I had an idea. It’s probably crazy, but as soon as it came together in my head, it made total sense. Let’s start with what we know. Josh Trank is directing one of the confirmed Star Wars spinoff movies. Let’s move to what we believe. One of the standalone Star Wars movies will center on Han Solo, possibly existing as a prequel story to the original trilogy.
Let’s connect the dots: Josh Trank is directing a young Han Solo movie, and he’s bringing a frequent collaborator along for the ride.
This isn’t nearly as crazy as it seems. The idea that Disney would pursue a "Young Han Solo" story has been floating around since 2013. Han Solo, Boba Fett and the X-Wing pilots are the subjects we repeatedly have been hearing for the planned Star Wars solo adventures (no pun intended), and now we need to pair hired director with idea material. Gareth Edwards was handed one of the Star Wars projects, and based on his skill set on display in Godzilla and Monsters, he seems to be a better fit for either the Boba Fett film, or the effects-driven X-Wing pilots project.
Trank, on the other hand, burst on the scene with Chronicle, a small-scale, superhero origin story that dabbled in familiar effects but made us care about the characters in the center of an emotional, suddenly violent tug-of-war. Even though he has graduated to a Fantastic Four movie, Trank (and his cast) go to great lengths to remind people the tone will be "grounded" and real. He’s rebooting the FF. He introduced young characters with new powers. He just might be the perfect person to tap into a younger Han Solo, in his pre-Harrison Ford days.
He might even have the perfect young Lando Calrissian sitting in his acting stable.
Remember back when Fruitvale Station standout Michael B. Jordan was rumored to be up for a role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII? He went so far as to confirm the talks, saying at the time, "Everybody’s going in [to audition] on this project. They’re trying to figure out what they want."
What if what they want is Michael B. Jordan reuniting with Chronicle and Fantastic Four director Josh Trank on a Han Solo movie? What if Jordan is playing young Lando to an as-yet-uncast Han?
Again, this is total speculation. And I’m kind of just putting this on record so that if and when it all shakes out in six months, I’ll look like a genius. But Michael B. Jordan never came out and said that he didn’t get a role in the Star Wars universe. And there were so many names floating in and out of the Star Wars audition rooms – from Saoirse Ronan to Benedict Cumberbatch – that I’m beginning to think that Disney and LucasFilm have been hiring a number of extremely talented performers for additional movies that they knew they were going to be making (both inside and outside of the Saga), and we’ll start hearing official casting notices soon.
Michael B. Jordan has appeared in both of Josh Trank’s movies. That doesn’t mean they have to keep collaborating. After all, he isn’t part of this 2007 short that Trank created, perhaps as a demo reel to maybe get a Star Wars gig:
But if Trank ends up doing a Han Solo movie, he’ll need a young Lando Calrissian, to possibly explore how these two outlaws knew each other back in the day. And who better than Jordan for that part?
