Solo: A Star Wars Story's Screenwriter Is Still 'Haunted' By One Problem In The Script
"Solo: A Star Wars Story" may be the least successful entry in the franchise in the Disney era, but it wasn't for lack of trying. A movie centered on a young Han Solo played by Alden Ehrenreich was always going to be an uphill battle, yet the actor was able to put his own stamp on the character. From start to finish, the universe-trotting adventure includes some genuinely thrilling sequences directed by Ron Howard, but "Solo" just couldn't hit the high notes it wanted it to. Unfortunately, a convoluted story that only got more contradicting as it developed bogged down any potential for a crowd-pleasing romp.
Featuring Han Solo and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), "Solo" found the dynamic duo at the center of the criminal underworld and a galaxy-wide struggle against the Empire. The crew was hired by a major crime boss, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), to pull off a heist to help out a newfound ally, Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). Their paths crossed with Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), a childhood friend of Han who now formed part of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. But there is one aspect of the entire ordeal that still does not track. The screenwriter behind the film laments a fatal flaw in the storyline that he won't be able to fix in a sequel.
A writer's nightmare
In "Solo: A Star War Story," Han and his makeshift crew are tasked with stealing some unrefined coaxium for Vos. A dangerous mission even for the most experienced, the high-ranking leader of Crimson Dawn sent Qi'ra to ensure they had some help. The heist is successful, but to make sure there was no connection to him or Crimson Dawn, Vos always planned to pin the blame on Han's team. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "Solo" scribe Jonathan Kasdan explained why a specific aspect of that plan doesn't make that much sense:
"If Dryden Vos [Paul Bettany] is so concerned about exposing his gang in the [Kessel] heist, why does he send his most trusted aid [Qi'ra] to be the most visible member of the team that steals the coaxium? It seems to me that he's going to have to kill her almost immediately just to separate himself from that job. So it always drove me crazy, and it was a problem that I was eager to retcon in a sequel."
Not only does Vos not kill Qi'ra, but she gets to him first. By the end, Qi'ra moved up the ranks of Crimson Dawn, and the two-timing Beckett was blamed for it all. None of that explains why no one knows Crimson Dawn had everything to do with the heist, but at least Vos' incompetence was consistent until the very end.
Despite the film's flaws, it's disappointing that Kasdan won't be able to right the wrongs in a sequel. A follow-up featuring Qi'ra as the main villain could have been special, but alas. At least we can see glimpses of what could've been in "Solo: A Star Wars Story," now available to stream on Disney+.