Star Wars fans push for Solo 2 a year after its box office stumble
Solo: A Star Wars Story wasn't the mega-hit Disney hoped it would be, but fans still want more.
Solo wasn't a box-office hero but it still earned a lot of fan love.
Solo: A Star Wars Story arrived in May 2018 and quickly became the lowest-grossing Star Wars film in recent memory. But sometimes bummers turn into runners. A year later, Star Wars fans are rallying for a sequel to young Han Solo's story.
Box Office Mojo shows Solo pulled in under $400 million worldwide. Compare that with The Last Jedi in 2017, which banked over $1.3 billion. It's no wonder Disney didn't rush in with sequel plans.
Some fans attributed the poor showing to the marketing campaign or fan anger over the events of The Last Jedi. As it turns out, Solo was a fun romp of a film with engaging performances from Alden Ehrenreich in the lead role, Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian.
The hashtag #MakeSolo2Happen hit the trending charts on Twitter on Thursday with a push from Star Wars News Net and its Resistance Broadcast podcast.
It's #MakeSolo2Happen Day!!!!
— The Resistance Broadcast (@RBatSWNN) May 23, 2019
Watch the video below to see how you can join today's movement in our call for a follow up movie or series to #SoloAStarWarsStory! We have a good feeling about this!!! #StarWars pic.twitter.com/CFXg9RlxWd
Star Wars fans were ready to get on board, tweeting their support for a movie sequel or a streaming series on Disney Plus.
Make it happen @Disney #MakeSolo2Happen pic.twitter.com/azKpFho3O5
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) May 23, 2019
I 💗 Solo: A Star Wars Story. As someone who grew up with the original trilogy, I always liked Han Solo, but this film, and Alden Erenreich's performance, made me love him. And don't get me started on Qi'ra. Her story NEEDS to be told.#MakeSolo2Happen pic.twitter.com/yqY6itZTof
— Jeremy Kulow (@jeremyjkulow) May 23, 2019
This casting was too perfect to be a one and done right? #MakeSolo2Happen @RBatSWNN pic.twitter.com/NSATXHWGEO
— Craig (@xwingxing) May 23, 2019
Director Ron Howard, who took over after the original directors left, had already noticed how Solo was catching on after its digital release in September. He tweeted about how the movie's Rotten Tomatoes audience score was creeping higher.
as more people are catching up with #SoloAStarWarsStory I notice the #Rottentomatoes audience score is creeping higher! thanks for rating it! https://t.co/D9rq15NGGU
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) September 18, 2018
Disney has carved out an extensive road map for future Star Wars movie releases, but Solo 2 doesn't appear to be on the radar. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are signed on to helm the next film after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comes out later in 2019.
The future of Han Solo's past doesn't look particularly rosy, but stranger things have happened and Star Wars fans can be very vocal.
