After what felt like an overlong wait with a great deal of hand-wringing, we finally got our first look at Solo: A Star Wars Story earlier this week with a Super Bowl tease and a trailer. Naturally, since this is a Star Wars movie (and one with much publicized production trouble), a lot of people have opinions regarding what they have seen so far, and not everyone is thrilled about what they've seen from the new take on the beloved character. But who better to ask about the film than the man who acted opposite Harrison Ford for three films, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill? Always one to give his honest and unfiltered opinion, here's what Mark Hamill thought of the trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story:
I don't know what anybody's complaining about. The trailer makes you want to see the movie and I'm dying to see it, so it worked.
You can always count on Mark Hamill to tell it like he sees it and not give some political answer to avoid riling the fickle Star Wars fanbase. Mark Hamill is no stranger to people having varied opinions about Star Wars films, having just come off of The Last Jedi, which is probably even more divisive than the generational divide that exists between Prequel lovers and haters. The trailer has sold Mark Hamill on at least seeing the movie and here's the thing, even the fans who didn't love the trailer will still see the film, even if it's just to complain about it later, that's the power of Star Wars. Speaking with ET, Mark Hamill is also coming at this from a slightly different perspective than Star Wars: The Last Jedi. First off, he's not in it and secondly it is not his character that has a new story and is being tackled by a new actor.
There is a lot in the trailer that does make you want to see the movie. Emilia Clarke and Woody Harrelson in a galaxy far, far away, are both a treat, and some people are calling for a Lando movie after seeing a glimpse of Donald Glover's take on the character. Bradford Young's cinematography looks breathtaking. In addition, this story looks like something truly new and different that still feels like Star Wars. The real challenge is that this is not a new character and it may be difficult for fans to accept a new actor as Han Solo. For me, the trailer sold me on everything but Alden Ehrenreich, who I'm looking to see as Han Solo, not Harrison Ford. But this was a short trailer and not enough of a sample size to make any definitive judgment. Only the movie can do that.
There were some hopes that after the divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story could heal the fractured fanbase with a return to a beloved character and a return to an old school Star Wars feel. The early marketing may not be 100% there, but we have months to go and a whole slew of marketing ahead of us. Solo: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters on May 25th.
