‘Star Wars: Han Solo’ Spin-off Begins Production in January 2017 at Pinewood Studios in London; Writer Explains Origin Story

‘Star Wars: Han Solo’ is scheduled to begin production in January 2017 in London. Writer Lawrence Kasdan explained that Han Solo’s spin-off film will be an origin story with a unique spin.

According to Den of Geek, the upcoming standalone film about a young Han Solo is set to begin shooting in January at Pinewood Studios in London. Co-writer Lawrence Kasdan said, “You know, Chris Miller and Phil Lord are going to direct it… They’re great, funny and imaginative and we’ve had a great time together… My son [Jon] and I wrote the script and Chris and Phil are working on it and they’re about to move to London to start shooting in January. And it should be fun.”

Kasdan also helped pen the script for preceding films including ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘Return Of The Jedi’, and ‘The Force Awakens’. Miller and Lord will be helming the upcoming film. The two are best known for their work on the animated films ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘The LEGO Movie’ as well as the reboot of ’21 Jump Street’.

When asked about the next two films ‘Episode VIII’ and ‘Episode IX’ to be directed by Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow, respectively, Kasdan could only say that he had little information. According to Scified, he said, “[Star Wars Episode 8 Director] Rian [Johnson] is a friend of mine. I’m getting to know Colin Trevorrow, who is going to direct Episode 9, so I feel very involved with it.”

The upcoming solo film stars Alden Ehrenreich of ‘Hail! Caesar’ fame in the titular role as the young Han Solo. It is produced by Kathleen Kennedy with Will Alegra co-producing and Jason D. McGatlin and Lawrence Kasdan executive producing. The prequel film is part of Disney’s cinematic expansion of the highly popular ‘Star Wars’ franchise and is set to follow the origin story of Han Solo, most famously played by Harrison Ford in previous films.

Kasdan revealed in another interview with Empire that the spin-off will feature a unique take on Han Solo’s background story. He said, “It won’t be the thing you’re worried about… It will not be like ‘here’s where he was born and this is how he was raised.’ I think what it will be is ‘what was he like ten years earlier?’ Maybe a little earlier, you’ll get a glimpse.”

‘Star Wars: Han Solo’ is part of the planned anthology of films that would expand the space opera franchise by Lucasfilms. The first spin-off, entitled ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’, is scheduled to premiere in theaters on December 17, 2016. It is directed by Garth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, and Mads Mikkelsen.

The most recent release, J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens’, became the highest-grossing ‘Star Wars’ film in the franchise’s history. It earned $2.1 billion worldwide against a production budget of $245 million.