Chris Miller

Just a couple of weeks back we learned that Woody Harrelson was in talks to join the young Han Solo movie, the next spinoff under the Star Wars Story banner. Today, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller officially confirmed the actor’s casting via Lucasfilm with a statement in which they praised Harrelson’s talents — both in front of the camera and behind a ping pong table. Hopefully those skills come in handy for the role of Han Solo’s mentor.

With Rogue One in theaters now (go go go!), fans are already turning their attention to the next round of Star Wars movies because pop culture isn’t about what’s new — it’s about what’s next. Lucky for you, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has a couple of brief updates on the next installments in the franchise: Episode VIII and the Han Solo spinoff. It’s just enough to keep you satisfied until Monday, probably, when someone else will undoubtedly say something interesting about the Star Wars franchise.

Lucasfilm’s latest State of the Star Wars Union address has arrived right on schedule (meaning: It’s been about a month since their last blanket franchise update), with studio president Kathleen Kennedy offering a few tidbits about their upcoming anthology projects. In addition to confirming the absence of a traditional opening crawl for Rogue One, Kennedy sheds some light on Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s approach for the Han Solo spinoff.

Lucasfilm is building a great roster of talent for its untitled Han Solo project, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller directing, Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover starring (as Han and Lando, respectively) and cinematographer Bradford Young — whose resumé includes stunning work on another recent sci-fi film: Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival. Those are some very bold names involved with the upcoming Star Wars spinoff, but just how subversive can we expect this movie to be when it’s tied to such a prominent franchise? According to Young, he’s been “pleasantly surprised” by the amount of creative freedom they have at Lucasfilm.

If nothing else, Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s upcoming Han Solo prequel / spinoff is going to look fantastic, as the duo have hired Bradford Young to serve as cinematographer. Okay, let’s be honest: With Lord and Miller on board and the incredibly charming Alden Ehrenreich in the lead role, it’s almost guaranteed that the next Star Wars anthology film will be pretty entertaining — but now we know it’s also going to look really, really, really good.

The latest Star Wars films have featured a much welcomed spike in diversity. Both The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are female led, and both feature diverse casts of actors ranging from various racial and ethnic backgrounds...

Lucasfilm has been tight-lipped on the upcoming Han Solo spinoff, but it looks like a ‘Star Wars’ fan favorite might show up in the new movie.

We only just (officially) met the new Han Solo, but we might be seeing him onscreen longer than expected.

We’ve known for months that Alden Ehrenreich was our new Han Solo, but the closing panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe brought the official announcement, plus a surprise appearance by the actor.

It's been an eventful weekend full of Star Wars news and reveals, but Lucasfilm has saved the biggest surprises for last. Sunday's Future Filmmakers panel closes out the three day-long Star Wars Celebration Europe with big announcements for Episode 8 and the Han Solo spinoff. While the panel won't be live streamed as the Rogue One panel was on Friday, ScreenCrush's Erin Whitney is in London to bring you all the latest updates straight from Celebration.