While there may not be any new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailers, has that slowed down the marketing machine in the slightest? Hardly. There has already been new footage in Japanese trailer and a TV spot; plus many of the film's stars are hitting the press tour. They may not be spreading any key plot points, thankfully, there's still plenty of news about the future of Star Wars from some of the franchise's key components.
EW's latest issue is basically one giant wet kiss to Star Wars fans, featuring a bunch of covers and an interview with Harrison Ford, who plays this guy named Han Solo. You might have heard of him? Ford talks about revisiting the rogue smuggler again after all these years, and says that Han is still the smart-ass he always was, just a more mature smart-ass.
“He does not aspire to the position of Obi-‘Ben’ Kenobi, nor do I aspire to be some New Age Alec Guinness. His development is consistent with the character, and there are emotional elements which have occasioned his growth....We spend a lot more time [in the movie] on his failure to master basic skills, like accounting, and accounting for his own behavior. There’s a lot of the rogue still left in Solo. Some things don’t change.”
Ford also offers a word of advice to whoever takes up the mantle of a young Han in the upcoming spinoff that will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller...
“I would say, ‘Talk to your director. Watch the movies. And welcome aboard. Make it your own.’”
That film opens on May 25th 2018, and will be co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, a franchise staple who wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and co-wrote The Force Awakens. If this latest trilogy is about anything it's the next generation, and Kasdan says he's ready to pass the torch once he's finished with the Han Solo movie. He told a German newspaper that he's done "four 'Star Wars' movies. That’s more than enough", and that he's ready "to work as a director again.”
So it could be the last go 'round for Kasdan, and if some of the rumors about Solo are true it could be the last hurrah for Ford, as well. We'll find out soon enough. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18th.
