Long before Disney’s Han Solo anthology film became embroiled in production woes – Phil Lord and Chris Miller out; Ron Howard in – the creatives involved in the Star Wars spinoff consistently compared it to a swashbuckling Western and even a heist movie, and we’re now hearing that it could become one of the funniest entries in the franchise yet.
Similar to how Rogue One carved out room between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Ron Howard’s origin story will whisk viewers back in time to uncover the backstory behind the galaxy’s greatest smuggler, where Alden Ehrenreich will be playing the young Han Solo. Flanked by a cast that includes such A-listers as Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Donald Glover (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Woody Harrelson (War For the Planet of the Apes), we know that Howard is directing from a screenplay penned by Star Wars mainstay Lawrence Kasdan and his son, Jon.
But beyond that, there are precious few story details available online. That radio silence will likely remain intact for another few months, as it’ll lend Howard and his team enough time to complete their vision, though it’s impossible to gauge how those aforementioned creative changes will impact the actual story – if at all.
However that may be, according to Woody Harrelson, not only will the Han Solo movie be worth the wait, but it has the potential to be “one of the funnier” Star Wars movies.
While doing press for his upcoming role in The Glass Castle, where he’ll be joined by Captain Marvel‘s Brie Larson, Harrelson spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the Han Solo offshoot, all the while heaping praise on the young Alden Ehrenreich.
He’s a great actor and a great guy, [with a] great sense of humor. I think a lot of humor comes through what he’s doing. I think it could be one of the funnier Star Wars movies.
The Han Solo anthology movie will be with us on May 25th, 2018. That’s only five months after the release of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi (December 15th, 2017), which will not only dive deep into Captain Phasma’s past, but also herald our first true look at Supreme Leader Snoke, the humanoid alien brought to life by Apes stalwart and soon-to-be Black Panther actor, Andy Serkis.