Here Are The Chances 'Star Wars' Fans Will See More Han Solo Prequels

Nowadays, an anticipated addition to a big movie franchise is never exactly a one-and-done deal. Audiences love familiarity and production companies love making money. Put those things together and you get a lot more sequels to prequels than you'd ever expect. Given the May 25 release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, moviegoers' next few weeks could play a crucial part in whether more Han Solo-helmed films are made. So, will there be more Han Solo prequels in the future?

Solo: A Star Wars Story is due to explore Han's initial deep dive into the universe's criminal underground, sharing how he met his longtime sidekick Chewbacca, made a name for himself in space, and truly became the charming rebel pilot we first met in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. The title character will appear as young as we've ever seen him, but there were once plans to briefly introduce Han at an even earlier stage in his life. According to Slash Film, George Lucas originally included a cameo of Han in the third chapter of the original Star Wars prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith. The movie would have portrayed Han as a 10-year-old orphan raised by Wookies, which already clashes with the Han origin story that A.C. Crispin's Star Wars trilogy book series established in the late 1990s.

Seeing as this tiny insight into Han's early past was scratched, the chances of any prequels going that far back in time are slim, so we'll have to look forward for any additions to this new segment of the Star Wars universe. Further confirming that Han Solo will only grow older in more prequels, actor Alden Ehrenreich slipped in an April 2018 interview with Esquire that he's signed on for three Solo movies. If that's true, can the director digitally transform him into young Harrison Ford by the end of Film 3?

However, Ehrenreich's interview also details him wondering aloud if that contract info was officially public yet, which suggests that the terms of his agreement aren't exactly definite confirmation of two followup films. After all, any wise franchise heads would know to lock down the possibility of having their star for more movies, just in case.

Meanwhile, Solo director Ron Howard is still staying mum on the idea of sequels being made. Speaking to RadioTimes.com, he hinted that the film's ending smoothly ties to the original Star Wars film, allowing Solo to stand on its own if need be. Howard said:

There’s no intention of seeding sequels. I think as it evolved, there are some threads that looked pretty promising and intriguing, you know? But it can also very easily end here and still set up A New Hope. It’s not manufacturing. Outside of the saga movies, there is no intention about sequels. It’s always a process of, let’s explore, and let’s then understand what those movies mean to audiences.

As for what stories any Solo sequels could explore, Ehrenreich has some of his own ideas brewing. He believes that more movies could involve standalone tales rather than a continuation of Solo's mission, telling RadioTimes.com:

I just think that kind of the adventure story of it all, the kind of Indiana Jones mold of not so much one whole long story that extends over three things, but different serial chapters of his adventure stories, seems like what it wants to be.

Well, if the Indiana Jones franchise is what filmmakers will model Solo sequels after, I just have my fingers crossed that Shia LaBeouf stays far away from them.

Of course, before we start theorizing about what any Solo sequels could be about, we'll need to go on the first adventure that Howard, Ehrenreich, and the rest of the movie's cast and crew have in store for us. Solo: A Star Wars Story is in theaters on Friday, May 25.