Here’s the thing. I’m cranky, I’m old(ish), and the last thing I honestly could’ve cared about is the long rumored "Young Han Solo" spinoff movie. But kudos to Disney and Lucasfilm for getting my attention by hiring two of the sharpest and cleverest blockbuster writer/directors around to make this thing happen.
THR reports that Phil Lord and Chris Miller will direct a "Star Wars Anthology" spinoff film centered on a young Han Solo, and it will be their next effort behind the camera.
Following "Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One" next year, the initial plans was for the Boba Fett movie to land in 2018. However, that has been changed around, with the untitled Han Solo movie now officially slated for Memorial Day 2018. However, the trade notes that with Lord and Miller taking this on, it likely means their involvement with Warner Bros.‘ "The Flash" will end, with that film also due in 2018. As for the that standalone animated Spider-Man movie for Sony, Lord and Miller will apparently still be involved since they are just producing.
"This is the first film we’ve worked on that seems like a good idea to begin with. We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us," the directors said in a statement. "This is a dream come true for us. And not the kind of dream where you’re late for work and all your clothes are made of pudding, but the kind of dream where you get to make a film with some of the greatest characters ever, in a film franchise you’ve loved since before you can remember having dreams at all.”
As for "taking risks," the first official logline for the script by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan sounds like your standard origin tale: The story focuses on how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley.
But hey, who thought "The Lego Movie" or "21 Jump Street" would’ve worked, right? Let the dreamcasting begin and try and make it challenging by choosing someone who isn’t Chris Pratt…