They certainly made us wait, but yesterday Disney and Lucasfilm delivered our very first look at their second Star Wars Anthology movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story, with the release of a teaser trailer.
Much has been written about the film’s production troubles, which saw original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller fired with just weeks of principal photography remaining, and Ron Howard coming on board to reshoot anywhere up to 80% of the movie. And, given the lack of marketing up to this past weekend, there’s been a lot of rumour that all is not well in the galaxy far, far away – with some claiming that Disney expects a “car crash” when the film is released this May.
Of course, this is all just speculation, and with the first trailer now with us, we can begin to get a sense of what Disney and Lucasfilm have in store for us. So, what did our writers make of the trailer? Read on to find out…
Alex Moreland: I don’t think it’s impossible to build a compelling character arc in a Han Solo origins movie, but I’d still rather see a Princess Leia film instead.
Matt Spencer-Skeen: It’s a perfectly fine trailer, looks good, has some moments without giving an awful lot away. How the final cut eventually looks given all the turmoil is intriguing enough to go even if it ends up bad but I think this has raised my hopes for this (though only a smidge).
Shaun Munro: I’m pretty suspicious about how little they’re focusing on Alden Ehrenreich after those reports about his apparently sub-par performance. The visuals look solid. Donald Glover looks great as Lando. I wish Emilia Clarke was nowhere near it though.
Villordsutch: I’m really not impressed. I know this is a teaser trailer and these brief glances are to prepare us for the big release, but these “brief glances” are supposed to build are excitement and all I felt was unfortunately embarrassment and boredom. Perhaps the main trailer will shine. Fingers crossed.
SEE ALSO: Solo: A Star Wars Story character posters featuring Han, Chewie, Lando and Qi’Ra
Chris Cooper: Was ‘meh’. Now ‘cautiously optimistic’. I’m not expecting to have my world shook by this film. But I’m hoping for a good time. It looks like I might get that. Jury is still out on Alden. Sometimes he looks spot on. Other times I’m not sure.
George Chrysostomou: Not sure how this one will go. Hopefully it’s a hit after the fan response from The Last Jedi, but I think the footage we were shown here was very telling as to how confident Disney are with the final product… which is not at all. They’ll promote the hell out of it regardless and get back those re-shoot costs, but not sure how favourable the reaction will be.
Tom Beasley: It’s an interesting trailer, this one, in that it’s perfectly okay, but it manages to subtly amplify every worry and concern I had about this film. Alden Ehrenreich looks constantly uncomfortable, the humour appears to have had every edge shaved off and one of Star Wars’ most complex characters appears to be getting shoe-horned into a standard hero arc. I really hope there’s more to it than this but, at the moment, I can’t help but mourn the Lord and Miller version.
Rafael Motamayor: I hate the very idea of this film, but I have to say I am excited about what I saw. Lando looks to be the best thing about the film. It’s what we didn’t see that worries me.
Anghus Houvouras: It doesn’t look fun. That’s all I care about with a throwaway blockbuster. Go watch the Mission: Impossible – Fallout trailer which is pure marketing perfection. The energy, the epic shots, the brutal action. In comparison, the Solo trailer is flaccid, boring and laconic. This looks so uninspiring amd further proves that Disney is more interested in rushing out annual content than making something good. Just hand the franchise over to Feige and let him put out the dumpster fire that is Disney Star Wars.
Eric Bay-Andersen: The non-episode Star Wars films (i.e. Rogue One and this) have a visual aesthetic that I really like, so I’m sure it will be more of a visual treat than Last Jedi. Still not sold on Alden Ehrenreich – they barely show much of him, which doesn’t bode well for the studio’s faith in his performance. Time will tell if the troubled production is more evident on this film than, say, Justice League, but Ron Howard is a decent director so I’m cautiously optimistic (although I’m still betting Donald Glover is going to be the best thing about it).
SEE ALSO: First images from Solo: A Star Wars Story
Scott Watson: The Super Bowl teaser did a terrible job of promoting the trailer and had me filled with dread… The full trailer is Star Wars to the core but I’m not feeling Alden Ehrenreich at all. He just isn’t Harry Ford enough for my liking. In short, I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
Martin Carr: Agree with Angus on this one – there are plenty of money shots on screen but it lacks the excitement I felt even for Rogue One – everything looks really pretty but there are just fragmented moments from expensive set pieces – it’s like looking at an expensive reproduction of an original painting – I have my concerns.
Jordan Jones: I love the music, and the general vibe of the trailer. It feels very underground, and I can definitely see a heist movie here. I’m just not feeling Alden quite yet. He’s not matching Han’s trademark dryness/gruffness. However, I think it was going to be difficult to find a clearcut mirror image of Harrison Ford for this. I’m pretty optimistic!
Samuel Brace: Loved it. Exactly what I wanted from the trailer, even though I preferred the Super Bowel teaser. The aesthetic looks spot on, one shared with Rogue One and in union with the original trilogy. The characters looks visually interesting, the locations are intriguing and it looks like it will be great fun. Trailers can be misleading but this looks great. What a relief.
Helen Murdoch: Lukewarm reaction from me. Hoped that there would be something to intrigue me but felt very by the numbers. Also not sure on the casting of Alden as Solo, lacking charisma. Hopefully Donald Glover can save it.
Ben Robins: Was fairly on board with the Super Bowl trailer and its focus on mood and the really ace-looking production design, but this full one feels a bit all over the place. Not sure if the comedy’s landing and Alden Ehrenreich feels super out of place and not particularly Solo-y. There’s still time to re-edit it into a Lando origins instead, right?
Jessie Robertson: Looks a lot like Rogue One in tone whereas I was looking forward to the lighter tone we were originally getting. Still not sure we needed a “young” Han Solo story when he was only like 30 in A New Hope.
SEE ALSO: Solo: A Star Wars Story LEGO minifigure images reveal new plot info
Robert Kojder: I don’t mind the lighter tone, but I don’t really get a Han Solo vibe from Alden Ehrenreich yet. Ansel Elgort would have been perfect. There’s not much story presented but at least we get our first look at the fun cast. I’ll remain lukewarm until watching the movie.
Sean Wilson: It’s… ok? There’s nothing particularly distinctive about the trailer. I get the feeling this will be a stopgap Star Wars anthology movie, proficiently if not spectacularly directed by Ron Howard, with Alden Ehrenreich‘s performance ultimately supplanted by Donald Glover.
Matt Rodgers: It’s demystifying a character that never warranted a backstory, and whose fate we all know. I loved the ambiguity of Solo’s past; which of his boasts were legitimate, how he met Chewie etc. At least Ehrenreich doesn’t appear to be doing a Harrison Fordimpression, that would have been insufferable. As it stands, judged on these couple of minutes, it looks okay, what but Star Wars doesn’t? Heck, the first trailer for The Phantom Menace still gives me goosebumps. I’ll be very surprised if Solo is anything other than serviceable Star Wars bingo……and I’ll be first in line.
Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.
Solo: A Star Wars Story features Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) as the famous smuggler, Donald Glover (Atlanta) as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Tobias Beckett, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) as L3-37, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Qi’Ra, Thandie Newton (Westworld) as Val, Ian Kenny (Sing Street) as Rebolt, Harley Durst (Wonder Woman) as Moloch, Tien Hoang (Now You See Me 2) as Moloch’s henchman and Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War) and Warwick Davis (Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi) in as-yet-unrevealed roles. It is set for release on May 25th 2018.
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