Solo: A Star Wars Story to Debut at Cannes

Ahead of its US debut, the latest Star Wars film will get its debut at the biggest international film festival in the world.

According to multiple reports including in Deadline, Solo: A Star Wars Story will debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year. This will be the third Star Wars film ever to be shown at the international showcase after 2002’s Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and 2005’s Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Here is a copy of the official statement from Cannes:

In 2002, it was Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and in 2005, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. In 2018, what is one of the greatest legends in the history of cinema returns to the red carpet at the next Festival de Cannes.

Presented Out of Competition, the latest film of the Star Wars galaxy by Ron Howard brings together Han Solo, his faithful Chewbacca, the crooked Lando Calrissian, the Millenium Falcon and of course the droids…

The saga’s second spin-off will be unveiled on the screen of the Grand Théâtre Lumière. This episode takes us back to the youth of the famous smuggler, ace pilot and charming scoundrel, Han Solo.

Written by Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan, and directed by Ron Howard, who starred in George Lucas’ classic American Graffiti and directed numerous popular and critical hits such as Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2002, Oscars for best film and director).

Alongside Alden Ehrenreich (Blue Jasmine, 2013) who plays Han Solo, the cast includes Woody Harrelson (No Country For Old Men, 2007), Emilia Clarke (Terminator Genisys, 2015), Donald Glover (The Martian, 2015), Thandie Newton (Jefferson in Paris, 1995), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (The Iron Lady, 2011), Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 2017) and Paul Bettany (Dogville, 2003).

Solo: A Star Wars Story is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, the President of LucasFilm, with Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel. The executive producers are Lawrence Kasdan, Jason McGatlin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

The screening in the Grand Amphitheatre Lumière at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes promises to be an event for all fans of the saga and everyone in attendance. Solo: A Star Wars Story is distributed by the Walt Disney Company. It will be released in France on May 23, two days before its release in the United States.

Having the movie premiere at Cannes is a smart move for Lucasfilm and Disney. With all of the negative press that has dogged the production, having the movie premiere in a huge international market can go a long way to creating a new narrative for the film, its stars and the director. It also helps if the movie is good.