The Star Wars franchise stands alongside properties like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DCEU as one of the most prominent and beloved series in the world. However, that love comes with some fairly lofty fan expectations, with some folks on the internet hyper-analyzing creative decisions made behind the scenes. One such critique that has fallen under intense scrutiny is the decision to tell a Han prequel story with Solo: A Star Wars Story, but in a recent interview, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan opened up to CinemaBlend and told us that he doesn't put too much stock in that type of fan criticism as long as the movie works. Kasdan explained:
I understand it, but I don't take it that seriously. I've seen both sides. Every one of these movies, it was never like this back in Empire. In the last years, you see all of this prognosticating, but no one's seen anything. I always think, 'Well, if the movie works, the movie works.' Three minutes in, no one remembers any of that if the movie's working. If the movie's not working, then everyone's sitting there like 'see? I thought this would suck.'
So, it's not really a matter of not thinking about fan criticism. Lawrence Kasdan certainly seems to empathize with certain fan concerns, but he's more interested in waiting for fans to see the actual film. Then, once the movie has properly begun, he can know whether or not the decision to move forward with a certain story was worth it.
Of course, it's also worth acknowledging how much the Star Wars franchise has evolved since the days of A New Hope in this regard. Building off of what his father had to say, Jonathon Kasdan continued the interview with CinemaBlend and told us how it's surprising to see how the Star Wars films have evolved from the Flash Gordon-esque B-movie popcorn fun that inspired them in the 1970s. The younger Kasdan explained:
You know, it's funny. It's really a new reality from the one that these movies are born out of. I was thinking about this last night, as I was trying and failing to go to sleep. The original Star Wars is like a B summer matinee movie. There was no expectation on it to be anything but terrible, and it was great and cool, and it began a tradition. These movies are historically relegated to pulp and popcorn... So now they sit in the culture where they're the most divisive bit of moviemaking that can be. It's a really funny irony at the core of it.
So far, most fans haven't seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, but there has been a fair amount of fan comments and concerns about the movie, simply because of the behemoth franchise the movies have become a part of. In this specific case, some of this may have to do with the fact that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is still fresh on people's minds, and some of it may have to do with the somewhat stressful way the Han Solo movie came together. Following the firing of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Ron Howard seemingly capably took over the movie, and Howard has done a great job of being social and sharing information related to the upcoming movie. Still, it hasn't slowed down the fan comments all that much, although it won't be too much longer before everyone can check out the movie for themselves.
Some critics have already seen the movie, so if you'd like to see all the takes, you can check out our full review roundup. You can also catch our take on Han's first anthology film with our review Or, if you'd like to go in as Lawrence Kasdan suggests, with a totally open mind, Solo: A Star Wars Story will debut in theaters this weekend on May 25.
