Kendall Schroeder is back with look at a Han Solo western feel in this edition of the Retrozap Artist Series.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is arguably one of the most daring projects to come out of the Post-Lucas era. Ever since the it was announced to be the next in the series of stand-alone films after Rogue One, there were questions on who take over the reins from the iconic Harrison Ford. Who could? There was equal speculation on the tone and story. Will Jabba the Hutt or Boba Fett make an appearance? Will the film show how Han won the Millennium Falcon from Lando. Will it show how Chewie and Han Solo first meet? And, it didn’t stop there.
Never Tell Me the Odds
With the change in directors midway through production, the new anthology film looked to be in trouble. However, once Ron Howard was put in charge, the good started to outweigh the bad. Howard began sharing more of the journey on social media and anticipation grew. The odds of this film being another success for Lucasfilm and Disney also grew. But, nothing captured the excitement more than the most recent teaser trailer. Ever since the first images interrupted Super Bowl LII, my mind can’t stop thinking about it. Coupled with Anthony Breznican’s deeper look behind the scenes in recent Entertainment Weekly articles, Solo: A Star Wars Story looks to be a wild ride.
That Western Feel
It’s well-known that George Lucas took some inspiration for the original trilogy from the western sagas of the 1960s. The character of Han Solo is portrayed to be a space cowboy of sorts. It’s evident in the trailer and, especially the character posters recently released, that Solo draws upon the old spaghetti western genre. However, in this movie, the man with no name has a name and it’s Han Solo.
A Movie Poster of My Own
Taking inspiration from the movie posters portraying Solo, Lando, Chewie and a new character, Qi’ra, in a wanted poster style, I set out to create my own version. I’m a big western fan. I grew up watching the old John Wayne and Clint Eastwood films. One of my favorite trilogies, other than Star Wars, is Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns from the 1960s. The series of films, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), are iconic films that launched Eastwood’s career and set the bar high for the classic western.
Alden Ehrenreich
The actor chosen to take over the reins of Han Solo is Alden Ehrenreich. Coming off the heels of playing a bad actor in the Coen brothers’ comedy Hail, Caesar!, Ehrenreich looks the part. There’s a reason these trailers are called teasers. The images, dialogue and sounds we’re getting sure do leave me wanting more. I love it!
Procreate
The Procreate app for the iPad Pro is becoming one of my favorite drawing apps out there. After I had lightly sketched the design I was going for, I easily uploaded it into Procreate and began the inking process. Using The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly movie poster as a model, I replaced Eastwood with Ehrenreich.
Running Scams Since He Was 10
Solo: A Star Wars Story has all the makings of a classic western, except this is a space western. Solo says that he has been running scams in the streets since he was 10. We know how his story ends. I’m excited to see how his began. Maybe there’ll be a shootout at the O.K. Corellian Corral. One can hope. Now, I have a hankering to read some Louis L’Amour.
Kendall Schroeder saw the original Star Wars in a small theater in the summer of his 10th birthday and immediately fell in love with the Far Away Galaxy. Pretending to be either Jedi Luke Skywalker or Colonel Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man, Kendall always believed he had special powers. Maybe that’s why he truly believes there is good in all people. And, he will stop at nothing to help rid the world of evil. When Kendall is not creating art, he is leading educators as the head of an online school. Kendall lives in West Michigan with his wife and two kids.