The "Star Wars" news comes quickly these days. Just a week after a trailer dropped for "The Last Jedi," attention has already turned toward one of the anthology films. The stand-alone film exploring the origins of Han Solo has been one of the most highly-anticipated films in the entire canon. Until Tuesday, however, it didn't have a title. Director Ron Howard changed that. He also launched a series of memes based off the predictable - and somewhat hilarious - name for the newest film in the franchise.
'Solo: A Star Wars Story'
Howard had been revealing pictures from the set of the film for the past couple of months, so it should serve as little surprise that he was also the one to reveal the title.
On the last day of production, he made a short video on Twitter, thanking the cast and crew for their dedication to the project. Then, he made a quip about how the film had no title, before Chewbacca's hairy arms entered the frame and handed Howard a sign, informing the world of "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
Hey #Twitterville we just wrapped production so here's a special message #StarWars pic.twitter.com/8QJqN5BGxr
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) October 17, 2017
If the title doesn't ring any bells for "Star Wars" fans, it should. The first anthology film in the franchise had a name patterned the exact same way: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." Talk about a lack of originality. "Solo" doesn't give up anything in the title, other than that there will be a narrative and that it will focus on Han Solo, two obvious tenets of the film.
In other words, this isn't really the hype announcement fans would hope for.
It does signal that a tradition is afoot for other potential anthology films, however, such as ones for Yoda or Boba Fett.
Moving past the 'Solo" hardships
Arguably none of the "Star Wars" films have been more difficult to make than "Solo." Editor Chris Dickens was replaced in May 2017.
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were removed from the project with just weeks remaining in principal photography, forcing Howard to take over. An acting coach was brought in for eponymous star Alden Ehrenreich, suggesting troubles replicating the spirit of Harrison Ford's iconic character.
With production just wrapping on Tuesday, there's a school of thought that the release of "Solo" won't make its May 15, 2018, release date.
But with another "Star Wars" movie coming out in December 2017, it shouldn't be a priority to reach the target date - it should be a priority to make sure that the producers of the film get the origin story to one of the cinema's most iconic characters correct.
