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Star Wars Han Solo Spin-Off To Start Filming January 2017

LucasFilm’s second ‘Star Wars’ Anthology film, which will explore the life of Han Solo before he met Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, will reportedly start shooting in the UK next January.

Co-writer and producer Lawrence Kasdan revealed the production start-date while at a ceremony for the AJFF Icon Award for Contributions to the Cinematic Arts.

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During a Q&A session (via Star Wars News Net), Kasdan said: “You know, Chris Miller and Phil Lord are going to direct it. They’re great, funny and imaginative and we’ve had a great time together.

“My son [Jon] and I wrote the script and Chris and Phil are working on it and they’re about to move to London to start shooting in January. And it should be fun.”

'Hail, Caesar!’ stand-out Alden Ehrenreich will play the younger Han Solo in a story that takes place some time between the events of 2005 prequel 'Revenge of the Sith’ and 1977’s original 'Star Wars’ film.

Details regarding the plot of the spin-off are, of course, scarce, but it’s likely Solo’s co-pilot and friend Chewbacca will feature in the film as well. Directors Miller and Lord were confirmed to direct last year, hot off the heels of huge successes with '21 Jump Street’, its sequel and 'The Lego Movie’.

Speaking of his continued involvement in ‘Star Wars’ (Kasdan wrote ‘Empire Strikes Back’) he said: “I was originally going to just write [the Han Solo spin-off], but I had contracted to be in the story group on ‘Episode 7′, which became ‘The Force Awakens’. And then there were problems.

“A wonderful writer, Michael Arndt, just couldn’t do the time pressure, and people were being hired in England and it was enormous pressure and he stepped away. We stayed in contact and he’s a lovely man, then J.J. [Abrams] and I took over, and now I found myself instead just doing Han and consulting on ‘Force Awakens’, we were actually writing Episode 7 together and it happened very fast.”

Kasdan is also available to ‘Episode 8′ director Rian Johnson and ‘Episode 9′ director Colin Trevorrow if the pair need any advice as they make their entries in the ongoing saga.

The 'Star Wars’ Han Solo spin-off is expected to be released in May 2018.

Picture Credits: LucasFilm