Solo: A Star Wars Story – 8 Years Later, A Better Film Than Remembered

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Despite being a live-action Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story is surprisingly overlooked. Since its release in May 2018, it hasn’t gained much attention from either critics or fans.

While it received mixed reviews (69% and 63% on Rotten Tomatoes), Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first Star Wars film not to make money in theaters. Over time, it’s largely been overlooked, and Disney quickly shifted its focus to other projects. Looking back, though, Solo is actually a stronger movie than many people recall.

How Solo Has Gotten Even Better With Time

Disney considered the 2018 film Solo a relatively safe project. After Han Solo’s death in The Force Awakens three years prior, the studio hoped bringing the character back would be well-received, similar to how audiences reacted to his return in the earlier film. However, Solo didn’t perform as expected.

Honestly, I don’t think the movie itself was the problem. Looking back, a lot was going on when Solo came out. People were still pretty upset about The Last Jedi, which had just been released five months earlier, and the trailers just didn’t really grab anyone. That’s probably why we never got a sequel, but you know what? I think the movie’s actually gotten better over time. It’s really grown on me!

The most significant change in the film is arguably the re-imagining of Han Solo. Back in 2018, the technology to realistically recreate Harrison Ford using deepfake methods wasn’t quite there, which allowed Alden Ehrenreich the opportunity to take on the iconic role in a new story.

The discussion around deepfakes continues, and some fans are hoping The Mandalorian & Grogu will address the issue. Interestingly, Disney’s choice to recast characters instead of using deepfake technology turned out to be a smart move, even if it wasn’t intentional.

Ehrenreich delivers a fantastic performance as Han Solo, taking over the role Ford played for so many years. He embodies the character’s core personality without simply imitating Harrison Ford, instead presenting a younger, more hopeful version of the future rebel.

Despite a troubled production, Ehrenreich delivers a strong performance. The film initially involved directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who completed around 80% of the work before being replaced by Ron Howard. Howard essentially re-shot the entire movie, requiring Ehrenreich to adapt to major changes while also repeatedly performing scenes as Han Solo.

The actor welcomed the chance to film additional scenes, seeing it as a way to refine his portrayal of Han. This effort clearly worked, as he’s become a standout part of the movie – his performance actually improves each time you watch it. Despite a difficult production process, he’s expressed interest in playing the character again, though he does have some requests.

Donald Glover isn’t the only actor who brilliantly portrays a classic hero. He’s fantastic as Lando Calrissian, perfectly capturing the essence of Billy Dee Williams’ original performance, but with a fresh, energetic twist. He truly embodies the character in appearance, voice, and mannerisms.

As a huge Star Wars fan, I really appreciated how well the Solo script served the actors – it was a genuinely fun and breezy story. Honestly, it was the perfect palate cleanser before The Last Jedi dropped. And let’s talk about Darth Maul! Seeing him pop up was a total shock and remains one of the most thrilling cameos the franchise has ever pulled off.

Solo’s Drawbacks Were A Larger Star Wars Franchise Problem

While Solo isn’t a perfect film, its weaknesses aren’t really the fault of the filmmakers. They stem from broader problems within the Star Wars franchise. Specifically, the movie focuses too much on building towards potential sequels instead of standing on its own as a complete story.

Disney seemed to be trying to turn Star Wars into something similar to the highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, hoping to boost profits. While Marvel was incredibly popular, Star Wars was struggling, especially after the disappointing performance of Solo. The issues with that film weren’t just isolated incidents; they pointed to bigger problems with Lucasfilm’s overall plan for the Star Wars franchise.

The movie Solo focused too much on planning for future films instead of telling a complete story. This led to the omission of expected elements from a Han Solo origin story, like Jabba the Hutt, Greedo, and the planet Tatooine – characters and locations that are planned to appear in later films this year.

These moments didn’t appear in Solo and were held back for later movies. The film ends with a hint that Han will eventually meet Jabba the Hutt, a scene that fans probably won’t ever see due to cancelled plans.

The fact that Solo saves these items instead of using them shows the filmmakers prioritized the film’s future success and potential over crafting a complete and satisfying story.

Solo Remains A Key Entry in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Universe

Despite its mixed reception, Solo is still an important film in the Star Wars universe. Any story about the beginnings of Han Solo – a hugely popular character – is bound to be significant. While dedicated fans would love to see the story continued, it doesn’t seem likely to happen right now.

Even though it wasn’t a massive hit, Solo still had a lasting effect on the Star Wars universe. We’re seeing this with the upcoming appearance of an Ardennian character (voiced by Martin Scorsese!) in The Mandalorian & Grogu – a species first shown in Solo. Plus, the Lando movie starring Donald Glover is still being made, which could potentially lead to another *Sololike film in the future.

As a huge Star Wars fan, I was really happy to hear from Glover in 2024 that the Lando series is still happening! There were whispers it might be scrapped, so that’s a big relief. We don’t know when it’ll actually hit screens or when things will really get moving with pre-production, but the fact that it’s still in development just proves how important Solo is to the future of the franchise. It feels like Lucasfilm knows that movie laid some essential groundwork for this new series.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is streaming now on Disney+.

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2026-03-19 17:32