Yesterday we reported that Disney and Lucasfilm were ramping up their long-term grand plans for Star Wars with the announcement that they would be developing a series of movies set apart from Episode VII and on that would focus on individual characters from the Star Wars universe, including a possible Yoda movie.

Entertainment Weekly today broke an exclusive addendum to that revelation with the news that both Han Solo, the roguish but lovable space smuggler that helped make Harrison Ford a star in the original Star Wars movies, and Boba Fett, the masked intergalactic bounty hunter who had little screen time in the original trilogy but has since become a huge fan favorite character, might also be headlining their own standalone movies.

The….ahem….solo Solo story would be an origin tale of sorts exploring the future captain of the Millennium Falcon’s younger years that would be set in the time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The character would undoubtedly be played by an actor even younger than Ford was when he first played Solo at the age of 35 back in 1977, but Ford still could appear in a present day framing sequence that would be much appreciated by the financiers and filmmakers. It is unknown when the Boba Fett story would be set, though the EW article assumes it could take place any time between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back (the latter being Boba’s first appearance on film, if you’re not a fan of the Special Editions) or Empire and Return of the Jedi, when the supposed badass was subjected to one of the most embarrassing death scenes in the history of cinema when you take the massive build-up into account.

Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned that screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg were being put to work scripting the standalone films. Seeing as how Kasdan also wrote the scripts for Empire and Return and gave us many memorable screen moments with Solo it would be very fortuitous for him to be chronicling the charming Corellian’s potentially amazing story. Outside of how he has been portrayed in Star Wars comics, novels, and the prequel trilogy the possibilities for an exciting Boba Fett adventure pitting the masked Mandalorian in the thick of some serious galactic intrigue while on the hunt for his latest elusive quarry could be endless, making it ideal territory for Kinberg, a relative newcomer to the Star Wars saga. Plus by setting these standalone movies during the events of the original trilogy the door is left open for the series’ iconic villain Darth Vader to put in an appearance.

Joe Johnston, who was one of the key visual effects craftsmen on the original trilogy and has also directed some terrific films of his own such as The Rocketeer, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and most recently Captain America: The First Avenger, spoke in the past about wanting to direct a Boba Fett movie independent of the previous Star Wars movies back in the days before Lucasfilm was sold to Disney. Johnston knows the character and the universe intimately so he would be a great choice to give Fett the proper silver screen showcase he richly deserves, that is if the director is still interested.

Both Kasdan and Kinberg are also involved in the drafting of the new trilogy that is currently in the works with Michael Arndt penning the screenplays and J.J. Abrams on board to direct Star Wars Episode VII, which is set to hit theaters sometime in 2015.

[Source: EW]

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