“Solo: A Star Wars Story” Will Be Titled Lando In Wakanda
With The Last Jedi failing to meet projections, Disney is pulling out all the stops to ensure its upcoming spinoff is a global success. And if that means ditching the Star Wars handle, so be it.
In China, Solo will be known as Ranger Solo so as to not damage its earning potential, since every Star Wars-branded movie has made less and less for Disney in the world’s second largest film market. Industry analysts believe the franchise’s complicated lore based on two previous trilogies (that were never released in China) makes Star Wars inaccessible to audiences. However, Chinese movie critics are much more direct, citing a lack of spectacular action and beautiful people as the reason The Last Jedi did not appeal to the country’s 1.3 billion moviegoers.
Now comes word that Disney is also renaming Solo for the world’s most technologically advanced film market: the kingdom of Wakanda. This time, not only is the film dropping Star Wars from its name, Solo is also being repositioned as the story of young Lando Calrissian as portrayed by Donald Glover.
The film — titled simply Lando — and its marketing will emphasize Glover and his romance with newcomer Qi’Ra (Emilia Clarke), while downplaying young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and his mentor Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). The move comes in response to the huge drop in earnings from The Force Awakens to The Last Jedi at the Wakandan box office. While Episode VII became the biggest foreign film ever in Wakanda, even becoming a personal favorite of T’Challa’s, The Last Jedi was denounced for wasting the character of Finn in a terrible casino subplot.
Disney hopes Lando helps re-establish its foothold in Wakanda by showcasing a strong black man in a lead role. Insiders suggest Disney will also be pandering to the nation’s tech obsession with several scenes featuring Lando’s cyborg manservant Lobot. We’re told Lando will also premiere in an all-new format exclusive for the kingdom. Going well beyond digital IMAX 3D, Disney is said to be preparing “Lando” in VD (Vibranium Dimension), a mysterious new technology rumored to be more immersive than VR and capable of revolutionizing the movie-going experience as we know it.
So, if you’re keeping score, that makes 3 directors (Phillip Lord, Chris Miller, Ron Howard) and 3 entirely different titles (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Ranger Solo, Lando) for the next spinoff from Disney SO FAR. And if none of this actually helps Solo become a global success, who knows what the future Obi-Wan Kenobi movie will be called. Definitely not A Star Wars Story, that’s for sure.
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-William “Willybobo” Bobo
