While Han Solo is a beloved, iconic character, there was heaps of confusion about the decision to tell his origin story in a spinoff movie. The legendary Harrison Ford is, of course, irreplaceable as the swashbuckling smuggler, and poor Alden Ehrenreich was faced with an impossible task to follow him.
We'd argue that he did a pretty great job in Solo: A Star Wars Story all things considered, but those box office takings hurt Lucasfilm's plans for a series of spinoff movies and Alden's career.
It seems Star Wars fans simply didn't want to see anyone else as Han Solo, and The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have proved that there are ways to make use of the original actors. Clever VFX technology gave Mark Hamill the opportunity to play Luke Skywalker again in those shows with near flawless results, and it appears that's how Lucasfilm will continue to handle legacy characters in future.
In an interview with Vanity Fair (via SFFGazette.com), Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy was asked about recasting roles, specifically in regards to Solo, and responded, "There should be moments along the way when you learn things. Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that."
What this means for that planned Lando series starring Donald Glover remains to be seen, but it would be a real shame if Ehrenreich didn't return in some capacity in order to deal with some of those dangling plot threads. Perhaps that's something comic books or novels will eventually tackle? After all, we've already seen Qi'ra return in the former, so maybe Han will eventually meet Maul?
We'll have to wait and see, but keep checking SFFGazette.com for the latest updates.
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