The bowcaster has been passed
One Chewie writes a touching letter to another, Anthony Ingruber throws shade and JJ Abrams is back in today’s Star Wars news round-up.
The Young Han Solo Chronicles
Principal photography has begun on the untitled Young Han Solo movie, and you know what that means — we got our first pic of the cast as they crammed into the Millennium Falcon with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, confirming a few casting rumours in the process.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and Thandie Newton (Westworld) are officially in the film, though their roles have yet to be announced (Waller-Bridge is rumoured to be playing a droid, while Newton is probably trying to avoid being typecast as a droid).
But the big news, for me, is that Finnish basketball player Joonas Suotamo is taking over the role of Chewbacca, after being credited as Peter Mayhew’s body double in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Barring a possible return in Episode IX, this would seem to point towards Peter Mayhew’s retirement from the role (although Mayhew himself is yet to comment).
Either way, Suotamo has big shoes to fill, and he paid tribute to his predecessor with this touching tweet.
I'm ecstatic. It's official. And here is my statement to this terrific piece of news https://t.co/a1DPsNDb2P pic.twitter.com/r4EUZ2r17V
— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) February 21, 2017
Despite being listed as part of the cast in Lucasfilm’s press release, Thandie Newton is nowhere to be seen in the photo, leading her to tweet this convincing explanation.
I'm the huge *invisible* SheBeast next to Chewbacca - BOOM! XT A new Star Wars Story begins. https://t.co/9zQqMZ1AOL pic.twitter.com/vCb6oRk7gf
— Thandie Newton (@thandienewton) February 21, 2017
Finally, actor Anthony Ingruber decided to tweet some very subtle shade.
Just two hours after the cast pic was released, Ingruber — once a popular choice with fans for the role of the young Han Solo because of his physical resemblance to Harrison Ford, despite his limited acting experience — tweeted this random photo of himself, seemingly apropos of nothing.
— Anthony Ingruber (@AnthonyIngruber) February 21, 2017
Funnily enough, this is probably the least like Harrison Ford that Ingruber has ever looked, so I’m not sure he achieved whatever he was trying to achieve here.
The untitled Han Solo movie will be released on May 25, 2018, which comes as something of a surprise – Disney seemed to be looking to make Star Wars a Christmas tradition, but keeping this film in its May slot puts the kibosh on that idea.
I know it’s only been a couple of years, but it’s just not going to feel like Christmas without Star Wars…
It’s a trap
Believe it or not, the Han Solo announcement wasn’t the only news out of the Lucasfilm camp today. They also released a clip for this week’s episode of Rebels, which is called Through Imperial Eyes.
The clip, dubbed ‘Fulcrum Trap’, sees the return of Clone Wars favourite Admiral Yularen (once again voiced by Tom Kane) – only now, he’s a Colonel, and he’s going to help Thrawn spring a trap for Fulcrum, the elusive Rebel spy in the Imperial ranks.
An awkward situation, to be sure, considering Fulcrum is standing right there, guys.
Castle Waiting
Do you ever find yourself wondering what JJ Abrams is up to these days? Well, wonder no more, because more details have been released about his new show, Castle Rock.
The series will see Abrams reteam with his 11.22.63 collaborator Stephen King for what streaming service Hulu is calling “a psychological horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse”.
The show will take place in the fictional Maine town of Castle Rock, which has previously appeared in Cujo, The Dark Half, IT, Needful Things, The Body and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and will “brush up against” King’s most iconic stories.
Castle Rock will run for 10 episodes, but the cast and the premiere date have yet to be announced.
Force Material is a podcast exploring the secrets and source material of Star Wars with hosts Rohan Williams and Baz McAlister. Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Stitcher, PlayerFM and Castro; stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; and support the show by browsing our range of shirts, hoodies, kids apparel, mugs and more at TeePublic.
