We've dipped in and out of the criminal underworld in the STAR WARS franchise plenty of times before, but SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY might provide our deepest dive yet. The upcoming Ron Howard film will introduce us to several new criminal characters, including Paul Bettany's Dryden Vos, who Entertainment Weekly describes as a crime boss on par with Jabba the Hutt, although Vos will be a little more debonair and sophisticated than Jabba was.
Dryden Vos has become incredibly successful in the criminal underworld over the years, and co-writer Jon Kasdan said that Vos is "way deeper in the crime world than anyone else that we meet in the movie," adding that the character has a "sort of combination of class and swagger and real danger which I think is a fun thing, and he absolutely inhabits it." The character was originally set to be played by Michael K. Williams, but when Christopher Miller and Phil Lord departed and were replaced by Ron Howard for the reshoots, Williams' schedule wouldn't allow him to return, so Paul Bettany stepped in to replace him. Despite Vos' lofty position, Jon Kasdan says that there's no real hierarchy to be found, "There are some that are in power, and there’s some that are scrambling to stay alive." Entertainment Weekly also made a note of commenting on a figure in the background of this photo of Paul Bettany and Ron Howard, pointing to a potentially familiar looking helmet on the far left hand side.
The same Entertainment Weekly feature also addressed two other figures in the criminal underworld in Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and Val (Thandie Newton). SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY director Ron Howard said that Beckett "really shapes Han really more than anybody, as Han comes to realize that in a lawless time he needs to try to come to terms with some kind of moral code," with screenwriters Jon and Lawrence Kasdan commenting that they were looking to create a mentor/apprentice relationship along the same lines as Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island.
After Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) forces himself into Beckett's life, Lawrence Kasdan says that "It starts a relationship that has enormous impact on what kind of person Han will be," but not everyone is pleased by the addition of the young smuggler. Val (Newton) has been partners with Beckett for a long time before Solo comes around, and Jon Kasdan says that she isn't all that impressed with him. "I will say at first glance, doesn’t necessarily have total faith in Han — as a lot of people he meets in his life tend to feel about him," Kasdan said. "She’s a little skeptical of this kid when she meets him. And her relationship with him goes in, I think, an … interesting direction."
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY will hit theaters on May 25, 2018.