Solo Recast Comments Reveal Disney's Fatal Star Wars Misunderstanding
Kathleen Kennedy’s comments on the recasting of Han Solo reveal that Disney still fundamentally misunderstands Star Wars – and this could be fatal to the franchise going forward. 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story saw Alden Ehrenreich take on the role that propelled Harrison Ford to intergalactic stardom, with the movie exploring Solo’s life before the character’s debut in Star Wars: A New Hope. However, despite featuring one of the most popular characters in Star Wars history, the movie significantly underperformed both critically and commercially, representing Disney’s first serious misfire since its acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy describes the film’s failure as a “learning moment” for the company – with Alden Ehrenreich’s turn as Han Solo chiefly to blame for its disappointing reception. Highlighting the decision to recast the iconic rogue as a severe error, Kennedy states that it is now “abundantly clear” that future entries shouldn’t recast beloved Star Wars characters. Instead, the franchise should switch its focus to entirely new characters, building on the likes of Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. However, Kennedy’s comments do not show a company carefully learning from its past mistakes; on the contrary, they reveal a business that continues to misunderstand the core appeal of Star Wars and risks continuing to undermine the overall integrity of the franchise.
Related: Star Wars' New Movie Rumors Are Perfect — If Lucasfilm Allows It
Crucially, Solo did not fail because it tried to replace Harrison Ford. Rather, it failed because Disney had no clear vision of the story it wanted the movie to tell. This was apparent even
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