The Star Wars franchise is in constant flux, and Lucasfilm and Disney's continued partnership means we'll be getting new blockbusters every year or so for the foreseeable future. Because standalone movies and multiple trilogies are being developed, the galaxy far, far away is bigger than ever before. Given all the new movies coming, fans are able to get a more intimate look at certain characters. This is surely the case with Solo: A Star Wars Story, which does a deep dive into the title character, as well Lando and Chewie. Writers Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan were tasked with crafting Solo's story, and its safe to say they understand Harrison Ford's signature hero by now. In fact, the duo recently spoke to CinemaBlend's own Conner Schwertdfeger about the standalone film, and helped explain why Han wouldn't believe in The Force at first.
Lawrence: There's a lot of things going on in the world that I have no connection with. No knowledge of. No interest in.Jonathan: Religious wars. To people like myself are just mystifying that people would be willing to die for beliefs that, to me, are so far fetched that I could never even dream of. One of the things that we talked about early with Solo, I was particularly energized after seeing Straight Outta Compton, I have to say personally. Yeah because we thought about the idea that Han would be like those young guys, who grew up in a real inner city and was really a child of the inner city. It was tough and survival was the priority and there wasn't access to world events, in this case galactic events. He was living a life of survival in the streets and scrambling to find a place to sleep every night.Lawrence: When he claws his way out of that the last thing he's gonna relate to is 'you know, there's this spiritual... Fuck that, I just got out here where I can breathe and eat.'
While the power of The Force is truly at the heart of the Star Wars franchise, not every character in the galaxy really understands or believes in it. Han's cynicism makes a great deal of sense, given his rough upbringing and experience in the smuggling world.
One thing that Solo does really well is expand why Han became such a resourceful, cocky, and somewhat gruff character. Han grew up on the streets of Corellia, with he and Qi'ra forced to do off jobs and steal in order to appease Lady Proxima. Han has never had support or much power, so the idea of a mystical force that allows the Jedi to have their abilities seems a bit far fetched. After all, the Jedi are all but dead when Han is a young man.
Aside from being the connection that all living things have, The Force and Jedi ways is also a religion in the franchise. It's through this angle that the Kasdans were able to personally connect to Han's POV, and write for the beloved character. Ultimately, Solo ends up being the Star Wars movie with the least amount to do with The Force and lightsabers, although one surprising cameo does provide a brief look at one of the legendary weapons.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
