The next film in the “Star Wars” anthology, “Solo,” will go inside the dystopian daily life faced by those living under the Empire; a life that gave rise to one of the most famous rebels of them all, Han Solo.
The new featurette released by Lucasfilm on Sunday shows a gritty, hazy world, where rifle-touting Stormtroopers watch over huddled masses trudging their way through space ports. The sterility of the Empire’s ships in the original trilogy is nowhere to be seen, nor are the colorful realms of the prequels. Dirt and despair are the norm here.
“The ‘Star Wars’ universe we see in ‘Solo’ is different from anything else that we’ve seen in any previous ‘Star Wars’ movies,” says director Ron Howard. “The Empire controls everything. Everyone is struggling to survive. But we discover this incredibly free spirit.”
“Solo” is said to show all the moments that make Han who he is, from meeting Chewbacca to the long-talked-about but never seen card game in which Han won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. Lawrence Kasdan, the “Empire Strikes Back” co-writer for whom this is his fourth “Star Wars” film, says the bounty hunter and future father of Kylo Ren is his favorite character.
“He’s the most exciting character in the saga for me,” he says. “You never know what he’s gonna do.”
“Solo” hits theaters May 25. Watch the featurette in the clip above.