Star Wars: Ron Howard Confirms No Current Plans for Solo Sequel

Even before Solo: A Star Wars Story landed in theaters, fans were already theorizing about what its follow-up adventures could be, and while the film earned relatively positive responses from fans and critics, it remains the lowest-grossing entry into the live-action Star Wars franchise, with director Ron Howard confirming that there currently aren't any plans for a sequel. The filmmaker did note the excitement he feels at the film earning a following among fans now that the pressure to deliver a major financial earner has subsided, though it would seem there is little hope for seeing Solo return to the big screen for more adventures.

"Well, there's no sequel planned now and it's amazing to be a part of a Star Wars movie that seems to be a kind of underground hit, which is not what you'd expect, but that's been an odd, strange journey for that movie," Howard revealed to Radio Andy on SiriusXM.

As is the nature of Star Wars and its passionate fandom, virtually every week since Solo's debut has seen a number of rumors emerge about how it could continue. Understandably, Lucasfilm likely hoped to continue the character's adventures through feature films, but its low box office numbers and the next Star Wars film to hit theaters, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, earning some of the worst critical reviews of the franchise, it seems likely that the studio wants to reevaluate their entire outlook with legacy characters.

Luckily, there's plenty more Star Wars for fans to look out for, as The Mandalorian has proven a massive hit with fans and critics alike, even earning itself 15 Emmy Award nominations earlier this week. With that series getting a second and likely a third season, as well as a handful of other live-action series coming to Disney+, some of the prevailing theories about the future of Solo is that Alden Ehrenreich could potentially reprise his role in a series, or that some of the new characters from the film could be getting their own spinoff adventures.

Solo was originally directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who parted ways with the production before principal photography had wrapped, resulting in Howard coming in to complete the film. The filmmaker also set the record straight about reports that he was offered the opportunity to direct Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

"It wasn't quite that clear and concrete and there was no script, but it was kind of a casual conversation where I was mixing something up at Skywalker Ranch and [George Lucas] said, 'Ya know, I think technology has just about reached the point where I can do the next three, would you want to do one? I'd like to get Steven [Spielberg], maybe Bob Zemeckis,'" Howard recalled. "Ultimately, I said the same thing to George that I think Bob Z. and Steven said, which was, 'You should do this yourself, George.' And that's ultimately what he did. I don't want to make too much of that but I was flattered he thought about it but, at that time, just launching Imagine Entertainment and really involved in what I was doing with Brian Grazer, what we're continuing to do with the company."

Interestingly, while Howard himself has yet to return to the franchise since Solo, his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard directed an episode of the first season of The Mandalorian.

Stay tuned for details on the future of Han Solo.

Are you disappointed that we won't be getting a Solo sequel? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!