'Solo' Co-Writer Reveals Kubrick, Mann, & Tom Cruise Influences And Explains The Controversial Villain Cameo

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You, dear reader, owe me. Big time.

I just spent valuable moments of my life reading through all 52 nuggets of information that “Solo: A Star Wars Story” co-writer Jon Kasdan shared about the recent film. Why did Kasdan write up 52 paragraphs of various interesting, cringe-worthy, and nerdy factoids about the ‘Star Wars’ film? Well, because he wanted to honor the film’s Blu-ray release, and since there’s no commentary from the writer, he felt he’d just give his own pseudo-commentary on Twitter. The better question is – why did I bother reading it all?

I guess I’m just a masochist.

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But honestly, the younger Kasdan (along with his co-writer, and father, Lawrence Kasdan) is steeped in ‘Star Wars’ lore and did reveal a few things that are probably of interest to ‘SW’ nerds and those just interested in what filmmaking choices were made and why.

So, here we go…

First, I found it very interesting to find multiple films name-dropped by Kasdan as inspirations for ‘Solo,’ and there are definitely some real surprises included. “We wanted Mimban to evoke Kubrick’s ‘Paths of Glory’ and put Han into the most hellish-possible war environment,” said the writer. Not sure I found any Kubrick-esque influences in that scene, but interesting that’s what was in mind.

“The scene between Beckett and Han in the lounge really demonstrates the Michael Mann influence on the movie. We wanted Beckett to be cut from the same cloth as Neal McCauley [from ‘Heat’],” Kasdan explained. Makes me imagine what could have been if only Disney let them go full-on Michael Mann for the film.

And lastly, Tom Cruise’s incredibly fun “Mission: Impossible” films get a nod, as Kasdan explains, “While figuring out the Kessel Heist, we kept revisiting the ‘Mission Impossible’ movies because we wanted the sequence to have the kind of momentum and feeling of coordinated effort that the best sequences in those movies always have.”

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As for one of the more nerdy inclusions in his 52 facts, he does point out an Easter Egg (and probably the 1,443rd tie-in to previous films found in ‘Solo’) that even the most well-versed ‘Star Wars’ fan probably didn’t notice. “OF COURSE Han told Leia the story of how he and Qi’ra broke out of the Den of the White Worms and that’s what gave Leia the idea to pull a real thermal detonator when disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh in Jabba’s Palace in [‘Return of the Jedi’]. And for anyone who feels that maybe that didn’t need to be explained…you’re crazy, it had to be explained!” said the writer.

What did Kasdan enjoy most in the film? Surprisingly, considering his father is thought to be one of the main reasons Chris Miller and Phil Lord left the project, is the meeting between Chewie and Han, which is something the directing duo conceived. He said, “The mud pit is pure [Lord & Miller] and, for my money, it’s one of the best scenes in the movie.”

Oh and he loves Donald Glover just as much as you do: “At this point it goes without saying, but Donald [Glover] was born to play Lando. I remember the thrill of seeing his screen test. Then the thrill of watching Bob Iger and Alan Horn watch his screen test…This was before Atlanta or Awaken My Life but after Community.”

But the 52 facts aren’t all fond memories and Easter Eggs. He does give a couple regrets and changes he would have liked to see. One of the more interesting ones is the regret of hiring Thandie Newton, whose role, many reviewers and fans pointed out, amounts to a glorified cameo. He explains, “In retrospect, Thandie Newton may actually have been too good and too interesting as Val. It was always in the design of the story that Beckett would lose his trusted crew members…and be forced to rely on newbies, Han and Chewie, and this would also open the door for Lando, Qi’ra, and L3 to join the crew, but Thandie is so compelling to watch that the death of her character feels a little like a cheat.”

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Kasdan never goes so far as to say he’s disappointed in the film, but also won’t admit that it totally “works.” However, one of the biggest complaints from fans (and something that seemed to be an excessive nod to previous films) is the surprise Darth Maul cameo. But Kasdan will defend that choice any day, saying, “If you felt like it was a cheap stunt, I suppose that’s fair, but the truth is Maul was built into the design of Solo in many subtle ways, including the name Crimson Dawn, the artifacts in Dryden’s study, and Qi’ra’s use of Teras Kasi…For me, Maul was destined to pass through Solo as the ultimate SW Keyser Soze.”

If you made it this far, then congratulations, you lasted longer than I thought. And for your reward, here are two extra features included in the upcoming Blu-ray. The first is a scene that is completely tonally wrong and obviously cut, which features a snowball fight, post-heist (where Becketts crew all died), between Chewie and Han. The other is more into the behind-the-scenes of how they made Chewbacca’s voice.

Enjoy!