han solo

The news that Ron Howard would take the directorial reins on Han Solo from Chris Miller and Phil Lord was met with a mixed reception by the ardent Star Wars fanbase. Some remembered Howard as the director behind Apollo 13, a movie partially set in outer space (the same location as much of Han Solo, presumably!), and figured he’d be right for the job. Others had fresher recollections of Ron Howard’s Inferno, a.k.a. Bad Tom Hanks Hairpiece 3, and expressed some misgivings. But today, one ardent supporter of Howard‘s has made a statement from the shadows on why he’s a perfect fit for the franchise, though he may have some rubbery, alien skin in the game.

Star Wars’ Han Solo spinoff gives the franchise another opportunity to introduce some budding new actors and characters to the galaxy far, far away, but there’s still plenty of room for some veterans in the crowd. Warwick Davis, whom we last saw giving a tour of the set for charity, is still on set at Pinewood Studios, so it’s a pretty good bet that he’s in the movie.

In more exciting Star Wars news today, the untitled Han Solo spinoff movie has just gained another castmember in the form of Ian Kenny, who starred in last year’s ’80s Irish rock musical Sing Street.

Just last night, Woody Harrelson offered a few details regarding his role in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s young Han Solo movie, in which the actor (and former pothead, thankyouverymuch) will play mentor to Alden Ehrenreich. As for the rest of it, Disney CEO Bob Iger has revealed some new plot intel for the Star Wars spinoff, which apparently explores how Han met Chewie and acquired the Millennium Falcon, as well as…well, that’s the confusing part.

That galaxy far, far away is picking up quite a few stars. The latest report from the Han Solo spinoff is that Westworld’s Thandie Newton is being courted for a starring role.

FX and Donald Glover’s Atlanta rightly cleaned up at the Golden Globes this past Sunday, but there’s good news and bad going forward. As expected, Season 2 has been pushed out of 2017 due to Glover’s Star Wars commitments, though FX and Glover have struck a deal for even more shows.

The shift from summer to Christmas for The Force Awakens came as a bit of a shock to Star Wars fans, who were so used to seeing the earlier installments of the first two trilogies hit theaters in the warmer months. Summer releases for Star Wars movies had become something of an unspoken tradition, so the holiday release had some feeling a little perturbed. Disney and Lucasfilm sure weren’t, though, as The Force Awakens raked in that holiday box office cash, topping every Star Wars movie before it in less than twelve parsecs. Now, a rumor has surfaced that the Han Solo spinoff, which has so far been scheduled for May 2018, might get bumped forward to December.

With Rogue One in theaters now (go go go!), fans are already turning their attention to the next round of Star Wars movies because pop culture isn’t about what’s new — it’s about what’s next. Lucky for you, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has a couple of brief updates on the next installments in the franchise: Episode VIII and the Han Solo spinoff. It’s just enough to keep you satisfied until Monday, probably, when someone else will undoubtedly say something interesting about the Star Wars franchise.

Things are real tough for everyone right now. Our current election is bonkers, Twitter and Netflix were down for most of the day, and Jennifer Lawrence is probably dating Darren Aronofsky. Life is hard, you know? But sometimes the world is OK and dreams can come true, and if you need proof of that, look no further than this amazing casting news: Donald Glover is playing young Lando Calrissian in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo movie. PRAISE HANDS EMOJI, AMEN.

If nothing else, Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s upcoming Han Solo prequel / spinoff is going to look fantastic, as the duo have hired Bradford Young to serve as cinematographer. Okay, let’s be honest: With Lord and Miller on board and the incredibly charming Alden Ehrenreich in the lead role, it’s almost guaranteed that the next Star Wars anthology film will be pretty entertaining — but now we know it’s also going to look really, really, really good.