Chewbacca Actor Thanks Star Wars Fans As Fans Make Solo Trending In Hopes Of A Sequel

Chewbacca and young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story
(Image credit: (Lucasfilm))
(Image credit: (Lucasfilm))

Following Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, we seem to have entered a new side of the galaxy far, far away that isn’t all about keeping up with Skywalkers, though Hayden Christensen’s Anakin is back for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Quite a few fans of the Lucasfilm franchise are still hoping for a sequel to Han Solo’s origins years after Solo: A Star Wars Story became a controversial entry in the franchise.

Solo: A Star Wars Story built on the narrative of the Millennium Falcon’s best friends/co-pilots before Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader came into their lives, and some audiences are still waiting for more. A number of Star Wars fans got the hashtag #MakeSolo2Happen, and it reached one of the movie’s stars, Joonas Suotamo, a.k.a. Chewbacca:

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The 6’11 Chewie actor joined the collective roaring for more Solo on the movie’s third anniversary, as fans organized to rave about the movie in hopes for the story to continue either on the big screen on Disney+. Here’s one example of a tweet that added to the topic recently going viral again:

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When Solo: A Star Wars Story came out in summer 2018, it amassed a disappointing box office gross of $392.9 million worldwide off a reported $275 million production budget. The movie also dealt with some problems behind the scenes, including Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse creatives Phil Lord and Christopher Miller leaving midway through production and being replaced by Ron Howard.

Solo received mid-range reviews and audience responses, but over the years it has amassed a following of fans who are insisting on a sequel to the 2018 movie. Some believe it would be an especially great fit for Disney+, which is the home of The Mandalorian and other major Star Wars shows:

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Calls for a Solo sequel have reached Ron Howard before, who clarified to fans that it was not in development, but did find the movie’s increasingly positive shelf life a good sign for its characters potentially returning somehow in the Star Wars universe. Paul Bettany, who played Dryden Vo,s also shared his hopes to reprise the character after starring in the Disney Marvel show WandaVision.

Another major draw of Solo was Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian, who had a relatively small role in the 2018 movie, but showed some great promise. As one fan wrote:

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There is a Lando series officially in development for Disney+, but it has not been announced who will be in the cast of the TV show. It could be the perfect spinoff for Solo if Donald Glover is given the role again, but the actor also may be tied up with finishing Atlanta and making his Mr. and Mrs. Smith series with Solo co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Even if Solo does not continue, there’s a ton more Star Wars coming in the near future to get excited for.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.