'Han Solo' Movie More Like 'Star Wars' Biopic, Covers 6 Years

Until now, there was always the possibility that the Han Solo movie due out in 2018 was less Han Solo: A Star Wars Story and more A Star Wars Story featuring Han Solo. But Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed to a University of Southern California audience that the Han Solo movie is more of a biopic than a contained plot, charting Han Solo’s life across six years.

“We’re actually shooting now an origin story of Han Solo, which will come out in 2018, that picks up with Han Solo when he was 18 years old and takes him through when he was 24,” Iger said. “There are a few significant things that happen in Han Solo’s life, like acquiring a certain vehicle and meeting a certain Wookiee that will happen in this film. But you will also discover how he got his name.”

The backbone of every great movie plot is learning how a guy got his stuff and met his friends.

If that all sounds disappointingly checklist-y, like waiting for for someone to say “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” in The Force Awakens, except for all eternity, there’s still hope for the Han Solo movie. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have made more with less in movies like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. And maybe new characters played by Woody Harrelson (some guy named Beckett), Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Michael K. Williams and Phoebe Waller-Bridge can give a Han Solo movie something to do beyond plugging every gap in Star Wars continuity with well-chewed fan service.

We’ll see when the Han Solo movie, which is definitely definitely about Han Solo, comes out May 25, 2018.