The Young Han Solo Chronicles?

“I once caught a Wamprat THIS BIG!”

Today’s piping-hot “Star Wars” rumour?  Lucasfilm are developing a young Han Solo movie.  And a Boba Fett flick.  Zoinks!

But, as ever with these things, Entertainment Weekly’s story on the matter is quick to assert that these additional “Star Wars” movies – which are being made in addition to the J.J. Abrams‘ spearheaded “Episode VII” – are in an embryonic state and that nothing is set in carbonite, yet.

That proviso noted, would you want to be the actor tasked with embodying Harrison Ford‘s devil-may-care intergalactic bounder as a younger man and living up to the burden of attention that accepting such a role might bring?  I’m pretty sure I would run a couple thousand parsecs from it and I suspect that you would too.

Early casting around on the internet has the likes of Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper being proposed for the role on various sites, and as good as they are, they’re not exactly in the right age range for the part.  Physically, at least, Garrett Hedlund has some of the quality of a young Ford – but I’ve not seen in anything which suggests that he has the comedic lightness of touch to embody the Corellian scoundrel fully.

As I said – wouldn’t want to be that actor…

Disney Deal Delivers New Star Wars trilogy…

Not pictured, Jar Jar Binks stuffed into a suitcase and LEFT FOR DEAD…

You go to sleep for a few hours and the movie business throws you a curve ball over night.

George Lucas is $4 billion richer, Disney now owns Lucasfilm and have a new trilogy of “Star Wars” movies in the works.  Things are in such a state of advancement that a treatment exists for the first in the proposed new series, with releases scheduled at a decent clip of every two to three years.

Of course, the negative Padawan in me is convinced that Disney’s involvement hastens the inclusion of Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber being cast as the offspring of Han Solo and Princess Leia, cheese-ball 3D bombast and full CG characters so irksome that they make Jar Jar Binks look like Marlon Brando.  But Disney involvement hasn’t exactly hurt Marvel Studios‘ world-domination strategy, so perhaps the knee jerk reaction to the House of Mouse snagging the rights to a Galaxy Far, Far Away should be tempered by the prospect that the best thing for the universe that George built is for its creator to hand the Bantha reins over to a new creative team?

I’m just intrigued by who Disney are going to enlist to bring this new series of films to cinemas worldwide.  Lucas is on board as a creative consultant and won’t be helming things – dare we hope for the calibre of filmmakers on First Showing’s list of suggested candidates (yes, yes, YES to Brad Bird.  A marriage made in nerd heaven…).

Related articles

• Disney buys Lucasfilm: Five questions answered (newstatesman.com)
• George Lucas: I Sold Lucasfilm To Disney To ‘Protect It’ (techcrunch.com)
• Disney Buys Lucasfilm and the Star Wars Sequels Begin (nerdist.com)