‘Han Solo’ Director Says Potential Sequels Depend On How Audiences Take To This ‘Star Wars’ Story

As of right now, the general consensus—at least among the more vocal subset of FilmTwitter and Film Media—appears to be that there are too many “Star Wars” films.

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“I will say they should pace themselves, because you don’t want to over-saturate it,” Mark Hamill recently suggested, echoing the online sentiment. “I said to Disney, ‘Really? Five months after [‘Last Jedi’] comes out, comes [‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’]?”

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But the thing is, no one says this about Marvel and they release three movies a year (DC’s trying to do the same, so far averaging two a year). But much like the sentiment behind “superhero fatigue,” it’s not about quantity, but all about quality. No one would complain if, like Marvel, the “Star Wars” films were universally loved. At the same time, this is an echo chamber conversation. Not one Disney-era “Star Wars” film has grossed less than $1 billion worldwide; if critics are mixed on “Star Wars” movies, fans certainly aren’t.

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All that said, Hamill is correct, the upcoming “Solo: A Star Wars Story” will be the first true test for Lucasfilm in releasing two films essentially back to back. Marvel films are differentiated by characters and tone, some are completely different genres from one another. Even though director Ron Howard has likened ‘Solo’ to a Western and a heist film, can the “Star Wars” franchise differentiate itself enough from film to film the way, say “Doctor Strange” is completely different from “Spider-Man: Homecoming”? Pundits and critics will soon find out as ‘Solo’ is right around the corner and debuting at the Cannes Film Festival (and tracking north of a $160 million debut which would be higher than “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”).

And while Ron Howard recently admitted that ‘Solo’ was initially designed to be a one-off film, Lucasfilm was wise enough to sign up the entire cast for three films, so they’re clearly considering sequels just in case.

Howard recently addressed this with Fandango when he was explicitly pressed about his entry’s sequel potential.

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“I think the fans are going to define all of that,” Howard said. “I mean I think that Lucasfilm and Disney in casting actors, and particularly younger actors, want to see what happens and build upon that. Certainly, they want the commitment from the young actors, but there are no concrete plans. I think there’s been a lot of creative energy and now marketing energy going behind this movie.”

File that under Maybe.

“I think these are exactly what they’re meant to be, or what they’re designed to be,” he continued. “They’re single movies exploring the galaxy; but of course, as a company, I think they’re going to be very interested to see how people respond to it and take it from there. This whole thing is kind of a cool, ambitious exploration of what the galaxy and the Star Wars sensibility can continue to mean to fans.”

Would Howard stay on if there was indeed another ‘Solo’ movie? He didn’t say, but considering he came onboard after the fact—hired after Chris Miller and Phil Lord were fired, three weeks before production wrapped—it would not come as a surprise if the “Apollo 13” filmmaker stayed on to make a “Star Wars” film from stem to stern.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” hits theaters on May 25, but debuts at Cannes on May 15.