Star Wars Bits: ‘Solo’ Arrives, Rian Johnson Answers Questions, The Cast on the Press Trail & More

Solo Black Mirror

In this edition of Star Wars Bits…

A standing ovation for Solo: A Star Wars Story
A lot more information about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
A very exciting expanded universe character becomes canon again
A secret tour around Lando Calrissian’s Millennium Falcon
And much much more…

Ron Howard receives a standing ovation. #Solo #Cannes2018 pic.twitter.com/75xUmhPnC8

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 15, 2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first Star Wars movie to debut at Cannes since Revenge of the Sith! And it was apparently very, very well received as the film garnered a standing ovation at the fancy film festival in the south of France earlier this month.

Artemis movie
Solo has been mired in controversy since director team Lord and Miller left early in production, and on the media trail for the film writer Jonathan Kasdan has been sharing how the split was “excruciating.” You can read the whole interview over at Indiewire.

It’s only a year until we can all visit the Galaxy Far, Far Away at Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge Star Wars parks, and this new YouTube video gives us a little insight into the expansive and immersive experience that’ll be coming to Anaheim and Florida in 2019!

There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?
Star Wars Celebration is coming to Chicago on April 11-15, 2019 https://t.co/ljogMn20Sk #SWCC #StarWars #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/7HEFnwQ2zr

— StarWars Celebration (@SW_Celebration) May 16, 2018

There have been rumors floating around about where 2019’s much anticipated Star Wars Celebration would be, but the official Twitter account has announced that this year it’ll be in Chicago! So you’ll have to get your tickets and get ready to fly to the Windy City if you wanna get a glimpse at all the secrets that Lucasfilm will be revealing!

Found this old whiteboard sketch I drew at Lucasfilm of the Death Star firing on Scarif and shattering the comm tower dish. ILM concept artists were amazed by my artistic prowess. pic.twitter.com/hKkQRwtuEN

— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) May 17, 2018

The writer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Gary Whitta, is always pretty funny on Twitter, but he outdid himself with this picture of a sketch that he did of the Death Star firing on Scarif from the last act of the bleak and beautiful Star Wars Story.

Alden Ehrenreich has been a total joy on the Solo: A Star Wars Story press circuit, and this great story about his first audition for Han Solo is no exception! “They have to be really secretive about Star Wars, so they can’t say ‘Oh, this is a scene with you and Chewbacca,’ and you have like a fake name,” he said. “Like, my fake name was Mike, and then they had me do a scene where I’m talking to a dog, and they had like a dog puppet in the audition, and then like a little dog sound effect.”

A fan favorite Expanded Universe character Ewok Princess Kneesaa has been brought back into canon via the fantastic Forces of Destiny cartoons. Luckily for the uninitiated, Star Wars Explained is on hand to give an introduction and comparison of her new canon version versus the one fans know and love from Legends.

Syfy Wire was on the scene at the Solo premiere, catching some great red carpet interviews with the cast. In a wonderful anecdote, Paul Bettany talked about the ridiculous secrecy on the sets of both Solo and Infinity War!

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge lightsabers

The long awaited Star Wars theme park is ever closer to becoming a reality, and as revealed on the Disney Parks website, Disney fans who head to the Galactic Nights event on Sunday, May 27 will be able to find out some of the secrets of Galaxy’s Edge at the exclusive panel that will be held at the evening events of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Lando is pansexual

Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian is one of the most anticipated parts of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and according to this interview with Cinema Blend, the musician / actor is fully aware of how culturally relevant his role in the franchise is. “It’s almost like full circle like I’m getting to be part of like, The Bible or something, you know what I’m saying? Like it feels like I get to be something original but also something as old as time,” Glover explained.