news for fans of “Solo,” but not entirely surprising. Besides, Kathleen Kennedy has too many other projects percolating at the moment, like “Ahsoka,” “The Acolyte,” and “Skeleton Crew.” Maybe after those shows premiere, Lucasfilm will provide some definitive news about “Solo” and other possible “Star Wars” anthology film projects.
