Lucasfilm's Han Solo Movie Will "Break Some Rules," and Be Complex & Unexpected
The news that Atlanta and Community star Donald Glover will be playing Lando Calrissian in Lucasfilm's Han Solo movie has certainly piqued our interest, but we've been curious about this project since the moment we heard that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were going to direct it. The Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Jump Street filmmakers have done an amazing job of taking concepts that sound terrible and actually turning out fantastic final products (exhibit A: The LEGO Movie), so something as clearly corporate-driven as a prequel about the adventures of young Han Solo could actually end up being enjoyable with these guys at the helm.
And we know that the movie will look fantastic, too, since they've hired cinematographer Bradford Young to shoot it. Young is the guy behind Selma, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, A Most Violent Year, and the upcoming sci-fi masterpiece Arrival, and in a new interview with Collider, he spoke a bit about joining the Star Wars universe and what we can expect from the Han Solo flick:
"Don’t put those guys in a box because they have a vision, they know exactly what they want. They have no hidden agenda, but they do have an agenda; they have a way of seeing that’s very special, and their collaboration is genuinely unique. So I have to say I had to get converted into that. I respect their work, I respect them as filmmakers, but I wasn’t quite sure if there would be a good marriage between what I’m trying to pursue and the work that I’m doing and what they’re doing, but they helped make that real clear to me early on by expressing some real interesting story [and] photographic ideas that really resonated with me.
These cats are subversive, don’t let it fool you (laughs). They are prepared to say exactly what they wanna say and it’s complex, it’s layered, it’s smart, it’s visual, it’s dramatic, it’s funny, it’s uneasy, it’s unexpected. These cats are—I’m honored to have them in the list of directors I’ve worked with, that’s for sure.
We’re doing our own thing, that’s why we’re there. Phil and Chris are there to bring what they bring to their films, their very unique vision, their perspective on story and they asked me to come bring what I bring, and so just for that it won’t feel like any of the other films. And nobody at Lucasfilm is asking us to betray that, they’re saying ‘We’re in full support of what you do and we wanna make sure that we’re able to help you do it in the best way.’ It’s gonna feel like a Star Wars film, but we’re definitely gonna break some rules, and we’re encouraged to do that. Visually, narratively, that’s a good mandate. They really are about, from what I’ve seen so far, supporting up and coming artists, artists who have a strong vision and voice and perspective, and they really wanna permeate the films with those kinds of voices. So it’s interesting, very interesting. Not what I thought it would be, that’s for sure. I’m pleasantly encouraged and pleasantly surprised."
That quote makes it sound like the fans' belief in these filmmakers is not misguided. I can't wait to see what they do with the opportunity to play in this sandbox.
Filming on the Han Solo prequel film begins in January, and it's scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 25, 2018. Alden Ehrenreich stars.