They run the ever-expanding** Lego Movie **universe. They’re developing The Flash for Warner Bros. and DC. Sony has them at work on an animated Spider-Man film. And there are the continued efforts towards another Jump Street movie. So surely Phil Lord and Christopher Miller don’t have time to tackle a long-awaited entry in another massive film franchise, right? Wrong! They’ve signed on to direct a Star Wars Anthology movie about Han Solo.
First hinted at by a report from Entertainment Weekly’s Anthony Breznican back in 2013, Lucasfilm has today confirmed that the Han stand-alone film is in the works, looking to tell the story of how a young Solo became the scoundrel the world first met in Star Wars back in 1977.
“This is the first film we’ve worked on that seems like a good idea to begin with. We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us,” the pair said in a statement. “This is a dream come true for us. And not the kind of dream where you’re late for work and all your clothes are made of pudding, but the kind of dream where you get to make a film with some of the greatest characters ever, in a film franchise you’ve loved since before you can remember having dreams at all.”
Unusually for Lord and Miller (though perhaps because of their busy schedule and the need to get the film made for its release slot), they’re not writing this one, as Lawrence Kasdan (who has been involved in the new movies for a while, co-writing The Force Awakens) and son Jon have script duty. Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, the current head shepherd and producer of the** Star Wars** films, also seems happy with the choices. “It’s not just any filmmaker who can tell the story of such a beloved icon like Han Solo, and I’m excited to say we’ve found the perfect team to handle the task,” she says. “Larry and Jon know all there is to know about the character, and Chris and Phil will bring their wit, style, energy and heart to tell Han’s story.”
Of course, now the talk will turn to who could pull off the feat of playing a young Harrison Ford. Anthony Ingruber, who managed it in **The Age Of Adaline, is an early fan candidate, but we have a long road ahead of us. The Lego Movie pair seems like the perfect duo to work on a Solo film, but we’re just waiting for them to punk us with a trailer featuring a two-year-old Han. After all, they don’t say how young he actually will be in the movie…
Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo (or whatever it ends up being called) is scheduled for release on May 25, 2018.
In related Star Wars news – and we’re putting this behind a **Spoiler Alert **force field just in case – Devin Faraci of Birth. Movies. Death. has heard that Darth Vader will make an appearance in Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One as a behind-the-scenes, potentially holographic presence. He would seem like a logical addition to a film that takes place when the first Death Star is ready to start threatening the galaxy. There has been, of course, no official confirmation yet, so this lives under the spectre of the Rumour Klaxon{