Update: Disney is apparently saying the artwork is not official, but we'll see if that sticks.
With THE LAST JEDI currently tearing up the box office, folks are certainly getting their fill of that "new Star Wars smell" and going back for seconds and thirds. Soon, however, the question of when they can get their next mainline shot of Star Wars will be in the air and that hit is coming in the form of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, which is still on track for a summer 2018 release, the fastest Star Wars follow-on entry to hit theaters yet. With a troubled production ousting original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and replacing them with seasoned vet Ron Howard there's been a heap of speculation about the film thus far, up to and including a recent "inside source" saying that Disney is preparing for the film to bomb.
Today, however, we have some information culled from the preview issue of Empire that sheds some light on the tone and story of SOLO. In a quote from screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (from an LA Times interview in 2015) it restates: "You have to imagine him in his early twenties," said Kasdan. "What was he like before he hardened up? Before he pot on this cynical coat? What got him there?"
Additionally, the magazine speculates some other details, saying: "It's part of Solo lore that, as a young gifted pilot, he studied at the Imperial Academy at Carida. Solo is kicked out of the Academy for rescuing Chewbacca from an Imperial Officer, and thus one of cinema's great friendships was formed. Some variation on this is likely in Solo."
The magazine also speculates that Ron Howard's "Spicey" tweet (above) implies "a nod to the spice mines of Kessel, a galactic prison where inmates mine a precious spice. It also suggests the Kessel Run, the hyperspace route used by smugglers, will play a part." To note, these "details" aren't exactly official, so lets not go taking this all at face value just yet. There's also this new bit of art that just popped up (see below) that may or may not be official (although obviously from an international source), but it sure looks legit. Whether or not that's a good thing, I'll let you decide. Either way, it's rather odd that we haven't seen anything official, be it a trailer or art poster yet, but then again, the whole production has been odd.
Here's to hoping SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY can deliver a fun ride and not a tiresome retread of the past on May 25th, 2018.