When it was announced that a young Han Solo movie was happening there was as much riotous cheering as there was collective groaning. Our geek-centric core is fueled by anything STAR WARS, but the black, cynical haze of judgement that clouds our mind is like, "Of course they wanna make a prequel! Why wouldn't they?!" Even though we have only been getting casting news (Donald Glover was recently cast as Lando Calrissian) everyone seems to be sure which way this movie is going to go, but according to the film's cinematographer, Bradford Young, you’ll have no idea what to expect thanks to directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
During an interview with Collider, Young was asked about working on the upcoming prequel starring Alden Ehrenreich as the legendary rogue, and had some very kind words not only about the movie, but about the two directors themselves:
“These cats are subversive, don’t let it fool you (laughs). They are prepared to say exactly what they wanna say and it’s complex, it’s layered, it’s smart, it’s visual, it’s dramatic, it’s funny, it’s uneasy, it’s unexpected. These cats are—I’m honored to have them in the list of directors I’ve worked with, that’s for sure.”
Young hasn’t been a big name in the game for very long, but has gained notoriety in a small amount of time doing tremendous work on movies like SELMA, AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR and this year’s ARRIVAL. His record shows he’s more akin to drama than massive sci-fi adventures, but apparently the folks at Disney and Lucasfilm have let the man run as wild and free as he pleases:
“We’re doing our own thing, that’s why we’re there. Phil and Chris are there to bring what they bring to their films, their very unique vision, their perspective on story and they asked me to come bring what I bring, and so just for that it won’t feel like any of the other films. And nobody at Lucasfilm is asking us to betray that, they’re saying ‘We’re in full support of what you do and we wanna make sure that we’re able to help you do it in the best way.’ It’s gonna feel like a Star Wars film, but we’re definitely gonna break some rules, and we’re encouraged to do that. Visually, narratively that’s a good mandate. They really are about, from what I’ve seen so far, supporting up and coming artists, artists who have a strong vision and voice and perspective, and they really wanna permeate the films with those kinds of voices. So it’s interesting, very interesting. Not what I thought it would be, that’s for sure. I’m pleasantly encouraged and pleasantly surprised.”
Young would seem like an odd choice to work on the Han Solo movie, as his affinity for natural lighting wouldn’t seem to mesh well with big-budget, heavily CG-driven affairs. But the way Young talks about this movie gives us reason to believe nothing about it will be expected. Lord, Miller and Young all seem to be making their own three-dimensional movie that ignores the confines of a safe, playful origin story, instead opting to deeply explore the character in the space of a fun, complex adventure. As long as we skip Solo's whole goth phase from high school, I'm totally okay with that approach.
The untitled Han Solo movie is set for May 25, 2018. with Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover.