It seems that Star Wars fans have been warming up to the 2018 Solo movie over the years. Personally, I thought it was a fun movie, but I didn’t love it. All opinions aside, we all need to remember that it’s the only Star Wars film to lose money. That’s not good. Last I checked, it made around three-hundred million at the box office. That’s money that most films would kill to have, but for a Star Wars movie, that’s actually a weak amount. Star Wars is the kind of franchise that draws crowds, which means truck loads of money should be pouring in. In the case of Solo, I can think of several reasons at to why it failed at the box office. I’ve said it a few times before and I’ll say it again: Disney was too overconfident that it was a Star Wars title.
A Han Solo movie without Harrison Ford? Yeah… no. That just didn’t sit well with the fans, especially since his time as the character ended in The Force Awakens. We just love the character too much to see him be played by another actor. Was Alden Ehrenreich bad? Not at all, but the thing is, he’s not Harrison Ford. Let’s also remember what Star Wars movie came out before the Solo movie. The Last Jedi was not The Force Awakens. Some might disagree in the quality sense, but The Last Jedi divided the fanbase like no other Star Wars film. Like it or not, that’s the truth and fans just weren’t so pumped to go see the following Star Wars movies.
Unfortunately for Solo, it was the movie that came right after The Last Jedi. With a movie that no one was excited for and a previous film that killed the momentum, things just weren’t looking good for Solo. On top of all the Star Wars related drama, Solo also had to contend with another summer blockbuster movie called Deadpool 2. You can’t compare the level of excitement for those two movies. Deadpool 2 had a great predecessor which got everyone hyped for the sequel, while the Star Wars film before Solo just made the fan base toxic. That’s why Deadpool 2 succeeded and Solo didn’t. It just seems the franchise itself is moving closer and closer to the dark side.
Recently, however, I’ve noticed that more and more fans are itching to see more of the young Han Solo’s adventures. I’ll admit, the movie ended on a great cliffhanger, but we can’t ignore that fact that the film lost money. As much as some fans want a sequel or a Disney+ series to happen, Disney most likely won’t revisit something that lost them money. Then again, we’ve just discovered that the unexpected can certainly happen. How many people vehemently claimed that we’ll never be seeing the Snyder Cut of Justice League? How many people also claimed that it was one-hundred percent complete and ready to be released? It turns out, both sides were both right and wrong. Now, the incomplete Snyder Cut is getting truck loads of money to make it complete.
The point is, if we can see something like the Snyder Cut come to light, why not a sequel to Solo? If you’re one of those people who still thinks it’ll never happen, a particular man who worked on the project may disagree. That man is the director of Solo, Ron Howard. Keep in mind, he has specifically stated that there is no plan in mind for a sequel or a series for Solo. Don’t get your hopes up, but don’t also lose hope. While he did say that there is nothing currently in the works, he did, however, hint that a sequel is still very much possible. If it’s possible, then it could still happen.
On one hand, if Ron Howard is interested in coming back for a sequel, that could be a good thing. The man deserves credit for coming in to the movie when the previous directors bailed out and already filmed eighty percent of the movie. He came into a messy situation and still met the deadline. Say what you want about the movie, but Howard did a great job with what he was given. However, his movie still bombed. He could have a much better idea for a sequel, but if Disney doesn’t want it, then we won’t get it. It’s all about the money.
But let’s go on the positive here and say that a sequel will happen. What would the pros and cons be of actually making a sequel? For now, let’s focus on the pros. Solo had many faults, but the ending really left a lot of things open to explore. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room that was the big cameo. Qi’ra killed Dryden Vos and had to answer to their boss. That boss was the one and only Darth Maul. I’ll admit, that cameo didn’t do much for me, but it did make me curious. I really wanted to see the meeting between them. Qi’ra was going to meet him on Dathomir, the home of the Nightsisters. If that’s where Darth Maul was running his criminal empire, then seeing the live-action version of it would be awesome.
It would be a good way to continue Qi’ra’s story, while seeing the live-action Darth Maul again. I’m not entirely game for seeing the same old characters again. It makes the Star Wars universe seem smaller, but if it’s more Darth Maul, that’s pretty hard to say no to. An encounter between him and Han Solo would be quick, but if Han wants to rescue Qi’ra, he could contend with his subordinates. Darth Maul’s syndicate is huge and Han and Chewie have already put a dent in it. They can put an even bigger dent in it by joining forces with Qi’ra and destroying more of his underlings. Han’s contribution to saving the galaxy would be much bigger then.
Speaking of Qi’ra, it was interesting to see Han with a different love interest. The difference between Qi’ra and Leia is that Han grew up with Qi’ra. They have a much closer bond and she acted as his partner in crime for a while. I’m anxious to see how things between them ended. Han was clearly very fond of her, so something had to of happened that made him move on. Maybe she died or maybe she’s still alive, but their story needs a proper conclusion. Speaking of which, Han and Lando didn’t part ways on the best of terms at the end of Solo. When we saw them interact in Empire, they were good friends. In Solo, they were anything but.
We need to see how they reconciled and became the smuggling buddies we know them to be. Their relationship is one of the most crucial ones in the franchise and seeing them be friends is always fun. In the realm of Solo, they do not like each other, but somehow, someway, they made amends. That’s something we need to see. The last thing that would be actually cool to see is the first time Han and Chewie met Jabba the Hutt. Tobias Beckett mentioned it before he betrayed Han and it’s kind of lame they didn’t do the job for him together.
However, there’s an opportunity to show us how the relationship between Han and Jabba was originally established. Han spent years working for him and Jabba even holds a degree of respect for Han’s smuggling abilities. It would be really cool to see Han pull off that first job for Jabba and see how things between them took off from there. Han has a lot of enemies and it’s fun to see him interact with them. Heck, why not throw in where he first meets Greedo?
And now for the cons. I’d say the biggest one would have to be that the movie itself bombed. Yeah, I’ve said it many times before, but that’s a fact we can’t ignore. If Disney does want to put that aside, then what would they do differently? If they add more characters we’re used to seeing, that would just make the Star Wars universe feel smaller. I like it when they add more new characters to the franchise because it let’s the universe grow. By showing more of the same characters, we just don’t get to see how far the galaxy can expand.
What say you, Star Wars fans? How many of you want a sequel to Solo?
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