UPDATE! Woody Harrelson in Early Talks to Play Han Solo’s Mentor in the Second Star Wars Spinoff Movie

Variety reports that Lucasfilm is considering actor Woody Harrelson for an important role in the next Star Wars spinoff movie dedicated to the swashbuckling hero Han Solo. Read on for the details…

 

From Variety:

Sources tell Variety that, while talks are still in the early stages, Harrelson is the top choice to play Han Solo’s mentor in the upcoming “Star Wars” spinoff starring Alden Ehrenreich.

Kathleen Kennedy and Allison Shearmur are producing the spinoff film, which is expected to begin production in January. The movie is slated to hit theaters on May 25, 2018. Harrelson and Shearmur have close ties from their work on “The Hunger Games,” when Shearmur was overseeing the project for Lionsgate.

The ensemble has already begun filling with rising stars, but executives wanted this role to go to an actor with considerable clout, and started meeting with actors over the past several weeks.

 

Filming for Han Solo is expected to begin in February in London. Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be directing, and the only cast members officially announced so far are Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo), Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian) and Emilia Clarke. Also Chewbacca was confirmed to appear in the movie.

 

Kathleen Kennedy described the Han Solo movie to have a heist or a western type feel. Woody Harrelson will definitely fit with this description.

 

What do you think? Is Woody a good fit for Star Wars?

 

 

 

UPDATE!

 

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the report, and Borys Kit even revealed another contender for the role that was considered before Harrelson:

 


 

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

116 thoughts on “UPDATE! Woody Harrelson in Early Talks to Play Han Solo’s Mentor in the Second Star Wars Spinoff Movie

  • January 4, 2017 at 12:38 am
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    Freaking PERFECT. I like this. A lot.

    • January 4, 2017 at 8:27 pm
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      Wow. Talk about immeasurable power. Its amazing how Chuck Norris causes a lightning strike with his thumbs up air punch. The shock wave must be huge.

      • January 5, 2017 at 12:10 am
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        Can’t this meme just die already? Norris seems like such a dipshit.

  • January 4, 2017 at 12:48 am
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    Will he bring his hat too?

  • January 4, 2017 at 1:04 am
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    Dear Lord. Please no.

  • January 4, 2017 at 1:14 am
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    He just played a mentor in The Hunger Games….
    In my opinion, he’s too recognizable. Seeing him in a Star Wars film will just pull me out of the film too much, I think.

  • January 4, 2017 at 1:51 am
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    Im getting a Cad Bane vibe.

  • January 4, 2017 at 1:52 am
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    I would rather have Harrelson then Bale as I feel like this will have a action/comedy tone and Harrelson seems like a better fit for that.

  • January 4, 2017 at 1:57 am
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    May the hemp be with you.

  • January 4, 2017 at 2:18 am
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    If they are going for a comedy/western vibe with this movie, color me intrigued.

  • January 4, 2017 at 2:25 am
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    1. He’s PERFECT.
    2. He’s either Cad Bane (he already has the voice) or Dash Rendar (why the fuck not?)

  • January 4, 2017 at 2:25 am
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    This is one of those casting choices I feel are to “known.” Woody is an amazing talent but it’s very hard to unseen him as anything but Woody. Bale… man he isn’t to good at well known properties. Batman and Terminator come to mind.

    Ah well… it could work. Wont know until we see it. So glad R1 came out first just in case Solo tanks.

    • January 4, 2017 at 4:59 am
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      They got Woody? From Toy Story? Awesome.

  • January 4, 2017 at 2:36 am
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    I’m 100% on board with this casting. Woody is a funny dude and a fine actor. Never a bad idea to add talent.

    • January 4, 2017 at 3:43 am
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      I dislike the idea.. he’s to well known.. Star wars should stick to using unknown actors.

      • January 4, 2017 at 4:15 am
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        alec guiness, peter cushing, harrison ford, billy dee williams, james earl jones, liam neeson, sam jackson, ewan mcgregor, christopher lee, terance stamp, jimmy smits. these are just a few of the people who were at the very least known quantities, if not highly accomplished actors by the time they did star wars.

        • January 4, 2017 at 4:57 am
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          Yeah, a lot of people seem to prefer unknown actors in Star Wars. I don’t know why, I’ve never heard anyone insist on it for any other franchise. Is it really 4th wall breaking for some people to see a known actor in a movie?

          • January 4, 2017 at 5:45 am
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            I guess people just like traditions, and I believe that it is a bit easier to be “immersed: in a movie when you can’t easily recognize every single person in the film.

          • January 4, 2017 at 10:21 am
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            I agree to an extent, but that tradition should lay with the Saga films. I feel these spinoffs need some star power, or at the very least, talent. Adding talent is never a bad idea. If the actor nails the role, he/she should get it IMO. I love the prospect of Woody in Star Wars

          • January 4, 2017 at 6:30 pm
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            I agree.

          • January 4, 2017 at 7:42 am
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            seems like an odd thing to nit pick about to me

  • January 4, 2017 at 2:45 am
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    This movie does not need to be made.

    • January 4, 2017 at 3:37 am
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      technically no movie needs to be made.

    • January 4, 2017 at 3:42 am
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      I agree with you.. its fanboy stuff that is totally pointless.. People these days want everything in a movie explained and the can’t use there imagination..

      • January 4, 2017 at 4:11 am
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        its not like disney held a vote of all star wars fans and the majority wanted this film. this didn’t even come from a corporate focus group. this idea came from lucas himself. do you think he lacks imagination?

        • January 4, 2017 at 4:19 am
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          this idea did no come Lucas himself.. This IS a Disney idea..

          • January 4, 2017 at 4:36 am
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            Actually, this is one of the films that Lucas planned before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney. It’s a George Lucas idea.

          • January 4, 2017 at 12:29 pm
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            Not a disney idea. Lucas had this idea. Kasdan was originally hired to write this then they got him to help with TFA.

          • January 4, 2017 at 3:12 pm
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            Wrong.

        • January 4, 2017 at 9:56 am
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          If my vote matters, than I also vote for an Obi Wan Kenobi movie.

          • January 4, 2017 at 10:06 pm
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            Who would have guessed? 😉

          • January 4, 2017 at 10:22 pm
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            “patience, soon you will be with him.” 😉

        • January 4, 2017 at 8:03 pm
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          He pitch the idea of making a Han Solo spin off but he has nothing to do with and he didn’t hire Kasdan because he knows that this guy is a hack. Whoever doubted it knows it after Force Awakens.

          • January 4, 2017 at 10:23 pm
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            k.

    • January 4, 2017 at 3:11 pm
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      No movie “needs” to be made.

    • January 4, 2017 at 7:58 pm
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      Disney shareholders think differently. Guess what they’re also planning Indiana Jones5. Everybody knows it will be garbage, Ford is too old and they’re artistically bankrupt. Neverthless it will make a fortune because nostalgia.

  • January 4, 2017 at 3:46 am
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    Star wars should stick to using new unknown actors… it feels like well known stars are money hungry and its just another job but new actors have that love and passion.. New actors WANT to be a part of it..

    • January 4, 2017 at 9:10 am
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      You think well known Actors Don’t WANT to be a part of STAR WARS? Hmmmmm

    • January 4, 2017 at 3:11 pm
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      Like Liam Neeson? Samuel L. Jackson? Christopher Lee? Alec Guinness? Peter Cushing?

      Pick the best person for the role. That’s all.

    • January 4, 2017 at 7:57 pm
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      Most important is that these unknown actors should be excellent choices picked after a serious casting process. But the new movies showed that Kathleen Kennedy hand picked all the main actors because they have some connections. That’s why we ended up with Daisy Ridley, Felicity Jones and Alden Enrecht, Adam Driver . None of them would have passed a regular casting

      • January 4, 2017 at 10:06 pm
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        What connections did Daisy Ridley have? She was an absolute unknown who had literally never appeared in a feature film before Episode VII.

        • January 4, 2017 at 10:17 pm
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          She was unknown, that’s not sufficient. Was she good? No, she was terrible, can’t act to save her life, even JJ Abrams slammed her wooden acting, and this guy is himself terrible. I heard her dad has connections to Hollywood.

          • January 5, 2017 at 12:09 am
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            So all you have is your own (quite unpopular) opinion and mindless conspiracy theories? Nice.

          • January 11, 2017 at 5:53 pm
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            Troll. They need to ban him. Doesn’t further meaningful discussions.

          • January 11, 2017 at 5:54 pm
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            You mean like Carrie Fisher? Mark Hamill was unknown. So was Ford, to audiences.

      • January 5, 2017 at 12:07 am
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        You haven’t actually seen Hail, Ceaser!, have you? I was dead set against recasting Ford, but after that film, I would say Ehrenreich is the second strongest argument for this film actually pulling off a miracle and succeeding (behind Lord and Miller).

        • January 5, 2017 at 1:36 am
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          Wow. I didn’t expect you to be the optimistic one, but I’m pleasantly surprised.

        • January 5, 2017 at 6:11 am
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          Because your initial opinion and assumption that the film would be a total disaster may be wrong, you’ve decided the potential success of the film is a miracle if it occurs?

          My, your ego knows no bounds.

      • January 11, 2017 at 5:54 pm
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        What connections, troll?

  • January 4, 2017 at 4:12 am
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    No problem with him as Cad Bane, but I am totally against an actor this mainstream as a major character in Star Wars not masked/covered with makeup.

    • January 4, 2017 at 4:36 am
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      Or as a far side character, right? Because a lot of people knew Lac Guiness and peter Cushing back in the day.

      • January 4, 2017 at 4:56 am
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        Neither Alec Guinness nor Peter Cushing were as mainstream as Wody Harrelson is. Sorry, no cigar for you.

        • January 4, 2017 at 5:40 am
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          Sorry but this is totally wrong. Alec Guinness played major roles in some of the biggest movies of all time before 1977: Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago just to mention a few. People don’t remember these films as much nowadays, but these were mega-hits. Doing Star Wars – a small film that many expected to be a throwaway scifi B movie – seemed like a major step down for him at the time.

          • January 4, 2017 at 5:44 am
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            Yep. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, Doctor Zhivago made over $2 billion dollars and is the 8th highest grossing film ever created. And Alec Guiness was in it.

          • January 4, 2017 at 4:15 pm
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            Are you really considering those masterpieces to mainstream popcorn movies and TV shows like Friends With Benefits, Will And Grace and White Men Can’t Jump? Sorry, but you just won’t convince me of that. And don’t forget the classic Woody movie Sufer, Dude.

          • January 5, 2017 at 7:19 am
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            The issue I was addressing wasn’t the quality of the work: I was simply making the point that like Woody Harrelson, Alec Guinness was well-known by the general public. So whether Bridge on the River Kwai is better than White Men Can’t Jump is irrelevant.

  • January 4, 2017 at 4:15 am
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    All of a sudden…my interest is piqued. If there’s one role Woody can play (and there’s definitely more than one), it’s a mentor. 😉 He was brilliant as Haymitch. *thumbs-up*

    • January 4, 2017 at 2:21 pm
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      he’ll be the Dread Pirate Roberts to Wesley/Han Solo and it’s PERFECT

  • January 4, 2017 at 4:18 am
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    Haters gonna hate. People seem to be forgetting that Alec Guiness, and to a lesser extent Peter Cushing, were very recognizable actors in 1977. Add Liam Neeson, and you find that using well-known actors to play mentor figures is a Star Wars tradition.

    Plus, there’s the fact that Harrelson can really disappear into a role: he’s just one step above one of those character actors you see everywhere, but forget about because they inhabit their roles so seamlessly.

    • January 4, 2017 at 4:21 am
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      And you do know that Alec did NOT want to be in Star wars.. in fact he hated it…

      • January 4, 2017 at 7:49 am
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        sir alec only came to hate star wars after it defined his career. prior to that he saw it as a silly little film that offered a nice pay check.

        • January 4, 2017 at 10:05 pm
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          Which is too bad. It makes him seem less likable to me.

      • January 4, 2017 at 9:54 am
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        … but he had work to do… and it was so far away…

    • January 4, 2017 at 4:21 pm
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      The difference, to me, is that everyone you mentioned is an artist. They are more than actors. Can you picture Woody Harrelson in a serious play? I can’t. But I can Guinness, Cushing (especially) and Needon.

  • January 4, 2017 at 4:54 am
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    I am imagine this movie will pale in comparison with Rogue One, but I think Woody Harrelson is pretty good and I expect he will do any role justice. I like Bale too, but I don’t think they should go with someone who will seem more like the star of the movie than the main character. Does Han really need a mentor though? I liked to think he always just winged it.

    • January 4, 2017 at 5:42 am
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      I kind of agree. My question is: isn’t MAZ his mentor? I know that people can have more than one mentor, but for such a “lone wolf, rebellious rogue” type, he seems to have had a pretty guided upbringing.

      • January 4, 2017 at 7:10 am
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        Yeah, if maz isn’t in the film it will be a missed opportunity IMO.

        • January 4, 2017 at 7:12 am
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          Agreed.

        • January 4, 2017 at 10:17 am
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          Agreed, Huge missed opportunity. Im pretty sure in a few weeks or early on in the shooting next month we hear that Lupita is attached to the film

      • January 4, 2017 at 10:16 am
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        But was it ever stated that she was his mentor? I thought that was just something from the rumor mill, that Lupita was playing a CGI character that was Han Solo’s mentor. From the movie it just seemed like she was an old pirate that he knew from his old smuggling days.

        • January 4, 2017 at 6:31 pm
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          I believe it was stated in canon material that she was his mentor. You know, the kind of stuff that Pablo Hidalgo would have written, “official guides”, etc.

      • January 4, 2017 at 12:13 pm
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        I thought Maz Kanata was more of an associate. She runs a drinking den where criminal types gather, she would I suppose be more of a broker than anything else. If Han has a smuggler mentor, I wonder if he’ll end up wearing their clothes like Lando ends up wearing Han’s outfit at the end of TESB.

  • January 4, 2017 at 5:44 am
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    This is an interesting development. I wonder to what extent a mentor to solo would be, good actor choice, I love him in everything I see with him. I knew a bunch about the legacy stuff, but not too much about Han Solo. I wonder if we’ll get any view of Correllia finally on screen because I don’t think we’ve visited that place yet.

  • January 4, 2017 at 5:52 am
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    Like Harrleson. Under underrated. But this still feels a bit like “lipstick on a pig” to me.

  • January 4, 2017 at 7:21 am
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    I don’t know what’s wrong with me, this is an idea from George Lucas, with actors I like, with directors whose work i adore working with a beloved character in my favorite franchise of all time….but I’m just not excited at all for this movie.

    • January 4, 2017 at 10:31 am
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      Here’s a tip… Wait for some actual footage to drop.

      – Pomojema

    • January 4, 2017 at 12:26 pm
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      Me too; I think because it kinda feels like we already know all we need to about Han Solo. I don’t want to see him as a nerdy 19 year old complaining that he doesn’t like sand.

      • January 4, 2017 at 7:53 pm
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        We all know how it’s going to turn out. They’re going to ruin the character but still make a lot of money because no matter how horrible it will be, people will watch for nostalgia.

        • January 5, 2017 at 6:09 am
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          Careful when speaking for everyone else, because you obviously don’t.

    • January 4, 2017 at 10:04 pm
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      Don’t worry,. the trailer will give you a nerdgasm regardless.

  • January 4, 2017 at 9:08 am
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    Dude! This is amazing news. Woody is a legend and he’s definitely been on the list of Actors I’ve wanted to see in the Star Wars universe.

    • January 4, 2017 at 7:51 pm
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      not as Han Solo’s mentor

  • January 4, 2017 at 9:46 am
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    Bale or Harrelson? You finally got me, han solo movie!

  • January 4, 2017 at 12:26 pm
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    probably spend as much time in the film as Max Von Sydow

    • January 4, 2017 at 7:50 pm
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      you’re so right, bam

  • January 4, 2017 at 12:29 pm
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    Another hero’s journey?

    • January 4, 2017 at 12:44 pm
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      With Lord & Miller directing, it’s rather gonna be the spoof of it.

    • January 4, 2017 at 7:48 pm
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      Kasdan is a retard who’s gonna use the monomyth digram like a magic formula to write a script just like he did in Force Awakens. So it will be basically Solo refuses his destiny, then some crap happens forcing him to follow the script, I mean destiny.

    • January 4, 2017 at 11:08 pm
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      or maybe an anti-hero journey.

  • January 4, 2017 at 12:33 pm
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    I predict that he will feature at the beginning of the film as Solo’s CO in the Imperial Navy before he goes AWOL with Chewbacca

  • January 4, 2017 at 2:04 pm
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    nobody plays smarmy knave as well as Woody Harrelson so this is bloody perfect and it has my full support

  • January 4, 2017 at 7:50 pm
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    Since when “Solo” needs a mentor? Does Kasdan even know what Solo means? This man is a stupid hack, he didn’t write Indiana Jones and Empire Strikes back but appreciates that people wrongfully credit him for it. This idiot wrote Force Awakens though, and it was laughable because it shows how desperate for money he was.

      • January 4, 2017 at 10:15 pm
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        except you

    • January 5, 2017 at 6:07 am
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      Yes. Han Solo’s last name obviously implies he only operates solo.

      Except for his co-pilot Wookiee.

      And joining forces with the Rebellion.

      And flying about the galaxy with Luke and Leia.

      And leading a team of Rebel Commando’s on Endor.

      And rescuing Rey and Finn and offering Rey the opportunity to work with him on the Falcon.

      Oh noes, seems like someones argument is as dumb as he is rude.

      Pity.

      • January 5, 2017 at 3:29 pm
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        He ended up being a teamplayer at the end of his arc. This movie is supposed to be about the solo scroundel

        • January 6, 2017 at 1:22 am
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          He was a team player since his inception. Please see Chewbacca.

          • January 6, 2017 at 2:51 pm
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            He’s teaming with Chewbacca only because the Falcon needs two guys tro be maintained and operated. This until Force Awakens, when Maaaaary Suuuuuue proved that she can fly the Falcon alone better that Solo and Chewie together.

          • January 7, 2017 at 3:15 pm
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            Now your rationalizing with semantics. Piss off troll, we’ve had better here than you before.

    • January 11, 2017 at 5:55 pm
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      Everyone has a mentor at some point.

      • January 11, 2017 at 10:05 pm
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        Except for Mary Sue.

        • January 12, 2017 at 1:42 am
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          THERE IT IS! I knew you were a Mary Sewer. Nothing more to discuss here,

          • January 12, 2017 at 9:06 am
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            If you don’t aknowledge that Rey is a Mary Sue, then there is no discussion possible. She is the archetype of hte Mary Sue and will remain the reference for decades. Never in the history of cinema was there a Mary Sue lead in a major motion picture except for Bollywood movies. This stuff used to stay on fanfiction websites for teenage girls, Kathleen Kennedy brought her feminist fantasy to the big screen.

          • January 12, 2017 at 3:50 pm
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            Then there is no discussion possible because you don’t even know what it is. Tell Max Landis I said hi.

          • January 12, 2017 at 8:42 pm
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            You can use google, but you still don’t have a clue.

          • January 12, 2017 at 9:05 pm
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            You can bury your head in the sand, Mary Sue is not going away. Everybody already forgot about Hayden Christensen. Mary Sue will remain be emblematic of complete failure of the Disney owned Star Wars.

          • January 12, 2017 at 9:33 pm
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            The only thing buried here is your head up your own rear end.

  • January 4, 2017 at 8:30 pm
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    I like Harrelson, but Bale is the better actor. His character in The Prestige would be perfect for this, a trickster with charm, after all he shouldn’t be a direct copy of Solo as a mentor, Han needs to be his own man.

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