Review Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Thread starter Doctor Omega
- Start date
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
“Solo” Writer Says Lando Is Pansexual
In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” co-screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan says that it’s canon that the character of Lando Calrissian is pansexual (ie. attraction regardless of gender). Asked about Lando’s possible sexual fluidity in the film, the younger of the two Kasdans who worked on the film (his father Lawrence co-wrote) says:
“I would say yes. There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee Williams’ [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality. I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity – sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of… He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun. I don’t know where it will go.”
The character has always been written as a flirty charmer who uses sexuality (amongst other things) for his own ends. Having seen the film last night, this writer can say that despite these comments the film doesn’t hint at Lando’s sexuality beyond one conversationally suggestive hint about his possible over affection for a female-voiced droid.
That hint though is voiced by the droid and sounds mostly like conjecture on her part. Co-scribe Lawrence Kasdan says that instant isn’t so clear-cut: “That is her personality. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn’t.”
This marks the second time that press interviews for the franchise have hinted at an LGBTQ character being a part of this universe, only for the film itself not to acknowledge it at all. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” opens May 25th.
In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” co-screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan says that it’s canon that the character of Lando Calrissian is pansexual (ie. attraction regardless of gender). Asked about Lando’s possible sexual fluidity in the film, the younger of the two Kasdans who worked on the film (his father Lawrence co-wrote) says:
“I would say yes. There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee Williams’ [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality. I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity – sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of… He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun. I don’t know where it will go.”
The character has always been written as a flirty charmer who uses sexuality (amongst other things) for his own ends. Having seen the film last night, this writer can say that despite these comments the film doesn’t hint at Lando’s sexuality beyond one conversationally suggestive hint about his possible over affection for a female-voiced droid.
That hint though is voiced by the droid and sounds mostly like conjecture on her part. Co-scribe Lawrence Kasdan says that instant isn’t so clear-cut: “That is her personality. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn’t.”
This marks the second time that press interviews for the franchise have hinted at an LGBTQ character being a part of this universe, only for the film itself not to acknowledge it at all. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” opens May 25th.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
“Solo” Coming In Under Expectations
It looks like early estimates for up to $150 million domestic opening weekend for “Solo: A Star Wars Story” proved somewhat too rosy a projection.
“Solo” earned about $35.6 million through Friday, including $14.1 million from Thursday grosses. That’s the highest Thursday for a Memorial Day opener, but means the film is on track for just a $114 million domestic opening over the four-day weekend.
Sounds like a great number, but that’s considerably soft compared to the $156 million haul of “Rogue One” and the $220 million haul of “The Last Jedi”, both of which earned their openings over just three days. In fact it puts it at the fifth highest Memorial Day opener, behind “Fast and Furious 6” at $117M.
“Solo” isn’t the only one facing hardship though with “Deadpool 2” earning $12.1 million on its second Friday – a steep 77% drop. Estimates for the four day have it scoring $54.5 million – a 65% second-weekend drop which would be the one of the worst Memorial Day weekend second-weekend drops ever – behind only “Alien: Covenant” (70%) and 2014’s “Godzilla” (66%).
It looks like early estimates for up to $150 million domestic opening weekend for “Solo: A Star Wars Story” proved somewhat too rosy a projection.
“Solo” earned about $35.6 million through Friday, including $14.1 million from Thursday grosses. That’s the highest Thursday for a Memorial Day opener, but means the film is on track for just a $114 million domestic opening over the four-day weekend.
Sounds like a great number, but that’s considerably soft compared to the $156 million haul of “Rogue One” and the $220 million haul of “The Last Jedi”, both of which earned their openings over just three days. In fact it puts it at the fifth highest Memorial Day opener, behind “Fast and Furious 6” at $117M.
“Solo” isn’t the only one facing hardship though with “Deadpool 2” earning $12.1 million on its second Friday – a steep 77% drop. Estimates for the four day have it scoring $54.5 million – a 65% second-weekend drop which would be the one of the worst Memorial Day weekend second-weekend drops ever – behind only “Alien: Covenant” (70%) and 2014’s “Godzilla” (66%).
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
“Solo” Crashing In The U.S. & Overseas
A week ago Disney and Lucasfilm’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was said to be tracking for a domestic opening at around $130-150 million over the four-day holiday and a worldwide total haul of about $300 million. Those estimates are proving far rosier than expected.
The domestic total continues to be revised down with the three-day haul at $83.3 million and the four day haul estimated to be at $101 million. That means the film’s three day opening was just over half that of the previous ‘A Star Wars Story’ entry “Rogue One”. In fact it’s a lower opening than “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” with $108.4 million back in 2005.
The news overseas is far more dire. The film outright flopped on arrival in China, opening in third place to just $10.1 million (that’s one-third of the haul of both “Rogue One” and other sci-fi films like “Star Trek Beyond”). Its overseas haul was just $65 million for the weekend, giving it a three day global total of $148 million – just under half that of the $300 million that “Deadpool 2” brought in worldwide in its opening weekend last week.
Various attempts to justify the lack of interest have been thrown about. A common one is that the divisive reaction to “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” caused it, but reaction doesn’t bear that out as “Solo” was the first of the Disney-era ‘Wars’ films to earn an A- Cinema Score from audiences – whereas the previous three all earned full A’s.
With critics ‘The Last Jedi’ holds a stellar 85/100 Metacritic score compared to 63/100 for “Solo”, while on Rotten Tomatoes the five month old ‘Jedi’ stands at 91% (8.1/10) to ‘Solo’ with 71% (6.4/10). On both critical aggregate sites, the user vote has “Solo” in front but not by a lot – earning a score of a 5.8/10 to Last Jedi’s 4.6/10. “Solo” is less divisive, but there’s seemingly far less passionate reaction to it.
Were it being embraced, the word of mouth would already have an impact and estimates would be revised up – not down like they have been since it opened. Due to the reshoots, the film’s production budget is said to be in the $300 million range meaning the film has to pull in close to the $1 billion mark to be in profit.
A week ago Disney and Lucasfilm’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was said to be tracking for a domestic opening at around $130-150 million over the four-day holiday and a worldwide total haul of about $300 million. Those estimates are proving far rosier than expected.
The domestic total continues to be revised down with the three-day haul at $83.3 million and the four day haul estimated to be at $101 million. That means the film’s three day opening was just over half that of the previous ‘A Star Wars Story’ entry “Rogue One”. In fact it’s a lower opening than “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” with $108.4 million back in 2005.
The news overseas is far more dire. The film outright flopped on arrival in China, opening in third place to just $10.1 million (that’s one-third of the haul of both “Rogue One” and other sci-fi films like “Star Trek Beyond”). Its overseas haul was just $65 million for the weekend, giving it a three day global total of $148 million – just under half that of the $300 million that “Deadpool 2” brought in worldwide in its opening weekend last week.
Various attempts to justify the lack of interest have been thrown about. A common one is that the divisive reaction to “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” caused it, but reaction doesn’t bear that out as “Solo” was the first of the Disney-era ‘Wars’ films to earn an A- Cinema Score from audiences – whereas the previous three all earned full A’s.
With critics ‘The Last Jedi’ holds a stellar 85/100 Metacritic score compared to 63/100 for “Solo”, while on Rotten Tomatoes the five month old ‘Jedi’ stands at 91% (8.1/10) to ‘Solo’ with 71% (6.4/10). On both critical aggregate sites, the user vote has “Solo” in front but not by a lot – earning a score of a 5.8/10 to Last Jedi’s 4.6/10. “Solo” is less divisive, but there’s seemingly far less passionate reaction to it.
Were it being embraced, the word of mouth would already have an impact and estimates would be revised up – not down like they have been since it opened. Due to the reshoots, the film’s production budget is said to be in the $300 million range meaning the film has to pull in close to the $1 billion mark to be in profit.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I wish Cannon Films were still around.
So that Disney could sell off STAR WARS to them, .
So that Disney could sell off STAR WARS to them, .
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
A Lord & Miller “Solo” Trailer Exists?
A new report from Screen Crush indicates that an early trailer for the film, featuring only footage from the film’s original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and their version of the movie, was not only assembled but ready to screen at last year’s Star Wars Celebration in Orlando. Their source says:
“Lucasfilm had created a Solo trailer to show at Star Wars Celebration, assembled from the footage from Lord and Miller’s shoot. They just chose not to screen it. According to my source, the trailer was cut together and then shelved for exactly the same reasons that Lord and Miller were let go two months later; Lucasfilm wasn’t happy with it.”
The pair were booted off the project three weeks before filming was supposed to wrap and were eventually replaced by Oscar-winning director Ron Howard who reshot a significant portion of it. At the time of “Star Wars Celebration” though, there were no hints as to potential turmoil involving the project with the assumption being Lucasfilm just wasn’t ready to show anything yet.
A new report from Screen Crush indicates that an early trailer for the film, featuring only footage from the film’s original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and their version of the movie, was not only assembled but ready to screen at last year’s Star Wars Celebration in Orlando. Their source says:
“Lucasfilm had created a Solo trailer to show at Star Wars Celebration, assembled from the footage from Lord and Miller’s shoot. They just chose not to screen it. According to my source, the trailer was cut together and then shelved for exactly the same reasons that Lord and Miller were let go two months later; Lucasfilm wasn’t happy with it.”
The pair were booted off the project three weeks before filming was supposed to wrap and were eventually replaced by Oscar-winning director Ron Howard who reshot a significant portion of it. At the time of “Star Wars Celebration” though, there were no hints as to potential turmoil involving the project with the assumption being Lucasfilm just wasn’t ready to show anything yet.
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
My son and I went this afternoon to see it, and it really is an amazing, thoroughly enjoyable film. It's not perfect, but let's be serious, none of the Star Wars films were perfect (Empire is just one notch away from perfect, and nearly gets a perfect grade). Some of the dialogue is bad, and for as attractive as Emilia Clarke is, she's not a great actress. But Alden Ehrenreich does a really great job filling Harrison Ford's shoes, and Donald Glover is damn near pitch perfect as Lando. Hell, when they introduce him, you hear him from offscreen, and I thought it was Billy Dee Williams. The story is really good, basically being a heist movie in the SWU, and it doesn't feel like the 2 hours and 15 minutes because it just flows.
I've read some reviews tonight from the usual tin foil hat wearing morons who can only whine about the "SJW bullshit" in the new Star Wars, and to those people, I just say "Go fuck yourselves". Honestly, I'm sick of the moniker SJW, and have hit the point that, once uttered by someone, I immediately lose any respect I have for the person and wish them a lifetime in a Russian gulag, while suffering from the final stages of syphilis.
And can we talk about
Also, the scene where Chewie sits next to Han in the cockpit of the Falcon, and the Star Wars theme plays? I damn near cried at that point. Just beautifully done. Honestly, this movie needs to be seen.
I've read some reviews tonight from the usual tin foil hat wearing morons who can only whine about the "SJW bullshit" in the new Star Wars, and to those people, I just say "Go fuck yourselves". Honestly, I'm sick of the moniker SJW, and have hit the point that, once uttered by someone, I immediately lose any respect I have for the person and wish them a lifetime in a Russian gulag, while suffering from the final stages of syphilis.
And can we talk about
Darth Fucking Maul??? I avoided any spoilers for this film, and was pleasantly surprised by that cameo! I was so happy to see him in a live action movie again!
Also, the scene where Chewie sits next to Han in the cockpit of the Falcon, and the Star Wars theme plays? I damn near cried at that point. Just beautifully done. Honestly, this movie needs to be seen.
ant-mac
Member: Rank 9
I freely admit I'm not the biggest STAR WARS fan in the world, or the hemisphere, or the country, or the state, or the town, or probably even the street I live in, but I try to take an interest.
Having said that, it's nice to read something positive about the franchise, because there doesn't seem to have been much good news about it of late.
ant-mac
Member: Rank 9
I found this on YouTube.
From personal experience, I've found that EC Henry has done some interesting stuff on both STAR TREK and STAR WARS.
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
I love that he even tells people to actually give reasons for why they disliked it, and not just say it sucks. It feels like the majority of the negative comments I have read seem to just be that, or some other "witty" remark like it, but no one can just explain what they disliked about it. Well, other than the guys who claim that all media is pushing liberal agenda down our throats, but hey, if they're not evolved enough to accept the world, they can all move to America, where the rednecks are taking over.
Oh, wait...
Oh, wait...
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Disney Exec Reflects On “Solo” Opening
“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” a film that should’ve been a safe bet, is closing out the Memorial Day holiday weekend making headlines for the wrong reasons. The film is finishing up the four-day holiday weekend with an estimate of around $101 million domestically. Internationally it made $65 million as of the end of Sunday.
That’s a far cry from the $155 million domestic and $134 million international three-day opening weekend haul of the previous ‘A Star Wars Story’ entry “Rogue One” and has led to understandable questions as to what happened. Speaking with THR, Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis expressed his concerns:
“We have a lot of work to do in trying to understand this. We are all over it and will spend a lot of time digging into why things happened the way they did in various markets. We have a year and a half before Episode IX comes out… There’s a question of frequency, and how many times people will go to the movies. Is this too much and too soon for a third time in a five-week period?… Let’s measure how we feel about this until more time passes.”
Hollis adds he’s hopeful the film will enjoy a strong run over the next two weekends before juggernauts like Disney’s own “Incredibles 2” and Universal’s “Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom” hit in mid-late June.
Even so, it looks like Lucasfilm may have re-evaluate its release plans moving forward, with insiders telling the trade that the company is highly unlikely to release two “Star Wars” movies so close together again – no matter what kind of film they are. The end-of-year slot has served Disney well in recent years and they’re likely to stick to it from now on where there’s less competition for eyeballs.
For now the company has nineteen months until the release of the J.J. Abrams-directed “Star Wars: Episode IX” which gives them time to re-group and rethink their approach.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” a film that should’ve been a safe bet, is closing out the Memorial Day holiday weekend making headlines for the wrong reasons. The film is finishing up the four-day holiday weekend with an estimate of around $101 million domestically. Internationally it made $65 million as of the end of Sunday.
That’s a far cry from the $155 million domestic and $134 million international three-day opening weekend haul of the previous ‘A Star Wars Story’ entry “Rogue One” and has led to understandable questions as to what happened. Speaking with THR, Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis expressed his concerns:
“We have a lot of work to do in trying to understand this. We are all over it and will spend a lot of time digging into why things happened the way they did in various markets. We have a year and a half before Episode IX comes out… There’s a question of frequency, and how many times people will go to the movies. Is this too much and too soon for a third time in a five-week period?… Let’s measure how we feel about this until more time passes.”
Hollis adds he’s hopeful the film will enjoy a strong run over the next two weekends before juggernauts like Disney’s own “Incredibles 2” and Universal’s “Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom” hit in mid-late June.
Even so, it looks like Lucasfilm may have re-evaluate its release plans moving forward, with insiders telling the trade that the company is highly unlikely to release two “Star Wars” movies so close together again – no matter what kind of film they are. The end-of-year slot has served Disney well in recent years and they’re likely to stick to it from now on where there’s less competition for eyeballs.
For now the company has nineteen months until the release of the J.J. Abrams-directed “Star Wars: Episode IX” which gives them time to re-group and rethink their approach.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Errmmm...
How about waiting to see the film in question, Doc, before posting your view of it.
I have now seen it now Doc, unlike you when you posted the above pompous nonsense - and, though it took a few minutes to get past the fact that this was a different actor playing the role, he did his own take on it and - eventually - captured the essence of a character - if not THE character. To put it another way, he was not terrible and, while I earlier mentioned that Anthony Ingruber may superficially be a dead ringer, he seemed in that clip to be doing an impersonation of Harrison. Alden does not. He captures the roguish charm of the character - who is ten years younger and a bit naive.
He can act, despite the rumours, and does a creditable job in a terribly difficult challenge of a role.
Donald Glover is Lando Calrissian. There is nothing to be added to that.
The story itself felt, to me, to be more in the spirit of STAR WARS than anything since RETURN OF THE JEDI.
I loved the Chewie Humour. And that walking carpet worked well against the new Han.
A good love interest and a very nasty villain, well played. Loved the red knives too.
Mostly good supporting characters, but this is - however - the only point where I hit a brick wall for a moment....
The only bone of conention:
I HATED L3. And every line it uttered.
I would gladly have watched a four hour cut of this thing just to see a further two hours of L3 dying in complete and utter agony.
But, other than that....
The best of the Disney offerings so far i.m.o.
How ironic then that it is the first flop.
Disney will no doubt learn all of the wrong lessons from this film and will throw out the baby with the bathwater. But I think that film history will judge this offering kindly, while lamenting that Alden, perhaps unfairly, never got asked back to play the role again?
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chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
Then you and I will have to agree to disagree. I thought L3 was a great character,
and actually got a little teary eyed when she died.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
“Solo” To Lose $80M+ For Disney Pictures?
Word of mouth is not helping “Solo: A Star Wars Story” with Heat Vision today reporting that this will become the first of the “Star Wars” films for Disney and Lucasfilm to lose money.
Wall Street analyst Barton Crockett tells the trade “Solo” stands to lose $50-80 million, if not more, for the studio – though details of Disney’s deals for home entertainment and television along with other ancillary revenue streams is unclear.
The film plummeted in its second weekend to finish Sunday with a domestic total of $148.9 million and an overseas total of $115.4 million – a worldwide total of $264.3 million so far. Estimates are the film is looking to close out with only a little more than $400 million globally against a budget of at least $250 million along with a major multi-million-dollar marketing spend.
Compare that to the first ‘A Star Wars Story’ spin-off which ultimately grossed $1 billion worldwide. Fellow analyst Doug Creutz surprisingly doesn’t cite franchise fatigue as the main cause, but rather puts the blame on a lackluster marketing campaign.
Despite the misfire, Disney is hardly hurting. “Black Panther” has grossed $1.345 billion worldwide, and “Avengers: Infinity War” is poised to become the first summer film in history to cross $2 billion. Their upcoming “The Incredibles 2” is also tipped to be one of the biggest films of the summer.
Word of mouth is not helping “Solo: A Star Wars Story” with Heat Vision today reporting that this will become the first of the “Star Wars” films for Disney and Lucasfilm to lose money.
Wall Street analyst Barton Crockett tells the trade “Solo” stands to lose $50-80 million, if not more, for the studio – though details of Disney’s deals for home entertainment and television along with other ancillary revenue streams is unclear.
The film plummeted in its second weekend to finish Sunday with a domestic total of $148.9 million and an overseas total of $115.4 million – a worldwide total of $264.3 million so far. Estimates are the film is looking to close out with only a little more than $400 million globally against a budget of at least $250 million along with a major multi-million-dollar marketing spend.
Compare that to the first ‘A Star Wars Story’ spin-off which ultimately grossed $1 billion worldwide. Fellow analyst Doug Creutz surprisingly doesn’t cite franchise fatigue as the main cause, but rather puts the blame on a lackluster marketing campaign.
Despite the misfire, Disney is hardly hurting. “Black Panther” has grossed $1.345 billion worldwide, and “Avengers: Infinity War” is poised to become the first summer film in history to cross $2 billion. Their upcoming “The Incredibles 2” is also tipped to be one of the biggest films of the summer.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
One thing I did like about this film is that it surprised me.....
So yes, points to Disney for the above.
Perhaps the franchise is in the right hands, after all?
Although I am still concerned that they will milk this thing to death and, ultimately, kill it in a Berman era STAR TREK kind of way.
I did not expect characters to die, but they did.
One deathly surprise after another.
If the original plan - now probably moot - was for a trilogy, then it was brave, I thought, for Disney, of all companies, to actually kill off sort-of-heroic characters that they had just introduced.
I did not think they would kill off the four armed monkey character, but they did.
Ditto the lady from WESTWORLD and L3.
I really thought that they would have one, very large, eye on merchandising potential and would want them to stick around a bit longer.
I guess I should not be too surprised after the way the storyline of ROGUE ONE went, but that was a self-contained film and there was never talk, that I am aware of, about any R1 sequels or trilogies.
One deathly surprise after another.
If the original plan - now probably moot - was for a trilogy, then it was brave, I thought, for Disney, of all companies, to actually kill off sort-of-heroic characters that they had just introduced.
I did not think they would kill off the four armed monkey character, but they did.
Ditto the lady from WESTWORLD and L3.
I really thought that they would have one, very large, eye on merchandising potential and would want them to stick around a bit longer.
I guess I should not be too surprised after the way the storyline of ROGUE ONE went, but that was a self-contained film and there was never talk, that I am aware of, about any R1 sequels or trilogies.
So yes, points to Disney for the above.
Perhaps the franchise is in the right hands, after all?
Although I am still concerned that they will milk this thing to death and, ultimately, kill it in a Berman era STAR TREK kind of way.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Lucasfilm Puts “Star Wars” Spin-Offs On Hold?
In the wake of the dismal box-office returns for “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” Colliderreports that all the other ‘A Star Wars Story’ spin-off films have been put on hold at Lucasfilm.
Previously it has been reported that Stephen Daldry was developing an Obi-Wan Kenobi film and James Mangold is at work on a Boba Fett film. The studio is now putting all of their efforts into the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode IX” which arrives Christmas 2019.
They’re also still continuing development on the previously announced trilogy from Rian Johnson and the new films from “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, all of which are expected to be set in whole new time periods and areas within the “Star Wars” universe.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” has to date brought in just $341.9 million at the global box office, in comparison all three of the other “Star Wars” films that have opened for Disney have each made over a billion dollars worldwide.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I feel sorry for the actors.
In shallow Hollywood, of course, nobody wants to be associated with anybody who had anything to do with a failure.
Hope they can all bounce back from it.
In shallow Hollywood, of course, nobody wants to be associated with anybody who had anything to do with a failure.
Hope they can all bounce back from it.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
“Solo” Scribe: Thandie Newton Was Too Good
With the arrival of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” on Digital HD, the film’s co-writer Jon Kasdan has posted a Twitter thread offering lots of little tidbits of information regarding the spin-off feature and its place in overall “Star Wars” lore.
One of the more interesting quotes is about “Westworld” actress Thandie Newton who was stuck in a fairly thankless role as Val, the partner of Woody Harrelson’s mentor character and whom has far too little screen time for many people’s liking. Kasdan agrees, in fact he thinks they essentially over-cast the role:
“In retrospect, Thandie Newton may have actually 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 during the Conveyex Job-gone-wrong 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. It’s an odd and unexpected problem that comes with working with such amazing, compelling actors in the Star Wars universe. You just want more of them.
It can be a tough thing to balance when sometimes you have a character with an important role, but that role is to die at the end of the first act. Jon Kasdan says that it was always in the plan for Beckett’s crew to die on the heist and leave him with only Han and Chewbacca, but then the movie went and cast the great Thandie Newton in the role of Val, and so a lot of people took issue with her being killed off.”
The other issue with the death was that the film only had two female roles in it of any weight, the other with Val’s demise that left Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra as the sole major female role – and another white brunette at that. Newton was an exception.
Talking about Lord and Miller’s involvement, he credits them for the speeder chase at the start along with the worm-like Lady Proxmia, making Chewie ‘the beast’ and his mudpit cage, the look of Lando’s gambling den, the closet of capes scene, the casting of Erin Kellyman as Enfys Nest, and the ill-temper and bad behavior of droid L3-37 which ties back to the 1977 original’s scene involving the two droids being barred from a Mos Eisley cantina.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is now available in Digital HD format and will hit Blu-ray and rental VOD on September 25th.
With the arrival of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” on Digital HD, the film’s co-writer Jon Kasdan has posted a Twitter thread offering lots of little tidbits of information regarding the spin-off feature and its place in overall “Star Wars” lore.
One of the more interesting quotes is about “Westworld” actress Thandie Newton who was stuck in a fairly thankless role as Val, the partner of Woody Harrelson’s mentor character and whom has far too little screen time for many people’s liking. Kasdan agrees, in fact he thinks they essentially over-cast the role:
“In retrospect, Thandie Newton may have actually 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 during the Conveyex Job-gone-wrong 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. It’s an odd and unexpected problem that comes with working with such amazing, compelling actors in the Star Wars universe. You just want more of them.
It can be a tough thing to balance when sometimes you have a character with an important role, but that role is to die at the end of the first act. Jon Kasdan says that it was always in the plan for Beckett’s crew to die on the heist and leave him with only Han and Chewbacca, but then the movie went and cast the great Thandie Newton in the role of Val, and so a lot of people took issue with her being killed off.”
The other issue with the death was that the film only had two female roles in it of any weight, the other with Val’s demise that left Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra as the sole major female role – and another white brunette at that. Newton was an exception.
Talking about Lord and Miller’s involvement, he credits them for the speeder chase at the start along with the worm-like Lady Proxmia, making Chewie ‘the beast’ and his mudpit cage, the look of Lando’s gambling den, the closet of capes scene, the casting of Erin Kellyman as Enfys Nest, and the ill-temper and bad behavior of droid L3-37 which ties back to the 1977 original’s scene involving the two droids being barred from a Mos Eisley cantina.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is now available in Digital HD format and will hit Blu-ray and rental VOD on September 25th.