Is Solo 2 Actually Happening?
Is Solo 2 going to get made? Director Ron Howard has some inspiring words.
This article is more than 2 years old
Solo 2 sounds like an unlikely sequel. The spinoff Star Wars film is the second-lowest box office earner in the entire franchise – ranking just under the animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars – and its critical reception is pretty middling. Not to mention that it does not seem to have made a significant dent in the fandom as a whole. So, a continuation of the Han Solo series seems improbable. However, director Ron Howard does not seem to be ruling out that possibility.
During an appearance on the Lights Camera Barstool podcast, Ron Howard confirmed that there are no official movements on developing Solo 2, but he does give fans some hope. “I think there’s interest in the gangster world somewhere down the line. But I can assure you there is nothing being developed right now for a movie or Disney+,” said Howard. “But, one great thing is there has been a lot of affection shown for Solo, and so of course that keeps boding well for them to eventually turn it around.”
While there were definitely plans for multiple Solo movies, those were shelved after the movie underperformed and cost so much to reshoot. If we were betting on it, there is a very small likelihood of Solo 2 ever coming to the big screen. However, Disney+ is a different matter entirely. Could a feature film make its way to the streaming platform if fan interest is strong enough? It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but that might not even be the most expected way to continue actor Alden Ehrenreich‘s portrayal of the galaxy’s favorite rogue.
We have seen that Disney is planning to shift its focus to its streaming content, and a lot of that has meant small order series for shows like The Mandalorian and the many upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe series. Solo 2 will almost assuredly not happen as a mega-budget feature film, but could it exist as a six-episode limited series on Disney+? That seems like a more appropriate venue for that iteration to play out in. It would lower the viewing stakes for audiences – what would you have to lose in checking out a short Solo series once a week as opposed to committing to a singular 2+ hour movie? – and might even offer a better avenue for the kind of lighter adventure fare that the movie was hoping to achieve.
It is unclear at this time if Alden Ehrenreich is still under contract to appear in Solo 2 or any other Star Wars projects as Han Solo. If he has been let out of his contract, it would mean a serious renegotiation and that could always be tough. It’s also a question of who else from Solo: A Star Wars Story would be returning. Considering the story the feature film was telling, it would be remiss to ignore Qi’ra and not bring back Emilia Clarke as well.
As of now, it looks like Solo 2 is not going to happen any time soon. But, if fans are persistent enough, Ron Howard seems attached to continuing the story. His daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, has already directed an episode of The Mandalorian for Disney+. It sounds like he is still very connected to that world. If anything does happen with a sequel or follow-up of some sort, we are betting he will be involved. We will just have to wait and see if anything actually develops or not.
