Robert Rodriguez Wanted To Direct A Han Solo Star Wars Movie
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, there was a lot of obvious vocal excitement for more Star Wars movies. That was especially true because for the first time there was real buzz about standalone or spin-off movies that took place in the Star Wars universe. And that was in addition to the core new trilogy. At the time, director Robert Rodriguez said he would be open to making a Han Solo-centric Star Wars movie.
In an interview with MTV News, Rodriguez opened up about his feelings toward the new direction of the Star Wars franchise. Namely, if he had the opportunity, he would make a standalone Star Wars movie featuring the lovable scoundrel, Han Solo. “If there was something that somebody said, ‘Here, Han Solo, his own adventures.’ I’d go do that,” says Rodriguez.
The director went on to commend George Lucas for building a deep and vast universe and cited him as a big inspiration for his own career. He also said that there wouldn’t be a Spy Kids, Machete, or El Mariachi film series if it wasn’t for George Lucas’ work with the Star Wars saga.
Robert Rodriguez went on to say, “I don’t know. It depends on what it was. George really inspired me to do what I’m doing now, which is the same thing he did. He originally wanted and couldn’t get the rights to ‘Flash Gordon.’ He tried, couldn’t get it, so he went and wrote ‘Star Wars,’ which was his complete take on ‘Flash Gordon,’ even to the opening titles crawl that went that way…. I think if I asked [Lucas] for advice, he would say ‘Go make your own “Star Wars” universe, kid.'”
Obviously, Robert Rodriguez didn’t get a chance to actually make the Han Solo movie, but he was on the right track. We ended up getting one in the Star Wars universe, just not with Rodriguez at the helm.
Solo: A Star Wars Story, directed by Ron Howard, came out in 2018. It explored the origins of the iconic character, played by Alden Ehrenreich. The movie followed a young Han as he became embroiled in a heist within the criminal underworld. Of course, it moved the chess pieces around for him to meet Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian, played by Donald Glover.
Would it have looked different had Robert Rodriguez taking the reins? For sure, but this is the way Hollywood goes. Lots of ideas, but sometimes they all don’t come to fruition.
