Solo: A Star Wars Story is a prequel. Not just in terms of its placement in the franchise’s timeline, but also in the sense that it is connected to characters and concepts we’re familiar with from other entries. The same can be said of Rogue One. It seems that these anthology Star Wars films are determined to take the fewest risks possible by tying themselves onto elements we recognize.
And after seeing the trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story, it’s clear that if that’s the route we’re stuck going down, then we need to examine prequel elements that offer a larger and stranger canvas to explore.
For example, Lando Calrissian.
The Unknown
The issue with framing a prequel film around Han Solo is that we’ve spent a total of four movies with the character. Even though we might not know very exact details about his past, we’re intimately acquainted with what kind of character he is. No amount of youthful adventures will alter or enhance that.
Comparatively, Lando is a character we haven’t had a lot of time with. Yes, we’ve seen him in two films but Return of the Jedi had already morphed him into a very different character than the duplicitous businessman we met in The Empire Strikes Back. There is a lot more depth and intrigue to plumb when it comes to who Lando was before he’s introduced in The Empire Strikes Back.
Plus, Lando would not have to be tied to so many other iconic facets of the Star Wars universe. Solo isn’t just a Han Solo origin story. It’s also a Chewbacca origin story and a Millenium Falcon origin story. A story centered around Lando wouldn’t be as beholden to these other necessary inclusions. Heck, we wouldn’t even need to see Cloud City in order to tell an engaging origin story focused around Lando. And that kind of unexplored territory is what these films should revel in.
A Different Kind of Tone
When original Solo directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were taken off the project, a big reason was due to the fact that they had turned the movie into a more comedic endeavor than the studio was happy with. That kind of unease about playing with tone has a lot to do with the movie being centered around such a focal character in the Star Wars mythos.
If the movie was structured around Lando being the main character, there would probably be less hesitation to play around with tone and genre. A Lando Calrissian movie doesn’t need to have a bunch of Star Wars staples in it. It could be less focused on space battles and the Empire, opting to show us a seedier and unexplored tangent of the Star Wars universe. Maybe Solo will surprise us and deliver something truly fresh to the Star Wars universe, but the behind the scenes retooling and current marketing doesn’t seem to suggest that.
Donald Glover
The internet has already fallen in love with the few brief peeks we’ve seen of Lando in the Solo trailer and a lot of that has to do with Donald Glover. The immensely talented artist oozes charisma with the simplest of smiles. Glover steals the show without saying a single line of dialogue.
That’s not the case with Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. Granted, there isn’t a ton to go on with this first look but he’s stepping into some very big shoes and hasn’t done anything to truly wow fans yet. Put that up against the fervor Donald Glover as Lando has created and you start to think, “Well, why not make the movie about him?”
Glover is also an actor who isn’t afraid to take a character or concept into unexpected directions. Look at the brilliant first season of Atlanta if you need proof. Or chart his musical progression as Childish Gambino. This is a performer who revels in subversion and uniqueness. That’s the kind of leading man we need in a Star Wars movie.
Solo: A Star Wars Story certainly has the potential to be an entertaining and satisfying entry in the Star Wars franchise. But, after watching that trailer, it seems like Lando: A Star Wars Story would have been a more exciting direction to go in.
