Paul Bettany Describes 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' as a Gangster Movie

After Ron Howard brought some changes to Solo: A Star Wars Story upon taking over the film, he [...]

After Ron Howard brought some changes to Solo: A Star Wars Story upon taking over the film, he invited actor Paul Bettany on board the production.

Even though the movie is shrouded in secrecy, the British actor is starting to open up about the plot of the movie, which is sounding more and more like a story befitting the sneakiest scoundrel in the galaxy.

"It's Han Solo's story, and of course his story would be a caper," said Bettany during an interview with Total Film. "On one level it's a gangster movie. That's really interesting, because it's within the canon but really different. It's f*cking Han Solo!"

In his excitement, he managed to slip in some details about his character who he previously described as a mob boss, reiterated here.

"Suddenly, I'm an intergalactic gangster and I'm walking down some stairs and an R2 unit goes by with some champagne, and I'm like... [drops jaw] I had that feeling that I hadn't had since I was first on a film set - I was a little boy doing the best job in the world," Bettany said.

We've still yet to see any footage for the film, which is due out in less than six months, but Bettany expressed the utmost confidence in Howard's directing ability.

"His staging ability is so fucking brilliant," Bettany said. "I think he went in and he was like a laser, working out what needed to be done when he looked at the footage. And then, as things moved on, everybody felt so secure with him. And they gave him more. He reshot a lot more than was originally intended."

That last remark is a bit of an understatement, considering Howard shot for nearly a month beyond the original production schedule. He came on the production with three shoots of principal photography left. That, combined with the reshoots, added up to almost the same amount of time as ousted directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller spent on the franchise.

But now that the film is in the can and the long process of post-production is underway, we're starting to hear more about the upcoming movie.

Maybe we'll finally get our first look at Alden Ehrenreich as the title character soon…

Solo: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to premiere in theaters on May 25, 2018.

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