Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Timing: 2:15 (135 min)

6.557/10
9173

6.926/10
164130

6.9/10
407000

All about film

Video 52

Photo 355

Actors and characters

Release date

2018-05-15

Country

United States

Production

Lucasfilm Ltd., Allison Shearmur Productions, Imagine Entertainment

Genre

Science Fiction, Adventure, Action

Budget

$275 000 000

Revenue

$392 924 807

Website

https://www.starwars.com/films/solo

Director

Ron Howard

Actors

Alden Ehrenreich, Joonas Suotamo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Erin Kellyman
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Lawrence Kasdan, Jonathan Kasdan

Producer

Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur, Simon Emanuel, Lawrence Kasdan, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Jason McGatlin

Operator

Bradford Young

Composer

John Powell

Artist

Liam Georgensen, Jonathan Marin Socas, Patrick Harris

Audition

Jeanne McCarthy, Nina Gold, Nicole Abellara Hallman

Editing

Pietro Scalia
All team (280)

• The first actor that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller considered for the role of young Han Solo was Alden Ehrenreich. In July 2016, the directors admitted that other actors also auditioned and were suitable for the role, however, 'that very first guy was the best.' Ultimately, Ehrenreich was approved for the role.
• The casting for the role of Han Solo was the longest since the time when Universal searched for an actor for the role of Christian Grey in the melodrama 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
• Initially, Josh Trank was slated to direct the film following «Rogue One: A Star Wars Story» (Gareth Edwards, 2016), but these plans fell through due to the complete box office failure of his film «Fantastic Four» (2015).
• In June 2017, with the majority of the work on the project already completed (only three weeks of principal photography remained), Phil Lord and Christopher Miller left the project. Lord and Miller had significant disagreements with producer Kathleen Kennedy, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, and other members of Lucasfilm regarding the direction and overall tone of the film. Miller and Lord favored actor improvisation and wanted more humor in the film, while Kasdan preferred the actors to adhere more closely to the script. To complete the project, director Ron Howard was brought on board. However, Howard ultimately reshot over 80 percent of the footage.
• This is the first film in which Chewbacca has one of the leading roles. Therefore, 8 costumes and 10 heads were created for him.
• Harrison Ford said he had seen the film and really enjoyed it, but he didn't attend the premiere so as not to overshadow Alden Ehrenreich, who played young Han Solo.
• Alden Ehrenreich brought a manual for operating the Millennium Falcon to the set to figure out the sequence and which buttons to press on the control panel during the takeoff scene.
• The scars on the face of the character played by Paul Bettany (who plays Dryden Vos) were added during post-production. According to the actor himself, he had no idea about this detail until director Ron Howard sent him a picture.
• Han talks to Chewbacca in Wookiee language. This is the first time someone other than a Wookiee speaks the language, and the first time a translation of it is shown on screen with subtitles.
• The droid L3-37’s appearance is due to a combination of props and computer effects. The actress playing the role, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, wore a costume consisting of the droid’s head, chest, legs, and arms, with a tight-fitting green suit underneath. During post-production, the green suit was digitally removed and replaced with mechanical elements (such as wires and cables).
• According to Ron Howard, he considers his wife, Cheryl Howard, his good luck charm and consistently tries to give her at least a cameo in all his films. She also filmed a scene for this movie, but it didn’t make the final cut. Howard once complained about this to his friends – special effects artists from Industrial Light & Magic. They then filmed her against a green screen and inserted the image into the scene in the spaceport, when Han is looking at a hologram. Cheryl Howard can be seen in the crowd (in the place of the droid demonstrating the hologram).
• It is claimed that Ron Howard was offered the opportunity to direct “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (George Lucas, 1999), but he declined. Eighteen years later, he accepted the offer to direct this film, although it took some convincing from his wife, Cheryl Howard, who said that if he refused again, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
• Han Solo has a scar on his chin, which is only faintly visible in certain angles. The makeup artists applied the scar to the actor, recreating the scar on Harrison Ford’s face, which is visible in all the films of the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises.
• The worn-out Wookies in the mines on the planet Kessel were created using a mold of Chewbacca's head and applying various combinations of colors, bald spots, and scars to emphasize the differences between individuals and the hardships and trials they had endured.
• Operator Bradford Young worked closely with the company "Panavision". This is how he acquired old lenses, which he used to age the image. Among other things, Young removed the anti-reflective coating from the lenses and made some other changes so that the picture didn't look too perfect and flawless.
• The exterior sets of the starship "Millennium Falcon" weighed 31 tons and were moved using cranes.
• The Corellian hounds were brought to life using real dogs in special costumes and puppets, as well as special effects (animated facial movements).
• A whole year was spent brainstorming and creating the famous helmet worn by Enfys Nest. Some of its early sketches were used for the helmets of the Cloud Riders.
• Darth Maul's appearance was kept top secret, so Ray Park, the actor who played him, was transported to Pinewood Studios in a limousine with tinted windows and filmed in a section of the set isolated from everyone else.
• The first actor that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller considered for the role of young Han Solo was Alden Ehrenreich. In July 2016, the directors admitted that other actors also auditioned and were suitable for the role, however, "that very first guy was the best." Ultimately, Ehrenreich was approved for the role.
• The casting of Han Solo was the longest since Universal searched for an actor to play Christian Grey in the melodrama "Fifty Shades of Grey."
• Initially, Josh Trank was slated to direct the film following “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (Gareth Edwards, 2016), but those plans fell through due to the complete box office failure of his film “Fantastic Four” (2015).
• According to Ron Howard, he considers his wife Cheryl Howard his lucky charm and consistently tries to give her at least a cameo in all his films. She also filmed a scene for this film, but it was ultimately cut. Howard once complained about this to his friends – special effects artists from Industrial Light & Magic. They then filmed her against a green screen and inserted the image into the scene in the spaceport when Han is looking at a hologram. Cheryl Howard can be seen in the crowd (in the place of the droid demonstrating the hologram).
• Han Solo has a scar on his chin, which is only barely visible in certain angles. The scar was applied to the actor by makeup artists, recreating the scar on Harrison Ford’s face, which is visible in all films of the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises.