SOLO Actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge Discusses the Impact of the Film’s Director Change

 

A lot of films encounter at least some level of drama throughout their production process, but no film productions garner attention like a Star Wars film. A franchise built on legacy and the need to deliver, high expectations are pinned upon Star Wars films by its fan-base, and rightly so. Actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge spoke briefly about the film, specifically the transition to Ron Howard and its handling by all involved. We also touch on the widespread rumors as to what character she is playing, and when we should expect a teaser/trailer to finally arrive!

 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who reportedly plays a CGI-based role in Solo: A Star Wars Story, spoke with IGN about the film, giving her take on the reported “drama” from last year’s director change and how things have gone since then. From IGN:

“The handover there was done with such warmth and generosity from everybody, and Ron’s just a master at his craft; he’s going to make a beautiful film out of it,” she said of the transition between directors. “You just really trust him and it was just really exciting to work with him. I mean, it would’ve been exciting to just pass him in a corridor, let alone for him to be parachuted in to the film you’re working on.”

When asked how much of her role was reshot compared to Lord and Miller’s version of the film, Waller-Bridge said, “We’d done some really, really great stuff with Chris and Phil that everyone was really thrilled with, and I think a lot of that will still be in it.”

We don’t expect an actor to publicly slam a director, so the quotes aren’t shocking, but for a movie of this magnitude that has undergone such a public shake up, it never hurts to hear this sentiment from someone in the film.

 

WHO IS SHE PLAYING?

Many recent, but unconfirmed reports, are pointing at the droid revealed in leaked toy lines called DD-BD as the character Bridge is playing.

At face value (from what we are used to anyway), this droid doesn’t look like the type of droid that would speak English, but moreso beep and chirp like an astromech droid similar to R2-D2 or Chopper. It would be interesting to see a droid like this speaking English. Perhaps we’ll get a confirmation of that soon in the upcoming trailer.

 

WHEN WILL WE SEE FOOTAGE FROM SOLO?

When asked about a trailer for Solo on Twitter, Ron Howard responded that we will see something soon now that The Last Jedi has had its stage!

 

 

A lot of speculation has pointed to one surfacing this month, so we imagine we will finally get our first look at footage of the film within these next two weeks.

 

Solo: A Star Wars Story will open in theaters on May 25th, just a little over four months away! The film has an incredibly talented cast, an Oscar winning director in Ron Howard, and a legendary writer in the eyes of Star Wars fans, Lawrence Kasdan, who has stated this will be his final contribution to the franchise. With production drama long in the rear view, it is now time for Solo to stake its claim in the Star Wars galaxy.

 

SOURCE for Waller-Bridge interview: IGN

 

You can find me on Twitter @JohnnyHoey talking a lot about our favorite scoundrel over the next four months!

 

“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”

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John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast

"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

John Hoey

John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

99 thoughts on “SOLO Actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge Discusses the Impact of the Film’s Director Change

  • January 15, 2018 at 10:35 pm
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    Why mo-cap something that has no arms and face, heck, no expression?

    • January 16, 2018 at 12:42 am
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      could be interesting. connecting facial expressions to mechanical properties.

    • January 16, 2018 at 3:16 pm
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      Holographic user interface?

  • January 16, 2018 at 12:40 am
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    She’s playing Thrawn who’s actually Snoke Who’s actually Plagueis whos actually a gonk droid.

      • January 16, 2018 at 1:10 am
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        Now that would be the twist of the century!

    • January 16, 2018 at 7:26 pm
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      No Jar Jar love?

    • January 16, 2018 at 7:26 pm
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      No Jar Jar love?

  • January 16, 2018 at 12:44 am
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    I guess the trailer isn’t coming today.

    • January 16, 2018 at 12:45 am
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      I find your lack of faith disturbing! XD

      • January 16, 2018 at 10:13 pm
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        There were a handful of outlets reporting that it would drop yesterday. I know specifically that NME reported that.

  • January 16, 2018 at 12:49 am
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    Isn’t anyone going to chime in with the unrelated opinion that Rian Johnson is worse than Bin Laden and that The Last Jedi was an absolute failure because it didn’t make a trillion dollars?

    • January 16, 2018 at 1:13 am
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      Don’t start…..

      • January 16, 2018 at 1:17 am
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        Fair enough. I’m kind of hyped about this movie now. I have no idea what the story is, have seen almost nothing about it, and have no preconceived notions. I absolutely loved The Last Jedi so for me this is like bonus Star Wars that’s sneaking up really fast.

    • January 16, 2018 at 5:04 am
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      Who said that?

    • January 16, 2018 at 7:25 pm
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      Hitler was worse then Bin Laden.
      Then there’s some fellow called Donald Trump who provides lots of entertainment for those of us outside the US.

  • January 16, 2018 at 1:02 am
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    I have faith in Ron Howard for this movie. I just question why KK picked the LEGO guys in the first place?

    • January 16, 2018 at 1:14 am
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      For the same reason she picked Rian Johnson.

    • January 16, 2018 at 1:14 am
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      For the same reason she picked Rian Johnson.

      • January 16, 2018 at 6:41 am
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        I think she’s too infatuated with trying to seek out young indie-style writer/directors. In a way, she wants to honor the history of Star Wars when George himself was a young indie writer/director.

        But Star Wars is not a small indie movie. It’s a blockbuster franchise brand. It cannot be a finishing school to help indie directors move into the big leagues. Ridley Scott said this right.

        Now, I know people are going to make comparisons to the Marvel CU — but the MCU is heavily controlled by Kevin Feige. He’s essentially the showrunner for a giant TV series that plays out as movies. Kennedy is no Feige because she doesn’t want to have that much creative oversight and control over Star Wars.

        And these two reasons above are why there have been problems. And there will continue to be unless Kennedy changes course.

        • January 16, 2018 at 9:30 am
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          L&M have a distinct voice as a directing team, but they’re hardly ‘indie-style directors’. They’ve almost exclusively made films for large studios based on existing IPs, and they’ve all been both critical and financial successes. If we HAVE to have a Han Solo movie, I still think they were PERFECT for it.

          • January 16, 2018 at 12:46 pm
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            Okay, I stand corrected on this one I will admit. In this case, I think KK saw that L&M’s tone just wasn’t working out as she envisioned, and it was upsetting Kasdan and son Jake (who has directed features, though indie productions).

            Ultimately, I stand by my point that KK needs to just drop it recruiting indie and quirky directors to both write and direct. That’s just too much creative power to hand over for Star Wars, and it sounds like she didn’t do much oversight at the start of RO and Solo.

            They need to put in a Feige-like creative lead, who knows Star Wars in and out, and who can executive produce alongside KK. It probably should have been JJ for the entirety of this ST. (Yes, he is credited on TLJ, but he didn’t really do anything.) At this point, I guess it doesn’t matter since JJ is in charge of IX now.

          • January 16, 2018 at 6:50 pm
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            I totally agree with you as you have to find a Director that can appeal to the mainstream for a Blockbuster. Even a guy like Tim Burton’s (who directed Batman 89 and 92) style was offputting to the general public.
            It’s no different then a Comedian like Jerry Seinfeld or Ray Romano having a show on Traditonal TV where their humor resonates with everyone. Then there are shows like ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, or ‘Louie’ where their humor is not for everyone, so they are on FX.
            Rian Johnson was the perfect guy to do a Standalone SW movie as he wanted to take some risks and change things up. JJ was more suited for a Blockbuster because he appeals more to the masses. Hence why TFA was more beloved and TLJ is more divisive.

    • January 16, 2018 at 3:28 am
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      Because they have a proven track record of steering films that sound like terrible, terrible ideas, working under powerful stakeholders, and turning in both audience and critic pleasing, entertaining movies that have all proven to have staying power? Honestly, look at their track record – all the way back to Clone High – light tone but they don’t piss all over the worlds they build, and they balance humor and heart deftly, I can’t see THOSE guys making ‘Ace Ventura in Space’.

    • January 16, 2018 at 10:11 am
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      Actually I figured a very lame logic existed behind the hiring of all SW directors: Lord and Miller did already do a film focusing on a duo of friends, edwards had monster movies (He would then do great At-At sequences), Johnson had telekinesis in Looper, Trevorrow was a spielberg protegé, as well as Abrams (but the latt also easter egged star wars in every film he did).
      I don’t want the criteria to be as stupid as this list suggests, but it often seemed the sole reason to me.

      • January 16, 2018 at 3:09 pm
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        That’s…not exactly it.

        • January 16, 2018 at 3:12 pm
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          Well, from the outside it certainly feels so, or felt to me when I noticed this;

          • January 16, 2018 at 3:54 pm
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            You are being too literal I think. It’s more the pitch, the discussion, what they have in mind for the movie when they meet, etc…

          • January 17, 2018 at 12:58 am
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            I’m certain it’s how you say, but that’s what can come to my mind when seeing Rian Johnson having been chosen to do VIII, a guy doing quite dark and R-rated films (Bricks, Looper) or Lord and Miller, who never did action sci-fi, but just did a CG cartoon about legos, or Gareth Edwards, who did two monster movies (Monsters was really inventive, for sure, but was pretty indipendent and low-budget; Godzilla wasn’t THAT good); I mean I personally would have looked for more ‘estabilished’ filmmakers; or some who already worked on high-tech sci-fi films, with some success, e.g. Kosinski (I know, both his Tron: Legacy and Oblivion films are not that acclaimed critically, but Tron: Legacy was certainly better than the original film, or at least was a sequel that made logical sense next to the original); Abrams was a quite logical choice, having done Star Trek and Into Darkness and being experienced on such kind of films, but Johnson’s biggest film didn’t have more than a speeder as VFX, and wasn’t that phenomenal either (don’t get me wrong, I did like TLJ very much, but I accept it has flaws, and I am just noting that choosing Johnson was a very risky move); Still, I hope they will get some of the most interesting directors for the future installments, not necessarily because they’re young and new; e.g. a small-scoped spin-off directed by Del Toro would be certainly interesting to see.

          • January 17, 2018 at 3:45 pm
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            I mean, before Star Wars, Lucas had just done THX and American Graffiti.

          • January 17, 2018 at 6:12 pm
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            That is an argument in favor, true, but it was a different film industry at the time.

          • January 17, 2018 at 6:40 pm
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            If anything, it’s easier for someone to make a big budget movie nowadays.

            Disney has this giant machine that makes sure everything is taken care of.

            Joss Whedon had never directed ANYTHING on the scale of the Avengers.

            The guys who directed Winter Soldier, Civil War and the next two Avengers movies were known for directing episodes Community, a TV show with low production values in comparison.

            This is pretty common these days and doesn’t lead to disasters.

          • January 17, 2018 at 7:04 pm
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            Ok, you got me.

  • January 16, 2018 at 4:18 am
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    After reading her say a lot of what she did with the original directors will likely still be in the movie, I scroll down to see she is playing a gonk-style droid. I bet her screen time is under 20 seconds.

  • January 16, 2018 at 4:18 am
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    After reading her say a lot of what she did with the original directors will likely still be in the movie, I scroll down to see she is playing a gonk-style droid. I bet her screen time is under 20 seconds.

  • January 16, 2018 at 5:03 am
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    “We’d done some really, really great stuff with Chris and Phil that everyone was really thrilled with, and I think a lot of that will still be in it.”

    That comment seems to run counter to the rumors that there was applause when Lord & Miller left.

    • January 16, 2018 at 9:24 am
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      We’re now well into an established cycle of HS news:
      .
      1) L&M were awful and everything was reshot
      2) L&M just weren’t producing what LFL wanted, but some of it was useable
      3) L&M were great, and there’s just some tweaking that Howard is doing to the bulk of the movie, which will likely be L&M’s stuff.
      .
      Rinse aaaaand repeat. Too bad the new regime is so terrified of letting anyone peak behind the curtain on their productions – however it turns out, this thing sounds like it’s been an absolute shit-show from the very start of preproduction. Getting the full scoop on this and R1 in particular would be a fascinating read.

      • January 16, 2018 at 2:17 pm
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        The important thing is to judge it on all the extraneous stuff before actually seeing it.

        • January 16, 2018 at 6:57 pm
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          DERRR HERRRR HERP A HYUCK HYUCK HYCUK!
          Sure, because that’s exactly what I said after all. Congratulations, you broke the code.

          • January 16, 2018 at 7:46 pm
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            Are you having a stroke?

      • January 16, 2018 at 5:28 pm
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        KK has explicitly said, “no, there will never be any behind the scenes documentation, novels,ect. for these films”

        And why not, all you have to do is put Star Wars on the box and people will buy it. period.

        and if you dont, they send Pablo to start a twitter feud with you. WALLETS OUT NOW

        • January 16, 2018 at 6:30 pm
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          Never trust a Hollywood mouthpiece. They lie. They ALWAYS lie. Surprises are profitable, so they’ll lie to maintain that illusion of shock. Just look at Star Trek Into Darkness: “Benny Cumberbatch is Khan, isn’t he?” “N-NO!! He’s a new character!!!” *film happens* “HA! Gotcha! It WAS Khan!!” “…”

        • January 16, 2018 at 6:56 pm
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          I didn’t think she had ever said that, I’ve just inferred it from the last-minute cancellation of the Rinzler TFA book, and the near complete radio silence on the films since.

      • January 16, 2018 at 6:28 pm
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        I really hope a good movie comes out of this. I want a success story to come from adversity. Otherwise it’ll just wreck careers all around, and that would be awful. :c

        • January 16, 2018 at 7:01 pm
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          Oh, for sure, I would love this to end up being a fun entry into the series, and I’ll give it a fair shake. I’m not super confident however, given the problem of trying to replace Harrison Ford, given the sheer volume of stuff from the OT we already know they’re going to try and cram into the movie, and given the decision to drop L&M in favor of a director who (mostly) produces bland, serviceable movies with no real identity.

          • January 16, 2018 at 10:42 pm
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            From the beginning, I’ve been open to (and actively excited for) a new actor playing Han. We’ll know from the trailer if my optimism was valid or not.

      • January 16, 2018 at 7:42 pm
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        Yeah, can’t wait for the NDAs to expire. Interviewing all of Disney/Lucasfilm’d dejected directors would make a great documentary.

    • January 16, 2018 at 12:53 pm
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      The crew applauded not because they were glad L&M were replaced, but that they were resuming work. People in the production clarified this.

      • January 16, 2018 at 7:43 pm
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        Okay. I misunderstood then. Thanks for the clarification.

  • January 16, 2018 at 5:24 am
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    If Lucasfilm continues to dodge revealing anything from “Solo”, I’m afraid that I’m simply gonna have to skip ahead and drop this exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Rian Johnson’s pitch for his upcomming Star Wars trilogy…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7RgN9ijwE4

    • January 16, 2018 at 8:05 pm
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      I don’t think they’re dodging. From my perspective, it would make sense to focus marketing on TLJ until it’s finished with its run before beginning marketing on the Solo movie.

      • January 16, 2018 at 8:11 pm
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        Oh, I know — they’re sorta following the usual pattern.

        But little Rian is still adorable.

  • January 16, 2018 at 6:00 am
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    I can’t wait to find out who her character’s parents are!

    • January 16, 2018 at 6:19 am
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      Let the past die.

      • January 16, 2018 at 11:01 am
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        Follow Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy and just shoot the past in the back of the head execution style.

        #OneAndDone
        #TheLastJediSucks

        • January 16, 2018 at 3:08 pm
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          I see you missed the point of the movie.

        • January 17, 2018 at 1:05 am
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          Let the hate flooooow through you!! 😉

    • January 16, 2018 at 5:24 pm
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      after the retcon, they will tell us everything

    • January 16, 2018 at 7:15 pm
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      Apple

    • January 17, 2018 at 4:33 pm
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      Mickey and Minnie.

  • January 16, 2018 at 7:28 am
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    Can’t they talk about something else like oh maybe the actual movie?!

  • January 16, 2018 at 9:11 am
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    I don’t know if this has already been mentioned or confirmed, but DD-BD might be an homage to Buck Rogers. With DD for Defense Directorate. And BD for the sound that the robot Twiki is always making. (BIDI BIDI BIDI BIDI) I don’t know. Just a guess.
    https://youtu.be/dB5YlXhpi0g

  • January 16, 2018 at 11:09 am
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    I noticed on IMDB that the (first billed) lead is Emilia Clarke (?) not even the “Solo” in Han Solo… does not affirm my faith what so ever.

    • January 16, 2018 at 2:07 pm
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      IMDB’s billing order isn’t always correct. Especially this early.

    • January 16, 2018 at 2:07 pm
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      IMDB’s billing order isn’t always correct. Especially this early.

    • January 16, 2018 at 3:07 pm
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      Your comment does not affirm my faith in your knowledge.

      IMDB is a user-made website. It’s not official in anyway. It means literally NOTHING.

      • January 16, 2018 at 7:14 pm
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        That’s the genysis of a good joke.

        But enough before they drag-on too long 🙂

      • January 16, 2018 at 8:23 pm
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        Or she’s the most famous actor? I personally found it appalling how TFA had Mark Hammill second billing before Daisy Ridley or John Boyega in the end credits.

  • January 16, 2018 at 1:02 pm
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    Maybe they’re simply taking her voice and heavily altering it so it’s all R2/BB-8 like beeps, boops and such. And her physical expressions were recorded to be used as reference “inspiration” for the CG animators.

    All along we’ve been imagining a protocol droid or droid like K-2SO, but maybe all she’s done are goofy voice-sounds for an R2 or Gonk-like droid.

    This could explain why she sounds fairly confident most of her work when L&M were directing remains. Because it’s the CG department’s work anyway.

    On the other hand, are we fairly certain she’s playing DD-BD? Maybe it’s the Kessel Droid she’s playing which is a humanoid form, and this character gets more involved with Han and his gang during the Kessel Run event.

    • January 16, 2018 at 5:56 pm
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      “Many recent, but unconfirmed reports, are pointing at the droid revealed in leaked toy lines called DD-BD as the character Bridge is playing.”

  • January 16, 2018 at 5:29 pm
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    Still no Trailer?

  • January 16, 2018 at 6:31 pm
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    Please be good. Please be good. Please be good.

  • January 16, 2018 at 8:18 pm
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    Loved the following (link at bottom):

    “We’ve waited long enough, this movie comes out in a few months and we have nothing, we need something, I still have no excitement for this movie simply because I have no idea what this movie is about exactly, we have been patient with Disney and Star Wars and we deserve something!!”

    Almost sounds like my 6 year old!! lmao

    https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/905559/Star-Wars-Han-Solo-movie-trailer-DELAYED-Superbowl-release-date

    • January 17, 2018 at 11:49 pm
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      so the only real clip we’ve seen is of a garbage can? Is Ron Howard the real troll king?

      • January 18, 2018 at 8:58 am
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        Maybe by not releasing a trailer/teaser they’ve actually created an interest in the film. The quote from the fan suggests that to be true, for on the one hand he moans he has no interest in a Solo film and at the end is saying he deserves something…..

  • January 16, 2018 at 9:11 pm
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    Half the folks here probably have their negative review of the movie already written.

      • January 17, 2018 at 2:15 pm
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        You can do better than that.

  • January 17, 2018 at 5:13 pm
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    who cares what Steve Bannon has to say, I cant wait till someone spills the beans on whats going on behind the scenes here

  • January 17, 2018 at 11:48 pm
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    that lego piece has a slight resemblance to VINcent or old BOB

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