A new year means another Star Wars movie, and this year it's Han Solo, a spin-off centering on the iconic space pirate, now played by Alden Ehrenreich. A rumor recently surfaced that the first Solo trailer will debut during the college football national championship game, airing January 8 on ESPN. While we wait to see if that will actually happen, director Ron Howard rung in the new year by sharing an image from this Star Wars adventure, which reveals a never-before-seen speeder.
Director Ron Howard shared this image on his Twitter account, wishing fans a Happy New Year from "Team Solo," adding that they're all "pretty pumped for 2018." That message was accompanied by a photo of gloved handsr holding onto a speeder steering wheel.
As of now, Disney and LucasFilm are still slating Solo: A Star Wars Story for release on May 25, 2018, which will mark the 41st anniversary of the very first Star Wars movie. Production wrapped on Solo: A Star Wars Story in mid-October, several months behind its original projected wrap date, since director Ron Howard was brought in to replace fired directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, after they shot four months worth of footage. It has since been revealed that the new director essentially reshot the entire movie, which has left many surprised that the release date hasn't been shifted to allow for more time in post-production.
We reported earlier this week that iconic character Boba Fett will be featured in the standalone adventure, after fans noticed the bounty hunter's silhouette in the background of a photo Ron Howard shared a few months ago. There has been no confirmation from the director or the studio that Boba Fett is part of this story, but hopefully we'll find out in the near future, as the countdown continues towards this highly-anticipated release.
No matter when it arrives, it's possible that this movie could be the fourth Star Wars movie in a row to become the highest-grossing movie of the year at the box office. 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi have all been the highest grossing domestic movies in their respective years, but it remains to be seen if Solo can keep that streak alive. It's worth noting that two separate polls have pegged Avengers: Infinity War as the year's most anticipated movie, so it's possible that may take the top spot at the box office. While we wait for more details, take a look at this new photo, courtesy of Ron Howard Twitter.