Star Wars Is Finally Making Solo Matter

screenrant.com:

Star Wars tie-ins are finally making Solo: A Star Wars Story matter. Starring Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Emilia Clarke as Lady Qi'ra, and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Solo: A Star Wars Story was intended to be the second in a series of anthology films that expanded the Star Wars galaxy. Development was troubled, marketing was lackluster, and in the end Solo grossed only 393.2 million dollars in the global box office. It forced Lucasfilm to conduct a high-profile course-correction, canceling their anthology program and ultimately pivoting to their current approach, where that kind of story is being told in an episodic format on Disney+.

There's a sense in which Solofailed because Lucasfilm forgot to try. Disney and Lucasfilm barely bothered promoting it, holding trailers back until they were far too late to create an interest in the film; when trailers did finally begin to drop, they were lackluster and poorly-developed. In general, the marketing for Solo: A Star Wars Story seemed to suggest even Lucasfilm execs weren't really interested in this particular movie — and their actions since then have created the same impression. There's been no real attempt to redeem the story, no hint that Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke and Donald Glover could ever be recalled to play their parts again.

Related: Star Wars Makes A New Hope Deleted Scene Canon After 44 Years

But Star Wars tie-ins are finally making Solo: A Star Wars Story matter. The current range of Marvel Comics have featured the return of Lady Qi'ra, Han Solo's old flame, who apparently became supreme leader of Crimson Dawn. Charles Soule's Crimson Reign event is telling the story of Qi'ra's attempt to overthrow Emperor Palpatine himself, influenced by teachings