Earlier today, we shared a news item about Rahul Kohli being a bit heartbroken that he didn’t land a role in Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four.” Now, here’s a story about another actor, Glen Powell, who is finally able to joke about the fact that he “blew” the final audition for a major “Star Wars” role. It goes to show you how actors can never forget the times they came so close to landing career-changing roles. 

READ MORE: Glen Powell Passed On New ‘Jurassic World’ & ‘Bourne’ Films & Says He Won’t Do A Marvel Project

Speaking to GQ, Glen Powell talked about all of the opportunities that didn’t work out for him.

Continue reading ‘Solo’: Glen Powell “Blew The Final Audition” To Lead ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Film at The Playlist.

While “Solo: A Star Wars Story” isn’t one of the premier films in the franchise, most people can agree that Donald Glover’s performance as a young Lando Calrissian is pretty great. And there have been rumors about more Glover in the galaxy far, far away, but no confirmation that it’ll happen. Well, it appears the actor has just confirmed that there are discussions about bringing back his version of Lando in a future project.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars’: Donald Glover Is “Talking” To Lucasfilm About Playing Lando Calrissian Again at The Playlist.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (or, in 2018, before the likes of “The Mandalorian” and “Andor“), Ron Howard‘s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was a big deal to “Star Wars” fans. The film did alright commercially, taking in $393 million at the box office off a $300 million budget, but critics didn’t care for it.

Continue reading Ron Howard On Potential ‘Solo’ Sequel: Not A “Lucasfilm Priority” But “Never Say Never” at The Playlist.

For a time, Lucasfilm seemed poise to explore the galaxy’s future concurrently —Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker saga—while also filling gaps in the “Star Wars” mythology. A prequel film like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” made a billion-plus at the box office. Still, that early prequel-movie success was quickly cut short by “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018), which failed at the global box office earning only $393 million after extensive and pricey reshoots.

Continue reading Taron Egerton Explains Why He Dropped Out Of ‘Solo’ Auditions & Lawrence Kasdan Says A Disney+ Series Isn’t In The Works at The Playlist.

Just over four years ago, “Solo: A Story Wars Story” hit theaters to muted praise and middling box-office numbers. In fact, “Solo” is the lowest-grossing “Star Wars” film to date, so by all accounts, if Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of Lucasfilm don’t consider the movie failure, fans, pundits, and nearly everyone else, definitely do. While the financial collapse of the movie precipitated Lucasfilm to pivot to TV (the impending timing of Disney+’s fall 2019 launch working out perfectly), the movie has slowly gained status with diehard “Star Wars” fans since 2018, so perhaps Lucasfilm may reassess its judgment of the film soon enough.

Continue reading Jonathan Kasdan Says Jon Favreau Might Be The Key To ‘Solo’ Characters Reappearing In ‘Star Wars’ at The Playlist.

What’s the real story about Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s unceremonious dismissal from the directing job of “Solo: A Star Wars Story?” That’s a question that people have been wanting an answer to for years now, after the acclaimed comedic filmmakers were dumped after three months of filming and replaced by Ron Howard, who ended up reshooting almost the entire film. Well, even though the directing duo isn’t keen on spilling all of the details, they did shed some light on the learning experience that was “Solo.”

Speaking to The Business podcast, hosted by Kim Masters, Lord and Miller talked as openly as we can expect about the “Solo: A Star Wars Story” situation.

Continue reading ‘Solo’: Lord and Miller Says There Are “Two Sides To Every Story” & They Felt “Deeply Misunderstood” On Their ‘Star Wars’ Exit at The Playlist.

If you have a steel-trap memory, you remember at one point Phil Lord and Chris Miller were rumored to be directing an early version of “Ghostbusters 3” circa 2014. And in a recent Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast discussion, the duo admitted that those rumors were true, although they were noticeably reluctant to talk about it, seemingly because they didn’t want to reveal too much,

How far the road did they get on it?

Continue reading Lord & Miller Confirm They Worked On A “Sideways” Version Of ‘Ghostbusters’ At One Point & Reflect On ‘Solo’ at The Playlist.

British actress Thandiwe Newton has been making a career tackling genre projects with roles like Maeve in HBO‘s “Westworld,” the female lead in John Woo‘s “Mission: Impossible 2,” “The Chronicles of Riddick,” Guy Ritchie‘s gangster comedy “RockNRolla,” “Interview with the Vampire,” and now reunites with “Westworld’s” Lisa Joy for the new feature, “Reminiscence.”

READ MORE: ‘Solo’: Thandiwe Newton Says Val Wasn’t Supposed To Die In The ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff & Calls The Death “A Big, Big Mistake”

Speaking with LAD Bible to promote the new sci-fi film, Thandiwe Newton revealed she had turned down a superhero project because they wanted her to play someone’s mother that just dies and expresses boredom towards most of these moneymaking franchises.

Continue reading Thandiwe Newton Turned Down A Mom Role In A Superhero Film & Says The Genre Mostly “Bores” Her at The Playlist.

Lucasfilm‘s “Solo: A Story Wars Story” was a costly venture for the studio, as they fired the original directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, leading to very expensive reshoots led by acclaimed director, Ron Howard. And as we all know, those reshoots were quite extensive, greatly changing quite a bit of the story along the way, apparently including the fate of at least one of the main characters.

Continue reading ‘Solo’: Thandiwe Newton Says Val Wasn’t Supposed To Die In The ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff & Calls The Death “A Big, Big Mistake” at The Playlist.

Lucasfilm and Disney might have had grand plans for multiple films if “Solo: A Star Wars Story” had been a monster success. Instead, it became a costly experiment in blockbuster filmmaking that lost money and suffered a trouble production narrative. ‘Solo’ didn’t hit financial targets given the hefty production costs due to reshoots with replacement director Ron Howard after Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired over creative differences with only three weeks of filmmaking left.

Continue reading Emilia Clarke Appreciates The ‘Star Wars: Solo’ Love But Denies Involvement With The ‘Lando’ Series at The Playlist.

By this point, if you aren’t following the Team Deakins podcast, you’re missing out on some of the best conversations about filmmaking out there. In a recent episode, Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young opened up about his experience filming “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and its tumultuous production.

READ MORE: Ron Howard Isn’t Hopeful About A ‘Solo’ Sequel But Says There’s “Interest” In The Characters & “Gangster World”

Young explained that he almost turned down the offer initially, wasn’t sure if he should do it, and that it wasn’t in “conversation” with his previous work so he couldn’t even wrap his head around how he would fit into that milieu.

Continue reading Cinematographer Bradford Young Says He Almost Turned Down ‘Solo,’ But Explains Why He Stuck Around When The ‘Star Wars’ Film Changed Directors at The Playlist.

The failure of the “Solo: A Star Wars” series was a huge blow for Lucasfilm, their first big defeat after years of Midas Touch-hits. But people liked, at least, most of the characters. Most of all, of course, a young Lando Calrissian as played by actor/filmmaker/rapper Donald Glover. Well, that element of ‘Solo’ will go forward. Tonight in Disney’s Investors call, Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Justin Simien, the creator of the “Dear White People” film and subsequent Netflix series, is in the early stages of development for Disney+.

Continue reading ‘Dear White People’ Creator Justin Simien Developing A ‘Lando’ Calrissian Event Series at The Playlist.

Even though you can pretty much just mention the word “Disney” to a diehard “Star Wars” fan and they’ll likely lose their mind and go off on a rant about how the studio has failed the franchise. But even in terms of the entire post-2015 Disney-era of “Star Wars,” the biggest disappointment, if there is one to point out more than others, is probably ‘Solo.’ No matter if you’re a new fan or old, most can agree that ‘Solo’ was a really big missed opportunity and the biggest box office black eye for the Mouse House and its recent “Star Wars” features.

Continue reading Ron Howard Isn’t Hopeful About A ‘Solo’ Sequel But Says There’s “Interest” In The Characters & “Gangster World” at The Playlist.

To the surprise of no one, it seems “Solo: A Star Wars Story” will remain as a solo film, with Ron Howard himself confirming the lack of any plans for a sequel. So, please, can we stop pretending there will be one?

READ MORE: Alden Ehrenreich Teases ‘Solo’ Sequel Discussions But Isn’t Sure He’d Want To Return

While talking to SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, Howard confirmed the obvious when asked about returning to work on the sequel.

Continue reading ‘Solo’ Director Ron Howard Confirms There Is No Sequel In The Works, So Please Stop Saying There Is at The Playlist.

Even with the massive debate surrounding films like ‘The Last Jedi’ and ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ both “Star Wars” installments still earned more than $1 billion at the box office in spite of the controversy. The same can’t be said about ‘Solo.’ That film not only divided audiences (as much of the Disney-era films in the franchise have done), but it also was a relatively big box office disappointment.

Continue reading Alden Ehrenreich Teases ‘Solo’ Sequel Discussions But Isn’t Sure He’d Want To Return at The Playlist.

Perhaps the biggest crime of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” isn’t the fact that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired and replaced by Ron Howard. It’s not the terrible box office, either. Nor is the acting of Alden Ehrenreich as the lead character. The biggest issue is probably the fact that the final film is just the epitome of “fine.” It doesn’t do anything special.

Continue reading ‘Solo’ Writer Confirms Sequel Is A “Tough Sell” Even On Disney+ at The Playlist.

To get into the finer details of what happened with last year’s ridiculously disappointing release of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” would take too much time and would require reigniting a furor from “Star Wars” fans that is just exhausting. Needless to say, the film, despite its creative merit (your mileage may vary on that), didn’t do well at the box office and ended up being the worst-performing film in franchise history.

Continue reading Writer Lawrence Kasdan Knows Why ‘Solo’ Failed At The Box Office: “The Studio Blew It” at The Playlist.

By all accounts, Ron Howard is a super nice guy. In an industry filled with people that have sordid pasts and tons of controversy on-and-off-set, the “Solo: A Star Wars Story” director tends to be viewed as “one of the good ones.” So, even though you might have had issues with his last film, ‘Solo,’ you sort of feel bad that Howard got dragged into the discussion. And if you’re the director, himself, you probably are left scratching your head, wondering how your fun, albeit troubled, film found itself at the bottom of the “Star Wars” box office.

Continue reading ‘Solo’: Ron Howard Believes Trolls Were Partially To Blame For Disappointing Box Office at The Playlist.

There should be enough goodwill from the Academy to give “Avengers: Infinity War” the Oscar, but the last time the membership voted for something so broad was “Avatar” in 2010. Since then the winner has consistently gone toward more artistic efforts. That could mean a win for “First Man” which means this category is much closer than it seems.  [Updated Feb. 12]

Predictions
1. “Avengers: Infinity War” – Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
2.

Continue reading 2019 Visual Effects Oscars Predictions at The Playlist.

2018 superlatives are almost done, though again, you’ll have to excuse some of us who are late and get our assignments done in the New Year. Indiewire, as you may have seen in the list of Edgar Wright and Guillermo del Toro’s Best Films of 2018 Top 10 lists, has amassed an impressive list of 52 filmmakers putting together their picks of the best movies of 2018, which we covered yesterday.

Continue reading 2018 Top 10 Filmmaker Hot Takes: Love For ‘Venom,’ ‘Solo’ & ‘The House That Jack Built’ at The Playlist.

“Green Book,” “The Other Side of the Wind,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and “Mandy” make for odd bedfellows. You see, if you were asked to tell someone the one thing that each of those four films shared in common, you’d probably be stumped. Well, if you guessed “All films that have their respective scores deemed ineligible for Oscar consideration by the Academy,” then you’re right!

Continue reading Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Final Score & Several Others Won’t Be Eligible For Oscar Consideration at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Pictures announced the 20 contenders in the running for the 2019 Visual Effects Oscar this afternoon. There were a few notable snubs among the submissions including “Venom,” “A Wrinkle in Time,” “The Meg” and “Rampage.”  Some of the surprise entries included “Isle of Dogs,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Incredibles 2.”

READ MORE: ‘Aquaman’ early reactions: ‘Avatar’ meets ‘Jupiter Ascending’

The full list of all 20 films still in the race are as follows:

“Ant-Man and the Wasp”
“Aquaman”
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Black Panther”
“Bumblebee”
“Christopher Robin”
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”
“First Man”
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”
“Mortal Engines”
“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”
“Paddington 2”
“A Quiet Place”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”
“Welcome to Marwen”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary list of films eligible for further awards consideration.

Continue reading ‘Aquaman,’ ‘Black Panther’ & ‘First Man’ Among 20 Visual Effects Oscar Finalists at The Playlist.

Over the weekend, it was revealed that J.J. Abrams, the man behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode IX,” among many, many other projects, is on the hunt for what’s being dubbed a “mega-deal.” This deal would give Abrams a guaranteed number of films with a studio, as well as encompass his work with TV series, digital content, games, music, theme parks, and consumer products.

Continue reading Hey Lucasfilm, Treating ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ As A “Course Correction” After ‘Solo’ Is A Bad Idea at The Playlist.

If you’re like me, then you probably assume that every time an actor gets the call that he or she will get to be in a “Star Wars” film, they jump up and down, scream at the top of their lungs, and non-stop, frantically dial everyone they know to tell them the news. You know, it’s like the film equivalent of winning the lottery. But for Alden Ehrenreich, the scene was much bleaker.

Continue reading Alden Ehrenreich Describes The Saddest, Loneliest Celebration After Learning He Was Cast In ‘Solo’ at The Playlist.

From the moment you finished watching “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” you had to expect that the folks over at Screen Junkies would make an entertaining Honest Trailer about the film. And guess what, you’re right. The latest Honest Trailer is at once a scathing look at the unnecessary prequel and a funny recap of everything that led up to what essentially turned out to be an average space adventure.

Continue reading ‘Solo’ Honest Trailer Arrives: Prepare Yourself For The Film Adaptation Of Han Solo’s Wookieepedia Page at The Playlist.