Will The Untitled Han Solo Film Be Funny?
Woody Harrelson thinks so, and Steven Spielberg might be hinting at it too. In recent interviews with Entertainment Tonight, Harrelson gave his take on the Untitled Han Solo Film’s challenges, humor, and more; while Spielberg gave his opinion on Alden Ehrenreich’s acting skills.
Naturally, Harrelson was asked about the director change up, but he didn’t seem too concerned, stating that “Fortunately, the force is still very much with us,” and that he’s happy to see Ron Howard brought on board.
He also discussed that the film might be comedic in some way as well as praising Ehrenreich’s performance.
He’s a great actor and a great guy, [with a] great sense of humor, I think a lot of humor comes through what he’s doing. I think it could be one of the funnier Star Wars movies.
Harrelson isn’t the only one that believes that Ehrenreich is a comedian at heart. Steven Spielberg told Entertainment Tonight about how he was the one that discovered Ehrenreich but always thought that he would be a comedian.
What does that say for the tone of the Untitled Han Solo Film? Will it be a comedy? Or will it be as funny as most other Star Wars films? Let us know in the comments and in the Cantina.
So they wanted funny, but not ‘that’ funny? Lucasfilm seems to have the mood changes of… oh, wait
We have zero idea why Lord and Miller were fired. It could have been their humor style, it could have been something else.
Indeed. Michael Buble was fired from the X-files for stealing a hot dog. Maybe they also stole hot dogs.
Really? Haven’t watched the new series
he was in one of the old ones from the 90’s as an extra, before he was famous. I think I read he didn’t end up with any screen time due to the firing.
Time to have Kennedy’s judgement called into question if that is the case.
Not really. Movies change direction in tone and style all the time. It’s not unreasonable to want a movie that is lighter in spirit with some comedic moments and yet not want the film to be an outright comedy. I would imagine that’s a delicate balance and one can’t reasonably fault Lucasfilm (or Kennedy) for struggling a bit to strike that balance.
Oh, so Kennedy’s ‘judgement’ should be free of scrutiny.. okaaay.
But you’re not talking about some general concept of Kennedy being free of scrutiny. You know this. You’re jumping on Kennedy because of something you don’t really seem to understand: that movies often go through an organic process of change that sometimes include shifts of tone.
When there’s a couple of bad films, yes.
But now, nope.
She’s had two homeruns with SW, so far. Can you not act the stereotypical misogynist?
For crying out loud, are you that desperate that you have to drag misogyny into this?? LMAO.
It’s pretty plain that the comment was utilizing a female-centric stereotype, blatantly.
EJo- triggered much?
Sorry, but SW pretty much sells itself, all movies will do well financially, despite anything, even the Han Solo one. Besides, I personally do not consider TFA a homerun, but good for you.
Well I’ve said it before, I don’t think it Star Wars can get away with changing up the format as much as say MCU do with Guardians of the Galaxy, Winter Soldier or Doctor Strange etc. Star Wars needs a certain amount of sinserity. It all depends what sort of comedy and how much. Also thinking the change of director shows there was probably too much comedy in it.
Hmmm, concerned onlooker here….
bet they’re going for “Indiana Jones” feel / humor
Yeah- KOTCS ‘humor’…
KOTCS doesn’t count. No Kasdan and horrid start to finish.
Given Kasden’s involvement, that sounds like a good bet.
I think “Funny yet Serious” would be a PERFECT tone for the Han Solo Film. Rogue One was dark & rather brooding, a lighter tone for Han’s “younger days” befits well with the character. I’m down!
Funnier than Pennywise?
There’s humor and there’s comedy. Iron Man is an action movie, not a comedy, but Robert Downey Jr brings humor to the role. I think the consensus is that we want some humor and charisma in the lead role but turning it into comedy seems wrong.
Lucasfilm initially hired comedy directors, so I think there’s good reason to suspect the plan all along was to try their hand at making an outright comedy set in the Star Wars universe. I’d guess they’ve been reluctant to say so explicitly, probably because they don’t want to put any pressure on the movie in addition to the already insane expectations that come with it being a Star Wars film. I could be wrong, of course, but Han is already a character that lends himself to witty lines and comedic situations, so this seems like the perfect story to experiment with genre while not going too far afield of what fans will be receptive to.
I’m down. If there was ever a time to make a “funny” SW film, the HAN film is the one.
I am not typically a naysayer or someone to say the sky is falling, but this has me worried. Of course, Han Solo is a character that is capable of some great humor from time to time. The thing that worries me is that they have said this movie is supposed to have a western feel, and now we hear it may the be funniest SW movie ever. When I think western, I don’t think or want comedy. To me, a western should be serious and intense. I have seen movies that try to mix comedy and western, and I have not liked them.
Comedy is a staple of Han Solo’s character though. His witty humor is iconic
Keep in mind – Indiana Jones is also funny.
“A western should be serious and intense”
Not necessarily. Some great westerns are quite funny. If the character is humorous (as Solo is), then the setting and conflict can be serious but the film as a whole can feel comedic.
Western is a very broad genre, and in any case this will be more akin to Eurowestern than classic western, with the roguish character than Solo is.
Well shoot it better be funny. Obviously keep the tone serious-ish but Han Solo is arguably the funniest Star Wars character. Of course there should be a good helping of witty humor.
Han Solo is arguably the funniest Star Wars character?! My dear, you forgot about Jar Jar Binks! ;-P
lol messa sorry Jar Jar
Is it not enough to ask that it be GOOD?
I would think that should go without saying. Everyone wants Star Wars movies to be good.
Well, a lot of fans want ‘original’ more than ‘good’ these days.
That’s completely accurate. Prequel defenders, amirite?
Yep.
Please explain how is that a bad thing? Do you actually prefer good even if it’s not original? No risks, no art, just “good” entertainment? I think Star Wars wouldn’t even exist fi someone had not taken an awful lot of risks in the 70’s.
Risk? Yes. But all science fiction was risky in the 70’s.
Original? Meh.
It was a well done serial space opera that had been done before, just not with the genius special effects hippies that established ILM, and not with a generation that grew up watching the space race and reading post-space race comics. It’s Hidden Fortress in space. Guardians of the Galaxy, Apokolips Saga, Fantastic Four, Thanos, all existed before 1976. It was a risk because all science fiction films were risks, and Lucas himself will say so. 2001: A Space Odyssey was not a big money film. Only the first Planet of the Apes film made money, and the series began to dwindle after the second one (which is an awful film, lol).
Han Solo will make a lot of money. Will it be original? No, it will be a serial action adventure in space, which has been done with other franchises with varying success. Will it be a creative risk? Obviously, yes, considering fans deemed it unworthy before directors were even hired and fired. TPM made a lot of money, while being not too much of a risk and both original and not original at the same time. Transformers movies aren’t risky financially, but are they original? Unicron as Planet Earth is kind of original, to be honest. Melding King Arthur into the Transformers mythos is risky, and terrible. But financially, Transformers films aren’t risky.
So risk and originality are independent of a film’s value or worth – that’s up to the individual. A good film is a good film. There are fans that need to identify with every film as its their own ego to discuss, argue, explain,and speculate over for years, and then there are fans that appreciate the film being well done and entertaining.
Thanks, although I agree that there’s nothing completely new under the sun, I surely appreciate the effort of some real artists (music, cinema, even architecture and photography ) to try and bring something new. The only risk-taking I see in the Han Solo movie is still doing it while their market reaserch has shown that most people do not want it. Risk would’ve been make the first of the movies (TFA) set in the Kotor era, or much further away from the OT. IN fact, everything they have put out has something to do with the OT (comics, movies, books, games, toys) That’s just being lazy, or too scared. I can not respect a scared artist. Never.
Was Lucas scared or bold when he decided Han should live?
Was Lucas scared or bold when he fired Kurtz and Kersh for going over-budget on ESB?
Was Lucasfilm scared or bold when agreeing that Luke Skywalker was not going to have one line in TFA?
Artists are inherently scared. They are often also businessmen (who are also usually compensating for things, lol).
I would guess that it will be the funniest star wars movie since Han is one of the most witty/comedic characters. That said, I hope to God above that it isn’t overboard with the jokes.
Yes. Which is why the director change might still actually be a good thing.
And I trust the Kasdan screenplay/script. Now that Ron Howard is in, the focus will be on sticking to the script.
you forget, Lando is quite funny too, in his own way. Plus Chewie… it should be a fun ride. I honestly don’t think it will be too serious.
I’m kinda hoping for a feel similar to this:
https://youtu.be/OKYWXIAJKNM
https://youtu.be/3XfWxeszXEI
I have by doubts Ehrenreich will be even half as convincing as River Phoenix as Young Ford.
I bought River totally as Young Indy, but Ehrenreich looks like he is cosplaying as Han Solo ( and those four inch platform heels ain’t helping him ).
I don’t know. When I saw Indy 3 (or I guess TLC we should say) in 1989/90 my 13 year old self couldn’t initially picture River Phoenix as Indiana Jones, but by the train chase part I accepted him because although he didn’t look at all like Indy, he acted like him. If this ehrenwhatsit guy can act like Solo, then maybe it won’t matter so much how he looks.
That said, River Phoenix was playing a kid version of the character we loved. The young Solo guy is playing him from a few years before ANH which may make it harder to accept on a visual level. Still, we’ll know next year- but I will predict that a large portion of star wars fans won’t accept him either way just because.
Hey if he acts like Han Solo/Indiana Jones… I’m fine with that. So long as it’s the same quality. They had plenty of humor while still being an awesome action adventure movie.
Exactly, if it has an Indiana Jones (1-3) level of humor it would be ok
I’m so pumped to see this.
I mean, it’s crazy, someone else is playing Han freaking Solo. Whether it’s good or bad, I’m really interested to see how they execute this. There’s a lot of pressure on them, but I’m sure we’ll get something fun.
I do hope it’s funny, witty and sarcastic humor would be true to Han’s character. I’m slightly worried this might feel like a parody film, but I’ll wait for the movie to come out before judging that.
From the looks of things, seems there will be lots of fan service, which I like. HYPE, HYPE, HYPE!
at this point, I have absolutely zero expectations for this film to be good. So, it stands that it has the chance to surprise me.
I’m not overwhelmingly optimistic myself,but I take comfort in the late great A. C. Crispin’s Han Solo trilogy always being just the origin story I wanted for Han.
Those books are great, indeed!
I think we knew all along that it is supposed to be funnier than the average Star Wars movie, but that doesn’t make it a “comedy”
There’s definitely both room and need for humour in SW movies,but I think some restraint is needed with the witticisms in a Han Solo movie. Han was always described as a mercenary and cynical type,but mostly we’ve seen him move away from that to become a hero of the rebellion. In an origin story we need to see the hard edged young man he allegedly was.
1/ Solo was always a source of humour in the films it has never detracted from the final product.
2/ It’s interesting that some reports suggested that the Lego bros got the boot from the project because they were making a slapstick comedy.
3/ We already have a Star Wars comedy, Spaceballs.
4/ How much humour is too much humour?
The is a difference between a funny movie and a comedy. TFA had plenty of funny elements. Han, BB-8, Rey and Finn’s interactions, Kylo’s temper. I would hardly call it a comedy.
As noted elsewhere, Han is a core source of comedy in the scenes he is in. He is a humorous character and it goes to say that a movie he stars in will have comedic elements assuming they stay true to his character.
I still have faith. Ron Howard is not a hack director. He has too much riding on this,
Indeed. It does say ‘one of the funnier star wars movies’. That’s not the same as saying it’s a comedy. If it’s only one of the funnier movies, which is the funniest star wars movie? Whichever one it is, it’s not a comedy- or even particularly funny really.
The movie has already been described as a western.
Now it’s being described as a comedy?
So… Blazing Saddles in space?
A Million Ways to Die in Space
But good though…hopefully.
I think Ron Howard knows how to make this Work.
Just have a look at madmartigan in Willow.
…for an example of how he just cannot properly handle this kind of tone. I mean, that character IS near literally Han Solo, and it’s pretty terrible.
Funny: Bad
Fast-paced, irreverent and sarcastic: Good
Here’s the problem as I see it.
Yes, Han Solo was always a prime source of humor in the OT, and in TFA. But he wasn’t a zany cut-up type of “comedian” character. Han’s humor was almost exclusively gallows humor, reacting with amusing cynical cracks in response to whatever danger they were in at the time.
And there was a lot more to him than that, of course. It wasn’t just an endless string of wisecracks – that would turn Star Wars into a bad “Friends” episode (a redundancy, I know.)
Part of my concern with this project all along has been that I felt there was a strong chance that it would lean too heavily on being a “comedy”, and everything that we’ve heard about what the Lego Movie guys tried to do to it just bears out those concerns. I’m sure that Ron Howard will rein things in somewhat, but clearly there was a reason why Lord and Miller felt that they had room to turn the film into another one of their cheap joke-fests. Sounds to me as though the script was perhaps already a bit too far down that path to begin with.
I guess we’ll find out next May.
SPOILER ALERT: I’ve got it on the inside tip that Han and his smuggling buddies go on a grand adventure and record it all with an ancient Corellian Super-8 camera they find in the Falcon. We live out the ups and downs with the young smugglers as they discover the meaning of life and get in touch with their own mortality forging lifelong friendships all while making a sweet home movie. We laugh as they make fools of would-be attackers and cry with them as life in a lawless galaxy sends them off on individual journeys of self discovery, longing for a more simple time when it was just Han, his pals and an old camera.
I would seriously watch that movie, lol.
i thought the other two had been sacked for making it too funny ?
Well there’s a difference between having humor and being TOO funny. There’s a line that must be walked.
It should be funny. It probably shouldn’t be purely a comedy.