With the trouble Solo: A Star Wars Story went through in production you can be forgiven for being concerned, even after how positive the trailer looked. Fret no more, or some more (dependent on your outlook), as it has recently been revealed that both George Lucas and Harrison Ford had a direct influence on the upcoming film.
Both reveals come from the well loved Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who was talking directly to Entertainment Weekly. In the interview she said that Harrison Ford gave both Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo, and Ron Howard, the final director, tips on how to capture the essence of the character he has been famed for playing for most of his career. “What [Ford] did so beautifully for Alden was he talked a lot about what he remembered when he first read Star Wars, and what George had done with Han, who the character was and the conversations he had for so many years with George about how that character developed.” Alden went on to filming, keeping this in mind, and would even recount instances which he had been told by Harrison. The original Han Solo actor also went on to talk about how the character reacts to certain situations and how growing up as an orphan affects him.
George’s influence on the other hand was a little more spontaneous. “He had intended to just kind of stop by and say hi, and he stayed five hours. There’s even one little moment in a scene that — I can’t tell you what, sorry — but in the scene on the Millennium Falcon where George said, ‘Why doesn’t Han just do this.’” Ron Howard featured in George Lucas’ film American Graffiti which also featured Harrison Ford so the whole scenario of Ron being the director of a Han Solo film whilst getting pointers from George Lucas is all very fully circle. “I think George felt pretty great about that,” Kennedy said. “He could revisit these characters,” without the pressure of the film and its success being on his shoulders.
What do you think of this news that staples in the series helped shape what it would become? Are you excited or apprehensive about Han Solo’s return to cinema? Comment below or tweet us @celebritycutout.
