Star Wars Han Solo Spinoff Movie Will Feature Chewbacca

Star Wars fans can now enjoy a new movie every year for the foreseeable future, with standalone spinoff films alternating with the ongoing Saga. The first of these--Rogue One--arrives in December, and 2018 will see the release of a movie focusing on the young Han Solo. It has now been confirmed that Han will be joined by his trusty co-pilot Chewbacca for this much-anticipated adventure.

During a talk at the Deutsche Bank 2016 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference, Disney chief Bob Iger spoke about both of the upcoming spinoffs. "Rogue One is about a band of rebels plotting to steal the plans to the Death Star," he said, via The Wrap. "It takes place right before what was George Lucas's first film, which came out in 1977 and is now called A New Hope."

"We have others in the works, including one, which is an origin story about Han Solo and Chewie. And that'll come after Star Wars 8 in 2018. And then there'll be possibly be more thereafter."

The Han Solo movie is to be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, best known for The Lego Movie and the Jump Street films. It is written by Star Wars veteran Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon.

In January, it was reported that the search for an actor to play the young Solo had been narrowed to around a dozen names. Those in contention for the role include Miles Teller (Whiplash), Dave Franco (21 Jump Street), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino, Fury), and Logan Lerman (3:10 to Yuma, Fury).

Last year, Kasdan spoke about his approach to the movie's story. "It will not be, 'Here's where [Solo] was born and this is how he was raised'," he said, during during a Q&A to promote The Force Awakens. "I think what it will be is what was he like 10 years earlier--maybe a little earlier. You'll get a glimpse."