Star Wars Director Offers Solo 2 Update (And It's Not Looking Good)

Solo: A Star Wars Story director Ron Howard has updated on a possible sequel, and the future of the Solo 2 film remains bleak.

Solo: A Star Wars Story director Ron Howard has been updated on a potential Solo sequel -- and that's not exactly encouraging news for fans of the movie. The first Solo introduced younger versions of classic Star Wars characters Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), along with Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Paul Bay New character played by Tenney. Darth Maul also reappears at the end of the film, heralding future plans for the series. Spinoffs and sequels were planned for several characters as part of Lucasfilm's previous film plans.

However, the reaction to the film halted these plans and changed the mindset of Lucasfilm as a whole. Solo: A Star Wars Story was a mediocre box office hit and received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired due to "creative differences" during filming and were replaced by Howard, but that didn't give the impression that production was going well. In a recent interview with NME, Howard provided a depressing update on the possibility that Solo 2 will happen, saying that the interest is only from fans, not the studio, making another one.

The only discussion that I’m aware of about a sequel for Solo is coming from the fans at this point. I don’t think it’s a Lucasfilm priority, as I understand it. But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen, so I would never say never – but I’m not aware of any concrete plans right now to extend the story or deal with that particular set of characters.

Why Did Solo Bomb At The Box Office?

as most A popular character in the Star Wars canon, an origin story for Han Solo is sure to be something Lucasfilm thinks will be a home run. Unfortunately, the film was deemed a disappointment by the studio due to ballooning budgets due to Solo's massive reshoots. A little under $400 million at the box office is usually a success, but not if the movie is one of the most expensive ever made and supposedly benefits from the intrinsic support of the Star Wars fanbase.

The box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story was the result of several factors. The movie comes out a few weeks after Avengers: Infinity War, and has a very small marketing window because Disney didn't want to delay the movie, despite its many production issues. This earned the film mixed reviews from all audiences, along with its formulaic explanation of every detail of Han's life, including how he got his last name and Han Solo's golden dice.

Many people involved with Solo: A Star Wars Story shared their thoughts on why the film didn't resonate with audiences. Restored Disney CEO Bob Iger Takes Some Blame, while Howard mentioned that the heavy use of nostalgia may have contributed to the film's disappointing reception. Still, the likes of writer Lawrence Kasdan and star Alden Ehrenreich continued to praise the original film and remain interested in making Solo 2. Unfortunately, future Solo: A Star Wars Story sequels or spinoffs don't appear to be part of the plan at this time.

More: Why Star Wars Should Bring Back Alden's Han Solo, Not Ford's