The Star Wars franchise is expanding exponentially. It’s like the Disney buyout was the Big Bang and now lore is bursting forth in all directions to create new life. Sure, the main artery of a galaxy far, far away is still chugging along with Episode VIII: The Last Jedi but the success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has proven there’s an appetite out there for stories beyond that of the Skywalker family. Or at least for stories that are Skywalker-adjacent. Next up? The still untitled Han Solo prequel, starring Alden Ehrenreich as the young smuggler.
The film is set to arrive next year and co-director Christopher Miller surprised fans on January 30, 2017 with a social media announcement that production had begun. Even better, the working title for the film is pretty good pun.
Han
First
Shot pic.twitter.com/KReR6rgKFT— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) January 30, 2017
Get it? Red cup? As in red Solo Cups, the alcoholic container of choice for college students, tailgaters, and beer pong competitors across the United States. Of course, announcing the working title of the Han Solo film is a double-edged sword as now anyone with a passing interest will know where the production company is filming. On the other hand, it’s not like Lucasfilm is going to be shooting scenes on location where anyone with a cell phone or a drone can catch a glimpse at potential spoilers.
The untitled Han Solo prequel stars Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Donald Glover (Atlanta), and Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games). Co-directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie) with a screenplay from Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Jon Kasdan (Dawson’s Creek, the movie will arrive in theaters in 2018.