Why 'Solo' Was in the Works Before Disney Purchased Lucasfilm

The new Han Solo spinoff movie is the fourth Star Wars movie to come out since Lucasfilm was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, but it was in the works long before the deal was official.

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote or co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens, revealed that he was brought on to pen Solo: A Star Wars Story when George Lucas was still calling the shots. He and his writing partner and son Jonathan Kasdan spoke with ComicBook.com recently, revealing why the project was important to Lucasfilm.

"George and [Kathleen Kennedy] had decided that, as the company went on without George, and Kathy would run it, that part of what they were going to do was continue the Star Wars movies, and they had an idea for a bunch of 'em," Lawrence said. "When they called me up there, I said, 'I don't know if I'm up for a fourth Star Wars movie,' and they said, 'Well, what if it was Han?'

"And I said, 'Well, I love Han,' and they sort of hit my button, you know? I was told that I could do anything I wanted with it, and that was kind of irresistible. It took off from there."

While Lawrence was toiling away on the Han Solo spinoff, Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm was finalized and J.J. Abrams was hired to direct what would become Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The movie would end up becoming Harrison Ford's sendoff from the franchise, and Kasdan was recruited to pitch in with that script.

"I was also helping with [Episode VII], and then it turned out I was writing VII with JJ. So that put off this Han movie," Kasdan said. "When I came back to it, I didn't think I could do it. I was just burned out on Star Wars, but Jon had helped us on Force Awakens, and I said, "You know, the way I could do this is with Jon," and it turned out to save everything because he had the energy, he had the ideas, he had the skills to make it great."

Jonathan and Lawrence are proud of the film they have created, and it seems like they could team up for a future film in this potential franchise.

But of course, that's up to how the fans respond when Solo: A Star Wars Story premieres in theaters on May 25th.

Are you excited for the Han Solo spinoff? Let us know what you think in the comments!