han solo

It’s a big deal when you pass a follower milestone on social media. You feel like, finally, you’re being HEARD, you’re being SEEN, and, naturally, it warrants some kind of celebratory post to commemorate the day. But not all of us can celebrate with Chewbacca, the Chewbacca, by our side. Fortunately for Emilia Clarke, she can.

We haven’t seen too much of the Han Solo movie, except for all that hot goss about why Phil Lord and Chris Miller left the project, but the set photos have been trickling in. Yesterday, a couple pictures surfaced from the set of our young Han (Alden Ehrenreich), Chewbacca, and Woody Harrelson’s mysterious character together and in costume on set.

The news that Ron Howard would take the directorial reins on Han Solo from Chris Miller and Phil Lord was met with a mixed reception by the ardent Star Wars fanbase. Some remembered Howard as the director behind Apollo 13, a movie partially set in outer space (the same location as much of Han Solo, presumably!), and figured he’d be right for the job. Others had fresher recollections of Ron Howard’s Inferno, a.k.a. Bad Tom Hanks Hairpiece 3, and expressed some misgivings. But today, one ardent supporter of Howard‘s has made a statement from the shadows on why he’s a perfect fit for the franchise, though he may have some rubbery, alien skin in the game.

The Star Wars saga might end with Episode IX, coming out in 2019, but Lucasfilm has already been hard at work expanding the universe and planning for more Star Wars and Star Wars-adjacent movies far, far into the future. We’ve already gotten Rogue One, which occurred, chronologically, somewhere between the prequels and the original trilogy, and focused on a group of small characters who turned the tide of the war whose names we might never had known. Then, we’ll get the Han Solo spinoff, something of a prequel in its own right, in summer 2018. But what’s next after that? Kathleen Kennedy says we’ll know in about a month.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, Lucasfilm’s Force for Change has partnered with Omaze for a huge charity drive commemorating the past, present and future of the franchise. That future includes Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s (still untitled) young Han Solo spinoff, which is still lightyears (OK, months) away from release, so it’ll quite a while before we see a teaser. But with Force for Change heading into hyper-drive, we can expect more videos like the one above, in which Star Wars vet Warwick Davis drops in on Lord and Miller’s set and gives us a special sneak peek at a new alien character.

And here…we…go. As of today, filming has officially begun on Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s young Han Solo movie, Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars Story standalone project. To commemorate the occasion, Miller shared a teaser photo that pays homage to the epic “who shot first?” debate — a timely nod, as this month marks the 20th anniversary (yep, you’re old) of George Lucas’ notorious Special Editions.

Since spending the GDP of a small country to acquire the Star Wars rights from George Lucas, Disney has done its best to wipe the slate clean of decades of accumulated fan theories and speculation. Under the guidance of Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of LucasFilm, the new creative team has streamlined the canon, narrowed down the list of key characters for the sequels, and otherwise done it’s best to mark a new course for the Star Wars franchise. So when a new set of rumors began to surface at Star Wars Celebration Europe this past month, it was no surprise that the official response was immediate and firm.

The most recent reports regarding the young Han Solo movie have Taron Egerton, Jack Reynor and Alden Ehrenreich on the shortlist for the Star Wars spinoff, with rumors that the actors have already screen-tested for Lucasfilm. Just the other day, Miles Teller confirmed that he auditioned for the part, and now Egerton and Reynor are responding to the rumors — or not responding, rather. Their reactions are pretty interesting, to say the least.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s young Han Solo movie won’t arrive in theaters until 2018, which means we have quite a bit of time before we see anything concrete from the Star Wars spinoff. Lucasfilm hasn’t even announced who will play the young version of Harrison Ford’s iconic character — much less who or what else we might see in the film. We now know of at least one other character who will appear opposite whoever ends up piloting the Millennium Falcon, and it’s a friendly, furry face you’ll be quite happy to see.