Solo: A Star Wars Story

Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

Bryancd said:
And how many Batmans or Spider-Man's have there been over the last two decades?
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Well, those characters wear masks. So, it's a little different.

And nobody goes to see a Batman or Spider-Man movie to watch Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker walk around for 2 hours? That would be lame.

Fact of the matter is, if Disney's foray into back stories is successful, they may replace all of the original cast in future films. How about Luke and Leia's respective childhoods/early teen years? (Who doesn't want to see another episode of a whiny brat on Tatooine? Huh?)

There is a growing audience out there who don't really have anything invested in the OT or the original actors. I don't think Disney is all that interested in keeping us old folks in the theaters anymore, anyway. So, who cares if the guy they got to play Han Solo looks nothing like Harrison Ford or is even the same height? Most of the new audience will be watching these new SW movies on their phablets, anyway. What's the difference?
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

To me, the risk is one of myopia about what stories the franchise tells. I'm excited about Rogue One because it's about characters who aren't the OT or PT heroes. It's one of the reasons I enjoy Rebels. That show has expanded the range of characters and settings for the franchise, and that makes the fictional setting as a whole that much more vibrant.

Continued examination of OT era heroes -- or even just the OT era itself -- runs the risk of keeping the franchise stuck in the same places.


Now, the good news is that I think this film is likely a 1-3 picture test run to see how audiences respond to these "backstory" projects. Towards that end, they picked one of the best known and most loved characters to explore, so they're playing it safe. I don't think the recasting is a problem, per se, but rather the decision to engage in "reboot culture" at all (which I consider prequels to be, in many respects, and this prequel in particular). Personally, I want to see a whole range of new characters and settings introduced. I want to see the "film EU" so to speak, in the sense of an expanded universe (but, you know, better than the bulk of EU novels...).

Actually, the EU novels kind of highlight my concern. The EU novels tended to be not only poorly written, but treaded a LOT of the same ground over and over (at least the ones I read). It seemed like the Imperial Remnant was always using superweapons or somesuch. A lot of them focused on the "big three" heroes (sorry, Chewie -- big four), and there was always the threat of some dark Jedi/Sith resurgence, alongside whatever the Remnant was doing. The best of the lot was the Zahn trilogy, mostly because it felt like it genuinely expanded things (I gather because in addition to creating a bunch of stuff, Zahn took a fair amount from the West End Games RPG sourcebooks). And he introduced a bunch of new characters who were different and interesting. I dunno. The other books just seemed to suffer from a real lack of vision, until they went WAY too far in the opposite direction with the whole Borg...er....Vong thing. I don't want to see that happen with the films.

It's fine to play around in the same old time period, but I also want to see more of the new universe examined in the post-TFA era, or perhaps in the period leading up to it to help fill in the blanks between ROTJ and TFA. Telling Han Solo's backstory? Meh. Just not that interesting to me. I'm actually not even sure I'm gonna go see this film.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

hansicle said:
I feel that Disney is trying to capitalize on the characters by name, but recasting them with younger actors, enabling them to continue making movies without the need to cast the originals. They can cast up and coming actors that will be a viable source for several movies. I think the hardest part for me is accepting another actor playing an iconic role, and getting myself to believe its the same character. Casting someone who is visually similar would help, but their casting choices for Han already leaves me with doubts about enjoying this movie.

I think Rouge One was the easier film to make, simply because it had mostly all new characters, with all new faces, except for a few that they did a good job with (Mon Mothma) casting.

I honestly believe people who aren't very familiar with the history behind this movie, being about a young Han Solo, will walk into the theater and have no idea who this guy is supposed to be until they start calling him Han... and they will just be confused for a while...
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Its probably a combination of many things:
Lets be honest Harrison Ford never seemed remotely interested in replaying Han Solo UNTIL his acting career dried up. And how many people went to watch him in a movie just because he was Harrison Ford (and was playing a part that wasn't one that made him a screen hero ie Indy or Han) in the last few years? His best films outside of them ( by my reckoning and BO)were over two decades ago ("Clear and Present Danger" and "Air Force One" ).
I suspect part of the reason we never got any other SW movies before now was because Harrison wouldn't do them ,HE didn't want to. I always got the impression he never really respected the character unlike Indy. But the fact is he got a bloody huge paycheck for TFA plus profit points and the story allowed Han to be killed off like he always wanted to .
Its kind of ironic that he is returning to key roles in films he actively disliked and never hid that fact. "Bladerunner 2" anybody??? He and Ridley Scott barely ever spoke after the first one and I was hugely surprised to hear he agreed to do that role again, and if I'm honest, I'd have preffered that he didn't. "Bladerunner" (The Final Cut blu ray ) with the digital clean up and most of the errors removed and corrected is a cult classic in the truest sense of the word.
And physically I can't see how the hell he could do an earlier Han Solo film anyway. OK, perhaps the deageing software could help, but its hugely expensive and too time consuming to use for a full length feature. I know Its hard to accept but time has caught up with our heros as it has with the rest of us. Theres only so much they can fix on a film as in life.
The choice of who plays Han IS contentious I'd agree. Gruber didn't even get an invite to screen test???? I'd have my doubts on that one. Its more likely that Disney have already fixed a deal with him to do the next Indiana Jones because there is no way in hell Harrisons going to be able to carry that film alone and Gruber, unless he is utterly ****e as an actor ,looks entirely the part.
And whilst I applaud the choice of Danny Glover I'm still torn over Alden. He managed well in "Hail Caesar" and delivered what I thought was a fairly good comic performance but unfortunately I watched him in "Beautiful Creatures". Not only is the film a dire Twilight ripoff but he really does seem rather on the small side and fails to give off any of that strong alpha male vibe that Harrsion does. But he does seem to get alot of positive comments from female fans in the same way Robert Patterson did so who knows????
I hope he can pull it off but I think the standalone Solo will be pitched at a much more relaxed and humerous level than most SW films in an effort to broaden its generational appeal, rather like GOTG. Most of the oldies are going to probably hate it for that alone, but, lets face it, the critics and older fans tore "Suicide Squad" in to tiny little pieces and it STILL did terrific box office and the younger fans really adored the characters despite that.
To be honest as long as I get to see more of the Falcon doing incredibly cool things, I don't care. I love that ship as much as Han probably does. Harrsions Fords Han is my generations Han. He's a bit rubbish at what he does yet thinks hes the best, acts like a rogue but has a heart of gold and he always ALWAYS shoots first!!!
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

CutThumb said:
Its probably a combination of many things:
Lets be honest Harrison Ford never seemed remotely interested in replaying Han Solo UNTIL his acting career dried up.
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I don't buy this - Ford was paid $34 million (estimated) to play Han again. I agree that he didn't have much interest in reprising the role, but - money talks (and possibly the idea that Solo died)... add the fact that he's 74 years old and probably happy that his career is (cough) "dried up."
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

I don't think Ford gives a monkey crap about furthering his career. He's got lifetime-achievement respect and decades of doing the projects he wanted. If there was anything else specific that he really wanted to do, he could have bankrolled a movie himself decades ago. At his age he is doing whatever the heck he wants, if and when he feels like it.

He probably returned to SW last year because it was a fat easy paycheck, he would get to see/support Carrie & Mark & Peter Mayhew, and . . . drumroll please . . . George Lucas was not writing & directing it.

Harrison's feelings on GL are no secret. He likes GL personally but he does not like working with GL's writing & directing. The Indy movies are Speilberg's directing and various respected writers.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

batguy said:
It's easier to swallow a new James Bond actor when they have been doing it every few years for generations.

If they had stopped the Bond movies after Connery for decades, and only cast a new guy this year, it would be much harder to accept.




That's the actor replacement issue.
Whether they should be going into Han's backstory is another matter.

IMO at the very least Disney should have waited until a couple more new SW movies were done before touching this. They have this in gear before they know enough about how the public will react to new SW stuff.

Harrison Ford's age may be playing into the rush. They may want to get the new guy into the role while Harrison still can/will do the role. I can think of a few different possible reasons for that, both on and off screen.
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I don't agree with it that way. Had bond stopped with connery and they picked up 20-30 years later with a new guy, it likely wouldn't have made a difference. People would have been 'meh, he's too old to do it now anyhow'.

Had they waited 30ish years, done another movie with him, then tried another actor 2 years later, yeah - problem.

Batman, Spiderman, etc don't count. Why? They've never really have been meant to be the same story/person. They weren't connected at all. The exception being Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney. People had issues with Kilmer and Clooney as well - and not just in hindsight. The rest have all been different people existing in different universes so to speak.

I'd agree that doing the older characters with newer people isn't the best idea. Only seems to make sense if they plan on addressing the 30 years between ROTJ and TFA at some point. They'd have the new crew to do that, but I don't see that happening. And if it did, i don't see trying to continue that line with one offs.

It's clear they're trying to apply the marvel formula to it. They just haven't developed enough new ancilliary material to base stand alone flicks on at this point. All they to draw on is the OT and PT. It's also a no-brainer OT stuff will sell better.

Stuff that could be cool, though - Kyle Katarn spin off/stand alone, Clone Commando's, wraith squadron, etc. Branch out into the extra that's already there to go into. Build outward.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

CutThumb said:
Well, I did say it might be a bit different:

http://makingstarwars.net/2016/11/cinematographer-bradford-young-teases-han-solo-star-wars-story/
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The Wook posted that story at the top of the page

Alden Ehrenreich & Chewie.jpg

J
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

I don't agree with it that way. Had bond stopped with connery and they picked up 20-30 years later with a new guy, it likely wouldn't have made a difference. People would have been 'meh, he's too old to do it now anyhow'.

Had they waited 30ish years, done another movie with him, then tried another actor 2 years later, yeah - problem.
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No, not really a problem. People might disagree with the decision to make a new young Bond movie. But once that decision is made I don't think anyone would be clamoring for old Connery to play young Bond.

Like it or not they have made a decision to do a Han Solo prequel movie. Once you accept that fact, there is no practical choice besides re-casting the role.



Batman, Spiderman, etc don't count. Why? They've never really have been meant to be the same story/person. They weren't connected at all. The exception being Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney. People had issues with Kilmer and Clooney as well - and not just in hindsight. The rest have all been different people existing in different universes so to speak.

I'd agree that doing the older characters with newer people isn't the best idea. Only seems to make sense if they plan on addressing the 30 years between ROTJ and TFA at some point. They'd have the new crew to do that, but I don't see that happening. And if it did, i don't see trying to continue that line with one offs.

It's clear they're trying to apply the marvel formula to it. They just haven't developed enough new ancilliary material to base stand alone flicks on at this point. All they to draw on is the OT and PT. It's also a no-brainer OT stuff will sell better.

Stuff that could be cool, though - Kyle Katarn spin off/stand alone, Clone Commando's, wraith squadron, etc. Branch out into the extra that's already there to go into. Build outward.
Click to expand...

The Marvel Formula is the formula that works for any big franchise like this. They aren't copying Marvel because Marvel, they are looking at a similar situation to Marvel and coming to a similar conclusion.

Granted, Marvel (and DC) aren't the same as SW. SW has a consistent continuity and they probably won't start re-casting any characters while the former actor is anywhere near the correct age.

But Star Trek also has continuity. And Terminator. And every other big franchise that gets major roles re-cast lately.


ANH was done 40 years ago. 40 years before ANH was during the Depression before WWII.

If George Lucas had remade "Flash Gordon" in the 1970s instead of SW (like he originally tried to do), should he have been limited to casting choices for the characters dating back to the 1930s? Flash Gordon can only be played by a certain guy in his 70s since that guy had the role 40 years earlier? That is the same logic.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

I don't wanna quote the last one because it's too damn long :)

I do think they're going after the Marvel formula and i think it's at the mouse's behest. Between ticket sales and merchandising, i'd wager disney has or has damn near paid of the purchase. E8 will be pure profit. R1 pushes it over the top if it wasn't already. Point being, they have no need - financially - to make stand alone flicks. They're choosing to. And they're trying to follow the Marvel formula - and i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that.

The issue I have with the marvel formula for SW is that it's not necessary. By definition and history, comic books were done exactly that way. Start a character (or characters) build them up and then team them up for a big set. That's precisely what marvels done and done amazingly well. SW doesn't need stand alone flicks to support the franchise in the 2 years between chapters.

That said, i guess han being gone now, that opens the door for a stand alone there because there'll be no more going forward. I like R1 as a stand alone as well. But i'd guess i'm with the crowd that thinks there really aren't any PT or OT characters who NEED a story told. Flesh out the universe if you wanna fill the void. Don't go after existing icons for one off's. You can't improve the character. At best, the character remains in tact. At worst, you damage the character in the process. Build the universe, or in this case, galaxy - out.

Circling around to Marvel again, Thor isn't hanging around Earth for his 2nd or 3rd flicks, he's out around the universe. Same with the Guardians. Cap, IM, etc, yeah, they're kind of earth bound - but they've begun using their character movies to build out the universe for the big Infinity War.

Start Trek - filmwise - parallels SW actually. When the originals got too old to continue, they went to THG which was good until that last one. Yikes :) It was a continuing timeline, but not really a continuing story. SW 2-4 was a continuing story, but the rest were stand alone as were all the TNG flicks.

Terminator - you can't really point to it's character changes as a good thing. Start with 3, they've pretty much all been resounding duds. Given the time between 3, 4, and 5, you kinda had to recast because you can't use the same people as their same age for 30 years.

With Solo, it's blatantly obvious if you do the standalone flick prior to ANH you have to recast or make it animated. I just don't get the why is all. Put up a vote of what you'd like to see as a standalone SW movie and I don't think Han makes the top 5 or 10.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

Put up a vote of what you'd like to see as a standalone SW movie and I don't think Han makes the top 5 or 10.
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Half the remakes that get released every year would fail that test too. But a lot of people still go see the remakes when they do happen anyway.


Most people don't like Hillary or Trump. But they will end up casting a vote for one or the other.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

I don't know if it's been said yet but you can't compare the recasting of han to James Bond.

As far as I know, there is no canon in james bond. Whereas all of these films connect

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

Jaitea said:
The Wook posted that story at the top of the page

View attachment 679330

J
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Sorry Wook, I've had you on block, its removed now . Its taken you a while since TFA but you've seemed to have calmed down a bit. Of course since then the Ghostbusters thread has made the comments you made look positively restrained and informed . Apologies.

Shooting the Han Solo movie now has also another telling advantage- budget savings.

There is a Millennium Falcon already built and hanging around, plus stacks of props and costumes from "Rogue One". I imagine they can "recycle" a ton of stuff from those sets as well to dress new ones plus ,there are the stages available along with all the filming crews booked in. Then there is all the digital VFX stored at ILM from RO plus the preproduction teams in place who've simply flipped from EPVIII to the Solo project. Once EPVIII is in the can postproduction just goes into Solo mode, you get the picture........
This kind of rolling production is very cost effective. Thats why Marvel is able to just keep hitting the mark every damn time with two quality films a year. Plus the pounds collapse against the dollar and the movie tax incentives make the UK a very attractive place to shoot a film at the moment.
And lets be totally honest ,the new cast will doubtless be a lot cheaper than hiring the old ones. Back in 76 Harrison was paid just $10,000 for SW, I doubt the entire new cast will account for one sixth of what Harrison alone cost to make TFA.
And I wasn't knocking Harrsion when I said his roles had "dried up". Its just a fact of life, particularly as you get older that you pass your peak, and that is definitely true for actors. Which is why its been great to see so many coming back in both SW and MCU movies.
Harrison Ford is completely his own man. He's done a huge amount for the environment and by that I actually mean doing something about it, not just talk about it. He's constantly promoted interest in aviation and archaeology amongst the young, he's a crack pilot and real life hero that has rescued people , he's as ****ing tough as old army boots and I admire him for much of what he's done in life as much as he's brought to the screen. In many ways he and Indiana Jones are indistinguishable and will always be for me. I just hope that Indy V gets the right writers and treatment so its really is his last crusade and triumph .
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

Cheaper production costs now -

IMO re-using existing props/sets would not save them much. Modern movies have gotten so specialized nowadays. Anything that isn't 1000% right for that job, that day, will get custom made again.

As for the Falcon props, that is a valid point. They could re-use it. On the other hand Disney probably won't dumpster another intact 1:1 Falcon set like Lucasfilm did after ROTJ. They could probably wait 10 years from now and still use the TFA stuff.


IMO where the re-using holds the most promise is the intellectual/human capital. Having the right people already in place & in the mood. That might be a big benefit. I don't see it producing a medium result for a cheap price, but it might help squeeze a great result from a medium price.



Disney won't be out of the SW movie business for at least another 7-8 years though, and even then it's debatable whether they will stop making them. If the audience doesn't stop showing up then they will keep going.
 
Re: Star Wars Anthology (Young Han Solo)

Do you think this movie will be done as a flashback? Maybe starting with the current cast talking about Han and then moving into the movie?
 
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