With box office pre-sales doubling that of Black Panther and nearly meeting the historic demand of Avengers: Infinity War, it seems like Solo: A Star Wars Story is the odds-on favorite to be a massive success. Right, right — “never tell me the odds,” but when you’re tracking to have a $170 million opening weekend, movie studios typically start planning ahead for sequels. Maybe not this time.
Even with Alden Ehrenreich signed-on for three movies and Disney-Lucasfilm ready and waiting to pump out more Solo-centric content, director Ron Howard wants to stress that there’s no guarantee of sequels when it comes to the origin stories of Han Solo. He explained as much to Fandango:
“I think the fans are going to define all of that. I mean I think that Lucasfilm and Disney in casting actors, and particularly younger actors, want to see what happens and build upon that. Certainly, they want the commitment from the young actors, but there are no concrete plans. I think there’s been a lot of creative energy and now marketing energy going behind this movie … I think [Disney and Lucasfilm are] going to be very interested to see how people respond to it and take it from there. This whole thing is kind of a cool, ambitious exploration of what the galaxy and the Star Wars sensibility can continue to mean to fans.”
That sounds like a paragraph of Hollywood code words for: “If it makes money and is even slightly loved by critics, more Solo movies are probably coming.” Right?
As of right now, even with pre-sales going through the roof, there’s still trepidation around Ehrenreich as the vested scoundrel everybody loves. Rumors of a tough shoot that required an acting coach for the star calls the potential quality of the finished product into question, but on May 25, questions will be answered.
(Via Fandango/Destructoid)