STAR WARS: Lucasfilm President Suggests They Made A Mistake Recasting Han Solo For 2018's SOLO

STAR WARS: Lucasfilm President Suggests They Made A Mistake Recasting Han Solo For 2018's SOLO

Lucasfilm made the decision to cast Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, replacing Harrison Ford. Now, Kathleen Kennedy suggests recasting such an iconic character was a mistake.

By JoshWilding - May 19, 2022 02:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: Vanity Fair (via SFFGazette.com)

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 thingsNow 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.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Unused Posters Are Better Than The Movie; New Rumor Teases Rey's Future
Related:

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Unused Posters Are Better Than The Movie; New Rumor Teases Rey's Future

STAR WARS: Henry Cavill Rumored To Have Had Talks About Potential Role In Simon Kinberg Trilogy
Recommended For You:

STAR WARS: Henry Cavill Rumored To Have Had Talks About Potential Role In Simon Kinberg Trilogy

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2 3
Armageddon26
Armageddon26 - 5/19/2022, 2:01 PM
She says while on a press tour for a show staring a recasted character
Armageddon26
Armageddon26 - 5/19/2022, 2:02 PM
@Armageddon26 - Alden and Donald were two of the best parts of Solo, and it’s weird to blame them instead of owning up to the real bts problems that caused that movie to fail (not to mention the fact that nobody was asking for a young Han Solo movie anyway)
The1st
The1st - 5/19/2022, 2:08 PM
@Armageddon26 - She talks in many directions, especially sideways, but I disagree. It was fine, it's just the fandom. Disney thought they could come in, half do Star Wars justice, merchandise it, and get away with it. Now they hopefully realize they actually have to carry on the legacy properly. I've seen lot's of things she's produced over the years so I'm going to rail on her, but it's never seemed like she got it with respect to Star Wars. Not as bad as Amy Pascal, but maybe time will tell and Kathleen will have a better understanding of the property. Or she could just ask some dudes named Filoni and Favreau.
Armageddon26
Armageddon26 - 5/19/2022, 2:17 PM
@The1st - i didn’t say Solo was bad. I liked Solo, just particularly Alden and Donald. But I’m saying to blame them and recasting instead of the firing of the initial directors mid-way through the movie, giving a bad release date with minimal marketing, and odd creative decisions such as the kessel run and how he got his name is kind of messed up. There were a plethora of reasons for Solo’s failure, and recasting is near the very bottom of that list.
Humby
Humby - 5/19/2022, 2:57 PM
@Armageddon26 - I think you nailed it. BTS controversy, bad marketing, and bad release date (only 6 months after the controversial Ep.8) are the biggest reasons.

Add to that the relatively boring plot which comes off as a checklist of Han Solo key points: meet Chewie, meet Lando, Kessel Run, win Falcon, etc. It's actually a miracle that Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt weren't also squeezed into the movie.

Don't get me wrong, I actually think most of the movie works relatively well, but the casting of Alden was the least of its issues.

Once again, it seems like KK has learned the wrong lesson from one of her many Star Wars mistakes. And I say that as someone who has a relatively positive view of her.
The1st
The1st - 5/19/2022, 4:27 PM
@Armageddon26 - When I said I disagree I meant Kennedy, recasting was not the issue. I also liked the film. I agree 100% that the Kessel run was uninspired too.
Gizmoduck
Gizmoduck - 5/19/2022, 7:05 PM
@The1st - they havent realized it considering they are already talking about getting away from the skywalker lineage(spoiler: they already did)

which is a joke as we got 6 films about...THE SKYWALKERS
dracula
dracula - 5/19/2022, 2:03 PM
No they didnt they made a mistake by going with the script they used

Han was too heroic
The plot was weak
The Kessel Run was disapointing
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 5/19/2022, 2:03 PM
So, they want Harrison Ford to keep playing the character, even in prequels? what about Luke, the moment Mark dies, we are not seeing him ever again?
The1st
The1st - 5/19/2022, 2:12 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - Exactly. I'm not singling anyone out, but you can't have the cake and eat it too. I think animation has to be the way to go for something like that. DC does it, Disney has already done it with the Clone Wars series. Otherwise eventually you get into murky territory, we already are with Stan the man. I would imagine contracts will start to address this more, if they're not already.
TheyDont
TheyDont - 5/19/2022, 2:13 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - If recent news about Stan Lee is any indication, soon actors' death won't be a problem for old characters.
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 5/19/2022, 2:15 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - they’re afraid of Star Wars manic fans snapping on them again who let’s be honest don’t want the universe to move past their own nostalgias and fan fiction
bobevanz
bobevanz - 5/19/2022, 2:04 PM
She made a mistake by being in charge, she's nothing like George. And she's always been a glorified producer who took a backseat to George and Stephen. Throw enough shit at the wall and eventually something sticks
dracula
dracula - 5/19/2022, 2:05 PM
Really you could probably recut episodes of Firefly and get a version of Solo and it would be better

Train Job
War stories
Heart of gold

Moments from other episodes
The1st
The1st - 5/19/2022, 2:13 PM
@dracula - Speaking of, do you know if Firefly is coming back? I have heard rumors, but nothing official yet.
dracula
dracula - 5/19/2022, 2:24 PM
@The1st - Have heard nothing about it.

Although got to say.....with no Whedon, not sure id be interested

the guy is an asshole but he did create a lot of cool stuff and there isn't a great track record for other people directing his stuff.
The1st
The1st - 5/19/2022, 4:35 PM
@dracula - That's true, but everyone loves a comeback story. I'd like to hope he would be attached in some capacity, or that he gets himself together. Could be his redemption of sorts potentially. If he came back I imagine he'd be watched for the rest of his career. The creativity some have and the baggage that comes with it can be maddening sometimes. Guess Vision was right.
dracula
dracula - 5/19/2022, 4:42 PM
@The1st - agree
JFerguson
JFerguson - 5/19/2022, 2:06 PM
Needed Han in Book of Boba Fett. Would have been icing on the cake. In fact, I just need to see Han Solo vs Cad Bane.
19Batman84
19Batman84 - 5/19/2022, 2:11 PM
Solo wasn't that bad and I thought he did a pretty good job. It came out when people were still but hurt over the last jedi
JuanRGuijarro
JuanRGuijarro - 5/19/2022, 2:23 PM
@19Batman84 - no is not, is as bad as the Disney trilogy, don't be a dumbs
19Batman84
19Batman84 - 5/19/2022, 2:31 PM
@JuanRGuijarro - maybe im just not as picky as some people lol it was entertaining. but the disney trilogy was iffy lol
pyramosteu
pyramosteu - 5/19/2022, 4:07 PM
@19Batman84 - I liked solo but hated the last jedi, it's the reason I have never fully watched the thing that came after it
NightBoyWonder
NightBoyWonder - 5/19/2022, 2:22 PM
Solo is a solid movie but it’s downfall was a few things:

They fired the original directors right when they were almost finished with the movie - I believe literally like 2 weeks left of filming

They for some reason decided it should be the only Star Wars film not released in its designated Christmas slot

It came out too close after The Last Jedi, which was still the talk of the town with the insane reactions it got all over the place

The marketing was God awful and practically nonexistent

It came out right after INFINITY WAR and right before Jurassic World

It was poor planning and dumb executive decisions that ruined it.
JuanRGuijarro
JuanRGuijarro - 5/19/2022, 2:24 PM
@NightBoyWonder - is not a solid movie
1 2 3
View Recorder