Lawrence Kasdan Discusses the Reason Why the Han Solo Movie May Be His Last Screenplay
Veteran writer Lawrence Kasdan shares the reason why he is moving on from Star Wars.
Star Wars fans around the world are quite familiar with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. He has been involved in the Star Wars franchise for nearly four decades now, writing the screenplay for both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. And now, Kasdan has added to his legacy, by co-writing with J.J. Abrams for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Talking to the ArtsATL, Kasdan shared some insight on the past, present, and future of the Star Wars saga. He also talked about writing the upcoming and Star Wars Han Solo spin-off film with his son Jon.
He will accept the first Icon Award for Contributions to the Cinematic Arts from the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and ArtsATL on May 22. It’s an award that the veteran writer, director and producer will be very proud to accept.
“You’re always amazed when you get honored,” Kasdan said. “You do your work for a long time and you hope that it does what it’s supposed to do — communicate to people, move them and entertain them. Occasionally someone says ‘You do good work and we would like to note it’ and it’s a surprise.”
The reknowned writer, director and producer believes that writing hasn’t really changed all that much over the years. He say’s it’s been a constant struggle to get going everyday with creating new and exciting ideas. Although, working with his son Jon on the upcoming Han Solo film might just have made it a little easier.
“Writing is exhausting,” he says. “Writing is daunting. There’s a natural inclination to avoid it. When you get going, you feel good. What is fun is to have it written, but the starting is a problem. That has never changed — in 40 years.”
“It was interesting; I am glad we did it,” Kasdan says. “Every time you collaborate is difficult because writing is hard. There were really wonderful moments. He is very gifted. It was a vigorous collaboration. Jon is directing an episode of a Cameron Crowe series for Showtime (Roadies), and has written and directed two really good movies. He was very far along before we ever started this.”
Kasdan has recently said that the Han Solo spin-off will be his final involvement in the Star Wars franchise, and that the movie will be a definitive moment in the life of the swashbuckler that really shaped who he becomes in the original Star Wars film. Hopefully it won’t ruin the mystique of this character we loved for years and mourned this past year. After his involvement in Solo spin-off is over he intends to make a return to the director’s chair where he is best known for directing Wyatt Earp, Silverado and The Big Chill.
“I want to get back in directing,” he says. “Those movies take three years to do and there’s so many effects in them; that’s just not what I am interested in. I have written four Star Wars movies and that is plenty for anyone.”
The new Han Solo film won’t start production until January, 2017, but reports are that the early casting of is because the new Solo will have a cameo in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is set to hit theatres in December.
Han Solo: A Star Wars Story is slated to hit theaters May 25, 2018.
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Source: Artsatl.com
God, no Han Solo cameo in R1, please. Just give us a good movie with some new characters instead of shoving in familiar ones that don’t belong.
I am not really interested in a Han Solo movie, period.
Yet you felt so obligated to click the link, read the article, head to the comments, and even comment about the Han Solo movie. I’d say you are a closet fan of the movie.
exactly.
I would never had guessed.
I am truly interested in a Jar Jar Binks Biopic, in the line with “the fault in our stars” movie…
truly a deep multifacetic introspective into the gungan warlord, politician and hero…
Agreed, please no Han Solo in Rogue One. He has absolutely no good reason to be there. There’s a lot of things I can accept but Han Solo being forced into a story he has nothing to do with is not one of them.
They dont care what you think. They despise the fans. Youre mostly tools. They say otherwise publicly but if you dont think they read this site or there assistants for them and roll their eyes at every ridiculous expression of your dorkiness then your dumb
I’ll just try not to snicker at your cynical stupidity.
if you watch jedi council, every time rogue one comes up, the council goes around and literally mentions so many characters that they want to see in rogue one (bail organa, mon mothma, vader, palpatine, boba fett, han solo, princess leia, cad bane, jabba the hutt, etc.) it’s so ridiculous. give us new characters, otherwise rogue one ends up being episode 3.5
Well Palpatine and Bail Organa make sense to be in the movie. But not Han Solo.
agreed but my point is that it’s annoying that they just feel like seeing those characters..
I don’t think anyone wants to see ALL of them in one film. It makes sense to have mon mothma or leia or bail organa in a movie about the rise of the rebellion- but jabba, han solo, etc should be off doing their own thing. One of the things that I didn’t mind but people in general disliked about the pequel was how connected everyone was (R2 belonged to lukes mom, darth vader built C-3PO, etc). I don’t need jabba the hutt to help steal the death star plans. Put in characters that make sense, leave out the marketing materials.
Not only that. I can survive with ignoring one star wars movie (in 2018), but I´m really looking forward to Rogue One and I hope there will be no Han Solo cameo. I don´t understand what people are in charge of this. Doesn´t really matter who plays Han Solo – any actor will look different then the Han Solo we´ll meet days or week after in the Cantina. I´m still asking myself “why” the Han Solo movie, doing the cameo in Rogue One would erase yet another movie from my Star Wars list….I´m really sad….
He’s clearly just doing this to promote his son, Jon. I expect his heart wasn’t really in this project. Props to him for supporting his kids, but I’m not expecting much from this.
” that the movie will be a definitive moment in the life of the swashbuckler that really shaped who he becomes in the original Star Wars film. ”
.
.
Ugggggghhh…EXACTLY what I’ve been dreading they’re doing with this film. It’s not enough to have it be a fun romp with Han and Chewie, all of our heroes are going to learn valuable lessons about friendship, and who they really are, deep down inside. Barf.
Does not follow. How would “valuable lessons about friendship, and who they really are, deep down inside” shape Han Solo into the cocky, mercenary rogue we met in IV?
Bitch, bitch, bitch, moan, moan moan. My aching ass. Kasdan said himself that no one could write the Solo movie but him. He feels a kinship with the Han Solo character. Bringing his son on board is fine. Maybe he’ll teach him a thing or two about Han Solo and with this new actor we’ll have a few more Solo movies. Unless you don’t like Han Solo, or think he’s some kind of god to be sat on a pedestal and worshiped and never touched again. Yes, it’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan!
Seems like everyone thinks the latter.
I’m in your boat, I’m really excited to see what they do with the film.
Yes, I’d rather sit through 2 and a half hours of Hayden Christensen whine about sand than to listen to these sad little hacks pontificate on what’s best for star wars.
Thats because you flippin dorks have an unnatural connection to the thoughts and ideas of a flippin movie. Get lives dorks. Get a flipping life. There all good in their own way. They wouldn’t be something you dorks talk autistically about if that were not true. Even the prequels.
I’d love them to go in the Treasure Planet direction with this one. Like we don’t get bad-ass teenage Han Solo (a la Ben Affleck in Dazed and Confused) but more of an insecure kid that lives in the shadow of his father who’s a famous race pilot on Corellia. Han, hardly remembers his mother while Dad Solo is always out, living the life being a star causing a small identity crisis in Han and some serious daddy issues (Kylo anyone?). His desire to become his own man instead of Dad Solo’s son, makes him enlist to Imperial Academy to “make a difference”. Things take unexpected turn when he gets taken hostage by a band of crazy old space pirates and taken on an adventure.. That way we see his evolution, kinda like Jim in Treasure Planet, developing both as a man and and as an infamous scoundrel we meet at Mos Eisly cantina. It would be fun to assemble a cast of older, cool actors that sort of like Hondo to Ezra or that alien guy to Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy, in a way, shape Hand by showing him the sweet taste of an adventure.
A Han Solo cameo in Rogue One?! That’s gotta be a bunk rumor. I sure HOPE it’s a bunk-ass rumor, anyway. Because it’s a terrible idea.
At the time Rogue One takes place, Han is either cooling his heels in Mos Eisley, or he’s on his way there. To suddenly have him just happen to wander across the path of the Rebel team that’s going for the Death Star plans would be desperately gimmicky. Especially since the guy in the vest in that cameo would look absolutely nothing like the guy in the vest in the cantina immediately afterward.
Gonna go out on a limb here and say that there’s NOT going to be a Han Solo cameo in Rogue One. (There’d flippin’ well better not be, anyway…)
Han shot first. Having said that – I agree 100% with your statements.
No Han Solo cameo, please.
Thanks.
What, no! If williams dies before they start working on IX, and not even Kasdan’s working on it… that’s too risky!
oWilliams has said publicly that among the very few people who have the full arc of the Sequel trilogy – he is among them. John Williams will also have second billing on Rouge One as you can see (hear) from the Trailer. Regardless of their use even when interpoloated in the slightest way – under union rules he would be credited. Its fairly safe to say any composer would not have liked this. Having said that no one would have accepted the full 9 movie Orchestral suite to have a different tacked on 9th movement by another composer. Musically its a disaster.
So many of the coming themes will have been sketched out not to mention the 1000s of ideas he would have had that werent used. If he be dead.
Itll be willimas to the end.
I’m very interested to know how much of an impact Kasdan had on TFA’s script vs. Abrams and Arndt. Whose idea was it to rehash ANH?
Lucas had more of an impact on TFA’s script than any of those names. ANH is unique in that it is thee first Star Wars, so it’s more likely than any other SW script that this one was rewritten numerous times.
Definitely Abrams and Kasdan. Arndt’s version was closer to Lucas draft.
And we know this how? Rumor?
No, Michael Arndt was originally brought in by Lucas and Kennedy to construct a script for Star Wars episode 7 loosely based on Lucas’ story draf and outlines. However, it contained alot of Luke, thus making it more difficult to write as he couldn’t have Luke overshadow Rey. Because he wasn’t making progress fast enough, Abrams and Kasdan came along and took over, writing out Luke and streamlining the process.
Odd because I read the Abrams wanted to have the old cast in the movie more than Arndt did.
I think rey wasn’t on that script
Arndt said she was, and that complicated the Luke part of the plot. More people would care about Luke than Rey.
Arndt was replaced because he didn’t finish quick enough. As stated in the Secrets of the Force Awakens documentary, also Arndt’s flash back scene was a mini history of the Star Wars movies versus the one we got in TFA which one of the editors, Maryann Brandon, just stated publicly.
I know Arndt is a good writer as you can see when you watch Toy Story 3, and Inside Out. However, I feel like his strength lies in animated movies.
Kasdan refused to work on Episodes 1-3. Lucas asked for him to co-write them.
I wish Kasdan had co-written the PT. It would have turned out better!
Good. His SW scripts have gotten progressively worse since Empire and like Lucas, He really should be retired at his age.
What made Han Solo great was Harrison Ford…I could care less about a “young Han Solo ” movie to be honest…I was Jedi & sith …Period
You’ll be in the theater for the Solo movie within 3 days of it opening.