A ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Writer Acknowledges One Of The Film’s Biggest Problems

Solo: A Star Wars Story, the lowest-grossing (but still entertaining) movie in the franchise, is available today, September 14, as a digital download. To celebrate the occasion, Jon Kasdan, who wrote the film with his dad Lawrence (who also penned The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens), shared “53 random factoids & notes about the making & writing [of Solo] for anybody who’s interested,” he tweeted. “If you haven’t seen the movie yet… maybe watch it before reading Anyway, enjoy the movie & #MTFBWY.” The force will have to be with you to make it through all four dozen-plus tidbits, but some of the behind-the-scene stories are fascinating for Star Wars fans.

For instance, Han and Lando discussing their parents was inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography Born to Run. “His father led a working-class life, full of disappointment, and he had a complicated, difficult relationship with his son,” Kasdan wrote. “I like to think Han’s father was still out there somewhere, drinking himself to death.” He also acknowledged one of Solo‘s biggest problems: not enough Thandie Newton. (This is also true of Westworld.)

Her character, Val, was killed during the best scene in the movie, the train heist. But it happens early in the second act, and as Kasdan wrote, “In retrospect, Thandie Newton may actually have been too good and too interesting as Val… Thandie is so compelling to watch that the death of her character feels a little like a cheat. It’s an odd and unexpected problem that comes with working with such amazing, compelling actors in the Star Wars universe. You just want more of them.” That’s what I’ve been saying about my dude Watto for years!

You can read the rest of Kasdan’s notes below.

— Jon Kasdan (@JonKasdan) September 14, 2018