Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Alden Ehrenreich Addresses Growing Support of the Film Among Fans

When Solo: A Star Wars Story landed in theaters back in 2018, it received a lackluster reception from both critics and audiences alike, with no one quite being sure why the film failed to resonate with audiences as strongly as other Star Wars projects. Even though there have been no reports of getting a sequel to that film or any sort of spinoff, support for the film has grown over the years, with star Alden Ehrenreich reflecting on the passion of fans hoping that the figure’s adventures could continue and how much he appreciates the support he receives from younger viewers.

“I have. I mean, you definitely have those kinds of things happening on the Internet over the last few years. And it feels like a shift,” Ehrenreich shared with Yahoo! Entertainment about whether he’s noticed the change in reactions to the film. “It’s also always kind of felt like that to me on the ground. I feel like there was a lot of, like, other stuff. Like, sort of more press stuff, but the actual feedback that I always got from it was really great… I just love talking to a kid who saw it — some little boy or little girl — who’s so excited. That’s the best, you know?”

Despite the overall enthusiasm for the franchise, one of the biggest setbacks the film faced was that Han Solo is one of the most beloved figures in sci-fi history, so to see any performer who wasn’t Harrison Ford take on the role was inherently offputting for some audiences. Add to that the fact that there were highly publicized behind-the-scenes challenges and that it was released only six months after the divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and it was the perfect storm of factors that all prevented the film from being fully accepted by audiences at the time of release.

Even with the vocal support of fans, director Ron Howard confirmed that the studio itself isn’t currently interested in exploring sequel opportunities.

“The only discussion that I’m aware of about a sequel for Solo is coming from the fans at this point,” Howard confirmed with NME last December. “I don’t think it’s a Lucasfilm priority, as I understand it.”

He added, “But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen so I would never say never — but I’m not aware of any concrete plans right now to extend the story or deal with that particular set of characters.”

Stay tuned for updates on the possible future of Han Solo in the galaxy far, far away.

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