Thoughts on Solo: A Star Wars Story

My first reaction to Solo was the same as my initial reaction to Rogue One, Rebels, and even to Star Wars itself. “Nah, that doesn’t look interesting.” Since I have been proven majorly wrong on all three of the past accounts, I have decided to give Solo a chance before deciding where I truly stand on it. In this post, I will talk about some of my concerns, as well as some things I’m looking forward to in the next Star Wars film.

 

My other first thought after finding out about Solo, was, “Han Solo played by someone other than Harrison Ford? No thank you.” Of course, they would have to get another actor, but accepting someone else’s face as a beloved character is hard to do. But, I am happy to say after seeing the trailers, that I think Alden Ehrenreich looks more like a young Han than I thought he would. Not perfect, but the best job they could have done, and he definitely has Han’s smirk down. Lando looks even closer to his character in my opinion. Chewie looks like Chewie. (Which is great for 190 years old.)

After what happened in The Force Awakens, I will be very glad to see more Han, because he is one of my favorite characters. I’m a little worried though, that they’ll do something that doesn’t fit in with the way I pictured Han becoming who we see in A New Hope, or just something that messes up the way I view him as a character. Even though he definitely made up for his Cloud City betrayal, I’ve never been much of a Lando fan. Though it will be interesting to learn how he and Han met, as well as hopefully see the gambling game that won Han the Millennium Falcon. I’m excited to learn who exactly all the new characters are, and how they fit into the story, especially Qi’ra and Rio. Here are each of the new characters’ descriptions from StarWars.com:

Tobias Beckett: Beckett is a survivor, always quietly working out angles to come out ahead. He’s assembled a team of specialized scoundrels to carry out risky but profitable heists.

I can see how he has had a major influence on Han, seeing as how he is probably the first one to employ Han as a smuggler. He seems a little on the older side, but not older than Han in The Force Awakens.

Qi’ra: At 18 years of age, young Qi’ra is already enmeshed in a life of crime, working for a gang on Corellia.

I love her name, it’s so Star Wars-y sounding! She’s younger than I thought she was, and her appearance is very misleading; I definitely did not get the “Corellian gang member” vibe from it. (At least from the black dress.) I’m hoping to really like this character, but one thing that did put me off a little is her saying to Han in one of the trailers, “You look good. A little rough around the edges, but good.”  I’m all for people who see past Han’s bravado and tough exterior, but as a strong Han-Leia shipper, any even slightly romantic relationship with him in this movie is going to be frowned upon by me.

Val: A no-nonsense and occasionally prickly woman who is a crack shot with a blaster rifle, Val may be the most even-headed and capable member of Tobias Beckett’s ragtag crew of scoundrels.

While it usually takes me a little while to warm up to the “no-nonsense, prickly” characters, I love ones who are smart, and able to handle themselves in a fight, so Val sounds very interesting to me. I don’t think we’ve heard any lines from her yet and have only seen her in one or two shots.

Dryden Vos: Dryden Vos heads up an emerging criminal syndicate known as Crimson Dawn. This organization has quickly cemented a reputation for ruthlessness. This is true of its leader as well, this Vos is no crude cutthroat. He surrounds himself with luxury.

Huh, that’s different than most criminal lords we’ve seen. And if you’re wondering, he will not be connected to Jedi Quinlan Vos, according to Wookieepedia.

L3-L7: A “self-made droid” built from astromech and protocol parts, L3-L7 is an enlightened navigator who cares deeply about droid rights.

Astromech and protocol? Though she does speak Basic, so it sounds like L3 leans more toward protocol type. I can’t wait to find out what L3’s personality is like. I love how they’re able to make each droid their own character, despite them not being people. She’s also Lando’s droid, so that’s sure to be interesting.

Rio Durant: Rio Durant has carried out dangerous operations alongside Tobias Beckett for years. The good-natured Ardennian pilot is up for any challenge.

This dude is so neat looking! He has four arms! He kind of reminds me of Bistan from Rogue One, I think because of the shot of him in the Falcon’s gun turret. His fur has a blue-ish tint, and his face looks similar to a monkey.

Enfys Nest: An extremely dangerous marauder and leader of the swoop-riding pirates known as the Cloud Riders, Enfys Nest has carved out a brutal and nefarious reputation across the galaxy.

This guy is one of the strange looking, armored covered warriors Han apparently runs into at some point. Is it just me, or is “Cloud Riders” an odd name to call your group of vicious pirates?

So far, all we know about the plot is that Han will join up with a band of scoundrels, meet Chewbacca and Lando, and end up acquiring the Millennium Falcon along the way. Even with my previously stated worries about seeing Han’s past and character-defining moments, I’m so glad that there’s going to be an established canon for these events because I’ve heard many different versions of how Han and Chewie met. Also, we finally have some action that takes place on Han’s homeworld of Corellia, which is famous for its shipbuilding. One thing that I think is keeping me from feeling as excited about this film is the lack of urgency. After Rogue One, the last season of Star Wars Rebels, and The Last Jedi, the stakes really aren’t terribly high in this film, and we know that three of the main characters can’t die. But as someone pointed out to me, this could be a good thing. As much as I love the moments where someone sacrifices their life for something bigger than them, losing favorite characters HURTS. Solo will be a film where you don’t have to worry about this as much, and can just enjoy an exciting ride. I think that with all the pirate/scoundrel, gray characters that aren’t Rebels or Imperials, the story will be very hard to predict. With these types of characters, it’s hard to tell exactly how they will react to things, or what choices they will make. Like Beckett says, “Assume everyone will betray you, and you will never be disappointed.”

Even though I wouldn’t say I’m extremely excited for Solo, I’d never pass up a chance to return to my favorite galaxy, especially with Rebels over, and Episode IX nearly two years away.

Solo: A Star Wars Story will be in theaters May 25.

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This article was written by Audrey L., Staff Blogger for The Elven Padawan, and first appeared on ElvenPadawan.com

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What are you looking forward to in Solo? What new character are you most excited to meet?