The Audette Set: May 10th

by RetroZap Staff

Alden Ehrenreich is allegedly Han Solo, Funko is trying to bankrupt me, Star Wars day, and STAR WARS CELEBRATION IS COMING!

By Mike Audette //  This week news broke on the casting front for the untitled Han Solo standalone film. According to multiple news outlets, Alden Ehrenreich has been cast for the role of young Han. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, this has not been confirmed by Lucasfilm or Disney at this time. While the sources may be 100% right, until Lucasfilm says so anything can change. Entertainment reporting is a lot like sports reporting these days. Everyone is in the game to get the most clicks and more importantly be first. It doesn’t matter if you’re wrong or right, if you can get it out before anyone else you won. With Star Wars Celebration Europe and San Diego Comic Con coming up in a few short months in July, I’d say we can expect the official word on Alden Ehrenreich and this casting at one of those two events. As far as the supposed casting of Alden Ehrenreich, I am a fan of it. His biggest role to date was in Hail, Caesar! earlier this year and he was my favorite part of the film. I could definitely see him stepping into the shoes of Han Solo and thriving. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing the young Han Solo movie from a script by Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon. It’s scheduled to hit theaters May 25, 2018. I am absolutely behind this creative team and can’t wait to see what they can come up with.

Alden Ehrenreich

Wednesday was Star Wars Day, and it was a cracker. The announcements and news were aplenty. Since the release of The Force Awakens soundtrack, fans have been clamoring for “Jabba Flow.” That was the song played by the band inside of Maz Kanata’s castle when Rey, Finn and Han Solo first arrive. It was written and performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the worldwide hit musical Hamilton, featuring vocals by JJ Abrams himself. The song was posted here on StarWars.com and it is also available for download on iTunes.

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If you’ve been following RetroZap, you know all about the Star Wars Funkos thanks to Dengar Dan’s awesome review series. On Wednesday, Funko officially revealed the all new wave of the signature bobbleheads coming out this summer. My wallet is going to be crying this coming July. You can check out the full wave here and there are so many good ones to get.

In honor of May the 4th, StarWars.com is excited to reveal the next wave of Funko’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens Pop! figures. Coming in July and made in Pop!’s already-classic design aesthetic, the lineup includes everyone from Luke Skywalker to maskless Kylo Ren to Rey (with lightsaber!). In addition, several retailer exclusives are coming, featuring special depictions and variations of characters. Look for Rey with X-wing helmet, Poe Dameron with jacket and blaster, and much more. Finally, you can recreate Rey’s fateful meeting with Luke right on your desk.

Among those not mentioned above in the release on StarWars.com are General Hux, two different Maz Kanatas, Endor and Bespin Luke Skywalker, and FN-2199 (TRAITOR!) I will be no doubt getting the TFA Luke, the 3 versions of Rey, General Leia and the two versions of Poe.

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Also Bloodline by Claudia Gray came out on Tuesday so go get that if you haven’t. It’s amazing.

Now, enough with the preamble. STAR WARS CELEBRATION, APRIL 13TH-16TH, 2017 ORLANDO, FLORIDA! This news dropped midday on May the Fourth and everyone rejoiced at once. It was a complete and utter surprise that came way out of left field. I had predicted in my 2016 Year in Preview that the announcement for the next US-based Celebration would be coming at the closing ceremonies of Celebration Europe in London. I’m quite glad I got that one wrong. Star Wars Celebration is one of those events that you need to attend as many times as you can in your life. I went last year in Anaheim and no hyperbole, it was life changing. The people you meet, things you see, memories you make, are things you can’t experience anywhere else. Coming together with the community for a full on four-day long party is what makes me glad I joined this fandom.

Tickets are going on sale May 25th at 3pm Eastern/12 noon Pacific/8pm GMT+1, hotel reservations are open and available here, and the official site for Celebration Orlando is here. I recommend signing up for the Star Wars Celebration official newsletter to get up to the date news and information on the event.

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