Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story is a 2018 American space western film based in the Star Wars universe. The film was directed by Ron Howard; it's the second Star Wars anthology film, following 2016's Rogue One. The plot centers on Han Solo, a character from the original Star Wars trilogy, and offers an in-depth look into his background and his early encounters with friend Chewbacca and the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian.

The film begins on the shipbuilding world of Corellia where a young Han and his love, Qi'ra, attempt to escape a local gang. They procure a sample of a rare fuel source, coaxium, as a means for passage off the planet. However, when Qi'ra is apprehended before she can board the transport and Han vows to return for her, he joins the Imperial Navy, hoping this would provide him an opportunity to do so. Eventually, Han discovers a plot being hatched by a gang of criminals known as Cloud-Riders, who plan to steal a shipment of coaxium.

Distanced from the Imperial Navy after a failed mission, Han manages to ingratiate with criminal Tobias Beckett. Beckett persuades Han to steal coaxium for crime lord Dryden Vos, also Qi'ra's current boss. But when their heist fails and they must explain themselves to Vos, Han suggests a bold plan to steal unrefined coaxium from the mines of Kessel.

The team pulls off the heist but is confronted by Cloud-Riders and their leader, Enfys Nest, who explains that they are a rebellion group fighting against the Empire. Han sympathizes with their cause and tricks Vos by giving him fake coaxium, while the genuine one is provided to the Cloud-Riders. During the negotiation, Beckett betrays and a standoff ensues where Qi'ra kills Vos and sends Han after Beckett.

In the last act of the film, Qi'ra contacts her true boss, Maul, a former Sith Lord, and informs him about the entire operation. Meanwhile, Han and Beckett confront each other, ending in Han's shooting Beckett. Officially adopting the surname “Solo”, Han and Chewbacca further look for more adventurous opportunities, hinting towards their future exploits.

Solo: A Star Wars Story received mixed reviews. Critics praised the film's visual effects, performances (particularly by Ehrenreich and Glover), and action sequences, but criticized its storyline and pacing, noting it added little to the Star Wars mythos. Despite this, the film is considered a commercial failure, but it has created a cult following who petitioned for a sequel.