Thread by @delaneykingrox

Okay some writer type thoughts on finally watching Solo.

So, the basic premise is my first tinker. Because, fundamentally the movie is a "hey, you know that thing about Han Solo... what if we showed you him getting them"?

Uhg. This is pretty much redundant except for the dice, which have an emotional moment.

The important thing with a Solo prequel is not to give us an origin of everything, but to take us to the EMOTIONAL space in new hope.

You have to deliver him to the point where his character arc makes sense.

We don't get that. But we easily could have.

How does Han Solo become a cynical, jaded rogue who doesn't want to get involved in the empire? Who doesn't kow tow to Leia, who doesn't trust people?

How do we get him there in the most believable way?

Ultimately this sets the tone of the film. The lesson Han must learn is to NOT trust, to shoot first, to dumo cargo instead of facing the empire.

And most importantly, underline and strengthen the weight of choices he mades in new hope...

*dump

The secret to a good prequel is to make the original stronger by adding depth. Rogue One did this very well.

Okay, so setting that aside for a moment, lets look at structure.

It is a heist movie... only, not a very good one. There are two heists, three if you count the escape at the start.

None of them are satisfying, and the connective tissue isn't very strong.

Furthermore, the heists are not driven by the hero. And that is a mistake. He comes up with a crazy idea, and then the show is handed over to others. This isn't exploring the man, but letting events unfold.

All good heist movies have a single heist, usually requiring several steps with building tension, to defeat an overall bad guy who is closing in on the group.

It is a golden formula, and we see how clever and resourceful the hero is.

So, the train chase is cool... though why there are trains when everyone has space ships is a bit odd... but that can be fixed by having it worming through tight fissures into a subterrain environment.

Firefly did this exact sequence, better.

So, the film needs pressure on the heroes, a build and a climax.

So start the film with Han as a tie pilot. I sure wanna see this, and having him as a cocksure pilot who ignores leadership is great. Show us him getting thrown out and making his way back to find Khaleesi.

Now the villain comes in early and hard. Han ends up on a planet where the Empires grasp is tenuous. The warlord uses han to smuggle something out of an imperial base, han learns he is good at this and impresses the warlord.

However...

...what if what was stolen was a weapon that made the warlord a danger? Han pulls a trick and manages to contact the Empire. What if the Empire take notice and come in hard, killing everyone. Han sees the Empires real face, and he is shaken.

Ultimately, defeating the warlord and getting the weapon before it can be used, makes Han face a darker truth. Qira has been playing him all along, and ultimately backstabs him.

The final shoot out has to be between him and her.

We don't end on a high note, we end on a devastated man who has faced betrayals and has learned to rely on himself and the one person who stood by him. Chewie.

The environment Han needs to be thrown in to shape him is one of criminals, bounty hunters and shady deals, where the cops (empire) are worse than the criminals.

We take a cocksure, gullable boy and we break him until he comes out wise. He is then ready for the arc in new hope

The heist itself is the crucible that Han is shaped in.

The qualities our young tie pilot is beaten down for are the very ones that make him good at the heist... brashness, a hatred for authority (symbolised by an asshole imperial admiral), inability to follow rules, confidence

Ultimately it is a story of stepping out from the oppressive demands of the world and reaching for what is true for you.

Now the light in the tunnel, because Star Wars is about choosing light over dark.

Han and Chewie have to hate each other at the start, and maybe for most of the film. Chewie is Hans light... the thing he wins. And to get that friendship, Han has to suffer and win it.

So Han learns to trust Chewie, and Chewie Han. This is a trust earned in the fire.

Han learns to not trust blindly, as his love of Qira. And we need to see him devastated by The Empires cruelty.

Now the side characters. Awesome visually, but they are forced on us emotionally. They haven't earned our love and respect, so ultimately their deaths wash over us.

Give us time with the band of criminals, and give them real reasons to want to get through the heist.

Again, Rogue One does this very well. By the time characters die, we love them.

And it doesn't take much.

Never getting to learn an instrument? Yeaaaaaahhh, that isn't a reason. Finally marrying his woman? That is a reason for betrayal.

Tension wise, Solo rushes into action without building need. Luke got to stare out over the moons, he got his call to action and refused. Classic pacing set ups are gone.

Hit hard in the opening, but do not sustain... foreshadow and promise the action ahead, but gear back.

New Hope, Empire and Return have that.

Empire takes time to set up life on the rebel base... then some action, the threat of the AT STs coming... that tension? Unforgettable.

Solo leaps in with numbing exposition and then a chase and then all change.... you don't warm to stuff

So in a heist movie, you need to show the threat, show what is coming if they mess up. That sets the tension.

Show us what a stinger droid can do, really scare us... then throw six at the heroes.

The planning stage of a heist movie sets up the risks clearly.

So how does Lando fit in all this?
Well, the question is does he need to be in this tale. Yes, they become friends, but is now the time to tell that story?
Lets face it, he doesn't actually do much in the film, and that is a waste.

Give the guy his own film.

Now lets talk good stuff.

Gimme that robot earlier on, throw her in with the smugglers. Have her fond of han, and him find it amusing, and give her time to shine.

Having her destroyed by the empire, and Han goign back to pocketing her processor. She will become the falcon...

...but not in this film.

'Baby hold together' is our clue and him nudging her to get her to keep going.

But let the fans chew on it as a fan theory.

Now, what about saving the day?

Bittersweet. He gets the weapon, but is double crossed by qira, the bad guy shows us, uses it and wipes out a shitload of people, han kills the bad guy and then qira and him have an emotional face off. He is stranded, surrounded by death...

... and chewie appears to rescue him.

So what about the falcon?

Well, that is where we end.

Han wins at sabacc, and wins the ship, him and chewie stride out to the docking bay bickering, and then the doors open and han looks up.

Don't show the falcon... just show us his face as that classic lop sided smile forms

So yeah, a tighter heist movie focusing on hope betrayed, finding ones self, and forging a friendship in a word growing darker.

Solo.

Ps. Yunno who should have been in the movie as one of Hans team?

Greedo. Give that fucker a background of being a try hard back stabber who ultimately deserves what is coming.

You don't need to make han shoot second if you have history.

So yeah.

*sigh*

Lemme make a lesbian
Star Wars movie you cowards!

In the meantime, you can always toss a coin at me and say "sorry about the mess"

ko-fi.com/dellak