When you think of all the upcoming “Star Wars” projects, it can be a bit overwhelming. There is, of course, “Star Wars: Episode IX.” However, after that, we have a new trilogy from filmmaker Rian Johnson, a new series of films from the creators of “Game of Thrones,” and a new live-action series from Jon Favreau that will premiere on the Disney streaming service. Nowhere in that list of projects are sequels to “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” But that might be changing.
According to Solo himself, Alden Ehrenreich, Disney has already thought about sequels to the film, and the actor is actually signed on for two more movies featuring the character. In an interview with Esquire, Ehrenreich suffers a franchise rookie mistake and lets something slip that he shouldn’t, when he answers how many films are on his contract, saying, “Three. I don’t know if that’s officially, uh, public. But—yeah.”
Three films, huh? Well, you wouldn’t be wrong in guessing that this is clearly an example of Disney hedging their bets on this “Star Wars” spin-off film. They’re hoping that if fans respond well to ‘Solo’ that they can start a new franchise with the young Ehrenreich. Unlike the previous spin-off film, ‘Rogue One,’ ‘Solo’ actually has the opportunity to continue as a series.
But even if the series is a runaway hit (let’s be honest, it’s going to be big), does the story deserve sequels? Having not seen the final film, this is all conjecture, but wouldn’t you assume that there can’t be that much story between ‘Solo’ and ‘A New Hope?’ If so, then Han Solo must have been a pretty busy guy before meeting up with Luke and Obi-Wan.
All this is a moot point if the film is a dud, though. So, we won’t know if Ehrenreich will have to worry about those two extra films on his contract until ‘Solo’ opens May 25.