The Star Wars franchise is one of the most popular in history, with entire moviegoers brought up on George Lucas' colorful galaxy far, far away. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the franchise has greatly expanded through the sequel trilogy, small screen content on Disney+, and a pair of standalone movies. Solo: A Star Wars Story was the last of those movies, with Ron Howard stepping into complete the project and reveal Han Solo's origin story. And now the filmmaker has shared the great Harrison Ford's reaction to the movie.
Actor Alden Ehrenreich had some majorly big shoes to fill with Solo: A Star Wars Story, as the character was previously played to pitch perfection by the iconic Harrison Ford. While Solo failed to perform at the box office, it turns out that Ford himself was a fan of the project-- as well as Ehrenreich's performance as the nerf herder. As Ron Howard recently shared,
Harrison Ford liked Solo very much, and he was very supportive when he saw it. And was so gracious and complimentary to Alden. He said some things publicly, but privately, it was really great to see him put his hand on Alden's shoulder and say, 'Great job kid.’ t meant a lot. Alden worked so hard and it was a very high-risk situation for him and he was a cool customer and was really a pleasure to work with, as was that entire cast, they are just a great bunch.
Well, there you have it. Because while Harrison Ford isn't known for keeping up to date on every single twist of the Star Wars franchise, he was able to appreciate the work done in Solo. Specifically, he gave his stamp of approval on Alden Ehrenreich's performance, which had its own mixture of swagger and heart. It's just not clear if we'll ever return to that burgeoning franchise.
Ron Howard's story about Harrison Ford comes from his recent appearance on Lights, Camera, Barstool podcast. Ron Howard stepped in to complete Solo: A Star Wars Story after original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller departed the project. It was quite the task which was met with a somewhat tepid reception from the fandom. But the OG Han was apparently happy with the standalone movie's contents.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is currently streaming on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
Including his brief role in The Rise of Skywalker, Harrison Ford played Han Solo for a whopping five Star Wars movies. As such, the fans were nervous about seeing Alden Ehrenreich stepping into the role. He managed to embody the future Rebel leader while not doing an impression of his predecessor, and it seems Ford gave his thumbs up.
It's been interesting to see Solo: A Star Wars Story's life after its release. Ron Howard's movie was the first box office disappointment of the franchise, which originally seemed to put the kibosh in any plans for a sequel. But Solo has gotten more love in the years since, with many still hoping to dive back into the world of Star Wars' gangsters. So perhaps it'll end up happening one day.
Narratively, Solo was definitely doing a bunch of world building for future sequels. The movie's end saw Emilia Clarke contact Darth Maul, who was revealed to the leader of Crimson Dawn. Additionally, Han and Chewie took off on the newly won Millennium Falcon for Tatooine to seek out Jabba the Hut. Unfortunately, we'll just have to wait and see if those plans ever become a reality.
The Star Wars franchise is continuing to expand thanks to The Mandalorian on Disney. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.
