Dave Filoni, Executive Creative Director at Lucasfilm and creator of many fans' favorite recentStar Warsentries, seems to have ambitious plans for his upcoming movie set in the same time frame asThe Mandalorian. Aside from all the other speculation a new rumor now claims that the film will feature a controversial returning actor and an entirely recast legacy character. Note that this is still only a rumor, but it could have some massive potential consequences.
Filoni has slowly revealeddetails on hisStar Warsmoviesince it was initially announced atStar WarsCelebration 2023. But naturally, since this isStar Wars, those details range from “optimistic speculation” to “coy suggestion” with nary a concrete detail in sight. Thankfully, parched fans can find solace in the loving embrace of anonymous internet scoop sites. A new claim has now joined the fray, and if it’s true, it could fuel both the fans and the haters for years to come.
RELATED:Star Wars: 6 Most Awesome Things Princess Leia Did (Outside Of The Movies)
Giant Freaking Robotreports a new rumor now claiming that the characters of Leia Organa and Han Solo will appear in Filoni’s currently untitled film. But interestingly enough, their “trusted and proven” sources say that Han will be played again bySolo: A Star Wars Story’s Alden Ehrenreich. Meanwhile, Leia will predictably be recast entirely. The latter is understandable, given the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher in 2016. But the former could ignite some passionate arguments among fans and bored people.
Despite the relative flop ofSoloteaching Lucasfilm some lessonsabout recasting roles, it looks like they’re ready to step back into that particular game. Recent comments from Filoni and fellowStar Warscreator Jon Favreau have suggested that the upcoming movie will be a bit of anAvengers-inspired affair, with heroes coming together from their own shows for a battle too big for any of them alone. But that would only bring in characters from shows likeThe Mandalorian,The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcomingAhsoka. It doesn’t necessarily account for Leia and Han.
However, this could also introduce some theories as tothe villain of Filoni’sStar Warsmovieand the story itself. At this point, it seems incredibly likely that Grand Admiral Thrawn (played by Lars Mikkelsen) will be the film’s antagonist. Being set in the New Republic era with such a threat looming over everyone, long-time fans will also probably expect to see plenty of story beats from Timothy Zahn’s Legends novelHeir to the Empireand its 2 sequels, which introduced Thrawn to the series back in the day before being rendered non-canon. While Han and Leia don’t seem to connect to the various Disney Plus shows at play here, they do share some meta history with Thrawn as 2 of the main protagonists of those stories, and that could be all the justification needed. Even so, it’s unclear exactly how big of a role they’ll allegedly have in the movie. It could just be a cameo, for all that’s known.
Asequel toSoloisn’t a priority for Lucasfilm, but that doesn’t mean it should be entirely forgotten. Ehrenreich put on an excellent performance in that movie and deserves another shot. As for Leia, it will be interesting to see who gets cast as the new face of the iconic character, assuming the rumors are true. Young Vivien Lyra Blair proved that the character can still be played well by other actresses (even if a 10-year-old Leia is very different from the one seen in the originalStar Warstrilogy), so hopes can afford to raise a little bit. Hey, maybe this means Donald Glover has an opening to return as Lando Calrissian too. That alone might be worth it.
