Why Haven’t We Seen a ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Trailer Yet?

Drew Dietsch
Movies Star Wars
Movies Star Wars

Solo: A Star Wars Story has had a very troubled production. But, lots of films with shaky behind the scenes shenanigans still are able to get plenty of promotional material out there.

But, Solo: A Star Wars Story has barely gotten an official piece of art out there for fans to pick apart. And most importantly, we haven’t gotten any official footage with only five months to go before the film’s release.

What’s going on?

A Whole New Movie

When original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired from the film, veteran director Ron Howard was brought on to salvage the production. What was surprising was that the filming schedule was right at the end when the directors were let go. Most fans believed that Ron Howard would be brought on to finish out the remainder of the schedule.

Instead, Howard became tasked with completely reconfiguring the movie. From many reports, the finished film has been rebuilt from the ground up. That’s definitely a big reason why we haven’t been able to see much in regards to promo material. Howard has basically had to remake the film in a short amount of time in order to make the established release date.

There’s Some Nervousness

'Rogue One' hasn't had the same cultural impact as 'The Force Awakens' or 'The Last Jedi.'

Another factor has to do with reports that Lucasfilm is genuinely worried about Solo: A Star Wars Story. The response to Rogue One was a wakeup call to what Disney needs to do with the Star Wars brand. While it was a success financially, it hasn’t made the kind of mainstream impact that Disney wants out of their ancillary Star wars films.

Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Star Wars Story films don’t have a sense of connectivity. As of now, they are only exploring corners of the universe that fans are already familiar with in small ways. Stealing the Death Star plans, seeing how Han Solo became a smuggler, and the proposed Obi-Wan film all take the approach of shedding a light on things fans know.

And that’s the same things the prequel trilogy did.

Unless Disney can figure out how to broaden the universe, this concept will eventually become stale. In fact, it’s already looking that way with Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Stepping Into Big Shoes

Probably the biggest X-factor has to do with leading man Alden Ehrenreich. Han Solo is a character that has only been associated with one actor: Harrison Ford. Audiences are going to have to clear a big hurdle to accept Ehrenreich as the new Han Solo. and that’s not helped by reports of an acting coach that had to be present on set to help Ehrenreich with the character.

It’s tough to act in a role that is so closely attached to one performer. Trying to capture that performance without coming off as a caricature is incredibly difficult. The hope is that Ehrenreich will be able to deliver that, but that first look is going to set the tone in a big way. And Disney/Lucasfilm want to put their absolute best foot forward with that first trailer.

We’re getting a trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story eventually, but the delay in doing so is definitely worth taking note of. And when it does finally come, all of this knowledge needs to come with it.

And we’ll get to see the final product when the film hits theaters on May 25.

Drew Dietsch
Drew Dietsch has been professionally writing about entertainment for over a decade. His bylines include FANDOM - where he was a founding contributor and Entertainment Editor - Bloody Disgusting, SYFY WIRE, and more. He created and hosts GenreVision, a weekly film discussion show at genrevision.com.