People: Star Wars

“In Woody’s character Beckett, [Han] finds something he’s clearly craving… a father figure”—JON KASDAN, WRITER“It was fun doing the new stormtroopers with their magnetic boots. Those were quite complicated. We had an instruction manual made”—GLYN DILLON, COSTUME DESIGNER“They’re in dangerous places, and they’re relying on each other”—WRITER LAWRENCE KASDAN ON HAN AND CHEWBACCA“Solo feels new in the Star Wars universe, yet it’s probably the one closest to the original trilogy”—SIMON EMANUEL, PRODUCER“Growing up, I thought, ‘Who is this guy [Lando]?’ I wanted to know more about him”—JON KASDAN, WRITER PREVIOUS SPREAD, THIS SPREAD: JONATHAN OLLEY/LUCASFILM LTD. (2). CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ©2018 LUCASFILM LTD.; JONATHAN OLLEY/LUCASFILM LTD. (2)…

“You get to watch Han Solo become who he is, get into the details of what his life was like”—ALDEN EHRENREICH You don’t have to tell Ehrenreich, 28, that he has some big boots to fill—he’s already well aware. Star Wars “is a really specific world that has way different rules,” the L.A. native says of joining the franchise as the young Han. How did he get past the intimidation of following in Harrison Ford’s footsteps? “I had to make the role personal.” SEEKING WISDOM Before filming, Ehrenreich met with Han’s older self, avid pilot Ford. “I met him at his airplane hangar in Santa Monica, and we sat with like five planes around us,” he says. “He basically said, ‘Tell them I told you everything you need to know but that you…

After seven seasons on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke, 31, is used to secrecy, special effects and massive productions. But getting the call that she’d been cast in Solo was a special thrill. “I was boarding a plane, and I think someone thought there was possibly something wrong with the plane because I was yelping so loud!” A MYSTERY WOMAN Qi’ra, a childhood friend who reconnects with Han, is “badass,” says the London native. “She kind of follows a femme fatale arc. She’ll keep you on your toes. Also, Qi’ra exists nowhere else in the Star Wars universe. I got to make her up from scratch, which was exciting.” THE STAR WARS DIFFERENCE “I have dealt with green screen a lot,” she says. “There is a little bit in Star Wars, but what…

Joonas Suotamo, 31, was a body double for the original Chewie, Peter Mayhew, in The Force Awakens before stepping into the role himself. “I have to spend time in front of the mirror before shooting, trying to get that looseness and that Chewbacca-style walk,” he says. The voice, however, he can do at any time, especially to entertain family members. “I can conjure it up pretty successfully,” he says. “I do it often. Especially with my nephews.” GENTLE GIANT At 7 ft., Suotamo is used to standing out in a crowd. “People have always felt they can approach me easily,” he says. “Because there’s always something to talk about, which is ‘Do you play basketball?’ ‘No, I play mini golf.’ Kidding!” REACHING EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS Hard to believe, but as tall as he is,…

Taking on an iconic role like the galaxy’s suave smuggler is no small feat. In the role of Han’s friend and future adversary Lando—the original owner of the Millennium Falcon—Donald Glover, 34, took his task seriously but kept his performance light, loose and all his own. “Nobody really wants to see you pretend to be somebody else,” he says. He decided to “just do the most fun thing every time.” A LONGTIME LANDO FAN The Star Wars movies are the first Glover remembers seeing. “My dad took me out of school for Episode I,” he says. “We all watched it as a family—that was a big deal.” As a kid, he owned an action figure of his favorite character: Lando. STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE After Glover was cast, he met with the actor who…

Thandie Newton plays Val, a no-nonsense member of Beckett’s crew who would “just defy anyone or anything,” she says. The London native, 45, regards Solo, like her hit HBO show Westworld, as “not just about escapism but escapism with a purpose.… It’s a film of our time.” When the world becomes difficult, she says, “it requires us to band together, whoever we are—you know, whichever corners of the galaxy we’re from.” INSPIRING NEW GENERATIONS Newton says she was excited to be in a movie “that’s going to be so iconic—kids are going to be playing with dolls!” Most meaningful to her was playing the first major black female character in the Star Wars world. “This is momentous,” she says. “And the fact that it gets to be me, it’s like, ‘Wow, that…