But, until I can properly set up the Rian Johnson Is A Talentless Hack Foundation, I do look a bit toward something about the Star Wars franchise that doesn't depress me to my deepest core: the past!
...no, I'm talking about the Original Trilogy, not the Prequels.
It seems that Disney is still going forward with its "A Star Wars Story" plans despite common sense or loud protests from the fanbase who do not, in fact, want this thing. To be honest, I defended Rogue One when it came out, but now I honestly just think it was unnecessary. It lacked the necessary emotional punch needed to bring a "Kill 'Em All" story into the realm of a classic. I will say that I still find it better than the Prequels, but only because it's worse crime to be was being completely unnecessary.
It seems that Disney took that criticism to heart and have lined up something new Solo: A Star Wars story. For some strange reason, the Star Wars fanbase were split right down the middle almost as soon as it was announced. It's almost like the fanbase is full of people who are highly contentious and easily-angered or something! Jokes aside, I was among the people who gave cautious optimism to it. Even after The Last Jedi, I'm still not 100% on it. If anything, I'm less so.
That being said, Han Solo is one of the most universally beloved characters within the franchise to anyone who isn't Harrison Ford, so it's entirely possible that they might do very well and show respect to both the character and his fanbase. Then I remember these were the same people who said that Mark Hamill drinking milk directly from the source wasn't something that Rian Johnson should be in a psychiatric ward for, so what do I know?
We didn't have much on it besides a few publicity shots for quite a while, then the teaser of the trailer came up. Then the Super Bowl happened, the only time I ever have any interest in any sport whatsoever. And now, thanks to the internet, I don't even have to have that anymore. So, needless to say, when the trailer popped up, I watched. And you can do so as well:
So, we have Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) in his early days in voice over, talking about growing up a criminal and being drummed out of the Imperial Academy. All stuff that was covered in the former Expanded Universe, though not necessarily in the same manner. I know a lot of people have issue with the Expanded Universe being completely dumped by Disney, and I'll admit they've got some legitimate beefs about it. I, myself, fall somewhere in the middle. I believe that a lot of good things came out of the Expanded Universe (Mara Jade, Thrawn, and several excellent novels), but I also acknowledge that there was a lot of crap (the Yuuzhan Vong come screamingly to mind), so I'm really on the fence as to whether dropping it all was good or not.
That being said, this backstory for Han is close enough to his original that I can take it or leave it. The details aren't exactly important so long as A) he becomes the greatest pilot in the galaxy and B) he and Chewbacca become life-debt bros that end up becoming real bros who travel around the galaxy smuggling things, stealing things, and generally being awesome.
The production design still looks good, but that's par for the course at this point. The Millennium Falcon looks good because it's very likely the same or an identically made set to the one used in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, where the ship looked like a marvel with so much care and crafting put into it to make it look like the version from the Original Trilogy. It also looks significantly cleaner here, a testament to the years and mileage that it likely hasn't earned as of yet.
We also get some looks at the cast. Chewbacca is back with Joonas Suotamo in the fur, though it's Chewbacca so we've come to expect that. I will say, and I know a lot of people have been saying that, but Donald Glover looks absolutely phenomenal as Lando Calrissian and I'm hoping his performance reflects the outward projection of awesome. He seriously does look like how I'd imagine a younger Billy Dee Williams.
You also have Emilia Clarke in a role as "Q'ira", an associate of Solo's mentor character "Beckett" (Woody Harrelson). Both of them look pretty good and are involved in some sort of hijinks to come that Beckett apparently needs a crew for.
There are also some others as well, no doubt a bunch of one-note characters who will never be seen or mentioned again in the style of Rogue One.
So we have players, we have the look...and you probably are wondering why I've avoided mentioning Han in this one. Frankly...I just don't see it. I've never seen Alden Ehrenrich in anything else he's been in, so feel free to tell me I'm talking out of my ass, but I just don't see Han Solo. His few lines and interactions don't help either. He seems more like he's someone pretending to be Han Solo than just being Han Solo.
Though maybe that's part of the point, he isn't the man we know and love...yet.
File this one under cautiously optimistic - particularly because I have seen that Ron Howard is directing and it's supposedly going to be a Western, of a sort. I do have to remind myself that it is just a teaser trailer, and I remember that I was not particular moved or enthused by the original The Force Awakens trailer beyond the bit of the Falcon flying over the sands of Jakku. Maybe Solo will surprise me.
Also, monkeys might fly out of my ass and be locked in a room with a typewriter, thus producing a script for a better film than The Last Jedi.
AND NOW! On to something that I'm actually enthused by!
I mean...damn.
Just...damn.
I am looking forward to Infinity War. There. I said it. It's not a bold or controversial statement, I know. One has to appreciate how this is literally a decade of films that started with Iron Man that have been birthed a long line of successes and built an entire universe.
Win or lose, it's honestly just a triumph that Marvel has managed to make it this far, considering that Iron Man came out in a post-Spider-Man 3 world and it seemed like comic book movies were never going to get better.
But they have. Despite a few misfires and more than a few missteps (which I'll be getting into as I continue my MCU retrospective - at some point), Marvel has gotten this far. Now they just have to stick the landing to a stunt they have spent a decade practicing for and then executing.
It's gonna be a whopper!
Yes, there are things even I can complain about. I don't really care for the Iron Spider suit (though it looks way, way better than it does in the comics), I don't know or care why Natasha is blonde (there aren't enough redheads in film anymore and Scarlett Johansson is freaking amazing as one), there needs to be more Guardians, and Thanos having a chin that makes Bruce Campbell's look conservative by comparison is something to point and laugh at. But everything else? It looks good. Even for a teaser, it looks good. File this one, too, under cautiously optimistic...but much higher on the list than for Solo.
Also, I'm pretty sure that - even if it's bad, Infinity War is still going to be much better than The Last Jedi, so it's already won in my book.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to be released on May 25, 2018 from Lucasfilm and Disney.
Avengers: Infinity War is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018 from Marvel Studios and Disney.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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