Let’s (Finally) Talk About The First ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Trailer!

So it finally happened. After a much beleaguered production and a fast approaching release date, we got our first look at the latest Star Wars one off movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story; Telling an early adventure of Han Solo. First and foremost I want to say that it looks good. As in I think the production value is not something we’re going to have to worry about. I am a tad concerned with Alden Ehrenreich‘s portrayal of our titular protagonist. I really hope that A) the rumors of his acting being lacking are not true and B) that he’s not just doing a (bad) Harrison Ford impression.

I’ve long said that this is not necessarily a movie I want or the public even needs, but if they are going to make it, I just want it to be good. There has been a lot of controversy around this movie as the original directors (Lord and Miller) were fired after the majority of shooting had been completed. Disney/Lucasfilm then brought in Ron Howard to right the ship. However, he had to reshoot an enormous portion of the movie. Leaving people worried that this will feel like some cobbled together mess much like Justice League (and parts of Rogue One, if I’m being honest). I’m holding out hope though.

I’m one of the people that has bought in to Disney’s vision of Star Wars, putting the new movies (Episodes 7 and 8 plus Rogue One) right behind the originals in my own rankings. And what might also be interesting is this could be the first full fledged Star Wars movie that does not have a single Skywalker anywhere to be seen. Although saying that means I’ve cursed myself and there’s going to be some sort of Darth Vader cameo, or a pre-teen Luke in the background. But enough about all that. Let’s (Finally) Talk About The First Solo: A Star Wars Story Trailer!:

  • The trailer starts with some switches being flipped. They all have that classic Star Wars look to them. I’m guessing this is prepping the Millenium Falcon for launch.  
  • This leads right into the LucasFilm logo.
  • We get a guitar riff and some voice over from The Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder himself, saying he’s been running scams since he was ten years old.
  • So not only is Han a great pilot he’s apparently a driver that would give Dom Toretto a run for his money. Just look at the way Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) is looking at him. She is digging it.  
  • We can’t see if the license plate says “Fresh” but there are definitely dice in that mirror.
  • It looks as though they are being chased by some sort of proto-Biker Scout. But the scout can’t keep up and is eventually run off the road by Solo. 
  • The speeders do some Coruscant drifting.  
  • Han tells us that he was kicked out of the (Imperial) Flight Academy for having a mind of his own. In the original EU (now Legends) continuity, he’s kicked out for stopping a superior officer from beating Chewbacca. I wonder if this will play out the same way here.
  • We get a look at a new ice planet that most likely isn’t Hoth, Starkiller Base, or even the salt flats of Crait. But, more importantly, we also get Han wearing a fur cloak.  
  • He tells us that he’s going to be a pilot. This we already knew, but he clarifies that he’s going to be the best pilot in the galaxy. You know what, we kinda already knew that too.
  • We see a shot of what appears to be the interior of the Falcon before it all went to shit. The hallways are pristine white. I assume we’ll see more of the Falcon this way before it becomes a “hunk of junk.”   
  • Through some toy reveals (thanks LEGO) and other marketing leaks we’ve seen that the Falcon has a bit of a different look to her. The front mandibles aren’t there yet, instead it looks as though it’s one solid wedge piece. We get a few glimpses throughout the trailer but nothing all that clear.
  • Next we see Han standing outside the Falcon looking up at that iconic cockpit section.  
  • Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) tells Han that he’s putting together a crew. I very much enjoy that this movie looks to be a heist movie set in the Star Wars universe.
  • We get a few quick shots of other potential heist crew members including Qi’ra and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). I’m even pretty sure I spotted Thandie Newton‘s unnamed character in there. It’s an interesting group to say the least. It’s nice to know that Beckett isn’t as speciesist as the Empire is.  
  • Beckett asks Han if he’s in. Chewie responds the only way he can. Han tells Beckett that’s yes. Chewie is also sporting a double bandolier different from the one we’ve always seen him in.
  • Lando and the droid salute each other in sync because they are cooler than we’ll ever be.   
  • The Falcon makes the jump to lightspeed.  
  • We get a shot of a fancy night club Star Wars-style that, if I had to guess, is the scene of at least one part of the heist. 
  • Qi’ra says that she might be the only person that truly knows what Han Solo really is. I think that Chewie might disagree with her.
  • Han is in a Mexican (Corellian?) Standoff with a group of bad looking dudes. I hope against hope that he pulls an Indiana Jones and just shoots one. It’s be a nice homage to Ford.  
  • A few action beats including: a cloaked figure taking out a few people with a blaster, an explosion around our droid friend, and Han dropping a cargo payload out of a freighter that explodes… a lot.  
  • Han responds to Qi’ra’s insinuation with a sly “what’s that?”. The first time I watched this trailer I thought maybe there was a subtle fear in Han’s response that she actually does really know what he is. But now I’m a little afraid it’s Ehrenreich not being able to pull off suave. 
  • Title Card that a friend pointed out looks like he made it in Avid for an Internal Rough Cut.  
  • The group is in the Falcon, flying away from an Imperial Star Destroyer while being chased by some TIE Fighters through a pretty nasty looking storm. 
  • Han uses some of that fancy flying he was talking about to slap one of the TIE Fighters out of the sky using the hull of the Falcon. 
  • In a bit of a call back (call forward?) to his conversation with an Imperial Officer in A New Hope, Han says, “I thought we were in trouble there for a second, but it’s fine, we’re fine”. The line read is good enough, I just hope it plays on the big screen.  
  • Of course, they aren’t fine and there are some big ass Cthulhu looking tentacles that they have to avoid. Good thing their pilot is the best in the galaxy.        

Bonus Teaser Trailer!:

  • This starts the same with the ship being switched on but quickly adds some other footage.
  • We see what looks to be an Imperial Hangar, most likely at the academy. 
  • An officer is asking a recruit if they want to make a difference and that they’re gonna love it. It’s something we don’t get from the features too often, seeing how the people in the Empire feel.
  • We get a longer version of the Star Destroyer coming through the storm and launching its TIE Fighters.  
  • The recruit says he wants to be a pilot. It’s Han.
  • A couple more seconds of the speeder chase is shown.  
  • Some more of the shots from the full trailer but we also get a crazy looking monorail. I guess Disney couldn’t help themselves.  
  • Han fights one of the bad looking dudes from the earlier standoff on top of the train. Looks like it’s going to be a pretty crazy sequence.   
  • We get probably the most badass shot of Lando that I know everyone was swooning over after the teaser premiered during the Superb Owl.  
  • A quick shot of the Falcon fleeing and an obstructed shot of Han tease us just enough before a shot of Chewie putting his arm around Han takes us home.  

We might have gotten even more footage from that first teaser than we did in the full trailer. All the above said, I’m still looking at this one with cautious optimism. It doesn’t look bad, but we all know how trailers can trick you. My fingers are crossed that this is at the very least as good as Rogue One.

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters everywhere May 25th.

From Hollywood,
-Loren

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