Sure, some of us are still coming down from the high of Star Wars: The Last Jedi's release in December, but there's still plenty more coming from the Star Wars franchise. Chief among these releases is Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which is lining up for a May 25 release later this year. Many fans have wondered why we haven't seen a trailer for the movie yet, but now it looks like we may finally get the first official preview of the film this Sunday when the Super Bowl kicks off.
There have been several rumors associated with the possible debut of the Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer in recent months, but the latest suggests that we will see it this Sunday during a Super Bowl commercial break. Disney has not officially commented on this THR report about a possible trailer premiere, but neither have several other studios that may be slyly dropping trailers during the breaks between plays. We still don't know what to expect from the trailer itself (it could feature anything, from the first look at Alden Ehrenreich to the Millennium Falcon soaring through the sky), but it seems likely that this trailer should get Star Wars fans excited, if only because we've been talking about this movie for months, and there's been no footage at all yet.
From a business point of view, this marketing decision for Solo: A Star Wars Story makes a certain degree of sense for Disney and Lucasfilm. The Super Bowl is a time when the studios are pretty much guaranteed to have a captive audience for movie trailers. Beyond that, however, the Super Bowl is well-timed with the winding down of Star Wars: The Last Jedi's theatrical run, which means fans can now put Rian Johnson's Episode VIII in their rear view and look ahead to the Han Solo prequel.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther is debuting on February 16. This means that if the trailer drops during the Super Bowl, it could quickly transition to the big screen and reach even more potential viewers. Because Black Panther is already racking up record-breaking ticket sales, it looks like there will be no shortage of people watching if that happens.
Solo: A Star Wars Story's lack of marketing material has become somewhat worrisome for some members of the fanbase in recent months. While it's not uncommon for movies with franchise name recognition to withhold footage until reasonably close to the release date (see: 10 Cloverfield Lane), Solo is somewhat different because there's a certain degree of fan anxiety going into it. The film's production hit a devastating setback when Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired from the movie last summer, and while they were quickly replaced with Ron Howard, the headline-grabbing reshoots have created an aura of uncertainty among some portions of the Star Wars fandom. Few things have the potential to reaffirm confidence quite like a solid trailer.
Make sure to check out the Corellian smuggler's solo (pun intended) movie when it hits the big screen on May 25, and keep an eye out for the trailer during Super Bowl LII, which will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
UPDATE: Conflicting information from DiscussingFilm has since dropped, which claims that the first Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer will not be shown during the Super Bowl, but will instead debut on Good Morning America the day after.
