After a creative clash between then-Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Ron Howard ended up at the helm of Solo: A Star Wars Story to finish production and take charge of reshoots.
With that, the budget ballooned, and a relatively last-minute marketing campaign (a result of that additional photography reshaping the movie) saw Solo crash and burn when it was released in May 2018.
Disney then decided to hit the pause button on its planned "A Star Wars Story" spinoffs, including rumoured movies for characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi (who later received his own Disney+ series) and Yoda.
Each May, Star Wars fans mark the anniversary of Solo: A Star Wars Story's release by taking to Twitter and Instagram to demand that Lucasfilm #MakeSolo2Happen. That's lost steam as the years have passed, and Lucasfilm has done nothing to make a sequel a reality. Even the Donald Glover-led Lando spin-off on Disney+ seems to have fallen by the wayside since being announced. There was also talk of it being a movie.
In an interview with IndieWire (via SFFGazette.com), Han Solo actor Alden Ehrenreich was asked about playing the iconic smuggler again and responded with a brief, "No idea."
The journalist pushed for more from the Ironheart star, likening his trajectory to Andrew Garfield's return in Spider-Man: No Way Home seven years after being dropped as Peter Parker, following The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Ehrenreich, clearly not overly interested in further discussing Star Wars, simply said, "Oh, interesting. We'll see." As of now, it seems doubtful that he'll get the chance to play Han again, unless Lando becomes a reality and he's enlisted for a cameo. It all depends on what new Lucasfilm President Dave Filoni has planned for the franchise.
Ehrenreich hasn't had the best luck with franchises. His MCU debut came in the largely forgotten Ironheart, and with Armor Wars no longer happening at Marvel Studios, it's hard to say if or when we'll ever see Ezekiel Stane again.
When we spoke to Solo: A Star Wars Story writer Jon Kasdan, he confirmed that he's open to the idea. "Yes, you know, I’ve been very conflicted about it over the past couple of years. I feel that too. I’m certainly one of those people, and when that time of year rolls around, immediately, my imagination goes to all the things we intended to do."
"But then, on the other side, I’m so overwhelmed by how much great Star Wars content is coming into the world at this moment," he continued, referring to Damon Lindelof's now-unmade Rey movie and the then-upcoming second season of Andor. "You know, I think if there’s a reason for a Solo 2 is if there’s a great reason. Certainly, I’d be game if there were."
Only time will tell whether the next wave of Star Wars movies will head down the route of bringing back legacy characters with new faces, but that hasn't proven hugely popular in the past. As a result, Filoni faces the challenge of creating new characters to lead the franchise into a new era.