Han Solo Snubbed: Odeon Excludes "Solo" From "Star Wars" Season

While Luke Skywalker may be the hero of the original *Star Wars

trilogy and Anakin its tragic villain, Han Solo has always been the heart and soul of the franchise. Though only a Skywalker by marriage, it is shocking that a major re-release of the series will completely omit Solo.

Han Solo was introduced in the very first film, *Star Wars

(retroactively titled *A New Hope*), portrayed by Harrison Ford in 1977. Despite Ford's well-documented dislike of the character, it was this role that propelled him to global stardom and, along with his other Lucasfilm franchise, *Indiana Jones*, cemented his place in pop culture history. He starred in every film of the original trilogy (largely due to George Lucas's refusal to kill off the character) and later returned for the Disney-produced sequel films.

Following Han Solo's demise in *The Force Awakens

(2015) and a brief spectral appearance in *The Rise of Skywalker* (2019), Disney faced a predicament: they held the rights to one of the most beloved sci-fi rogues, but Harrison Ford had made it clear he had no interest in returning.

Their solution? A prequel film, *Solo: A Star Wars Story

(2018), directed by Ron Howard and starring Alden Ehrenreich as a younger version of the character. The film served as an origin story for the Corellian orphan turned Imperial soldier turned smuggler, featuring a cast that included Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jon Favreau (voice), Erin Kellyman, and Paul Bettany (who replaced Michael K. Williams in reshoots). It detailed how Solo acquired the Millennium Falcon, befriended Chewbacca, and, most famously, received his last name.

However, *Solo

became the first *Star Wars* movie to flop at the box office, grossing less than $400 million worldwide. Despite a production budget of $330 million and an estimated marketing budget of $200 million, the film failed to turn a profit. Plans for a sequel were scrapped, and the studio seemingly abandoned the idea of recasting iconic roles with younger actors. Now, even the film itself is being actively erased from memory.

Odeon Cinemas, the largest cinema chain in the UK, has recently announced a "Star Wars Season," a three-month re-release of the series. However, they have conspicuously omitted *Solo

from the lineup. Their official social media post reads, “ODEON Presents… STAR WARS SEASON🌌🤯  Dust off your Jedi robes. For the first time EVER we are showing ALL of The Skywalker Saga Star Wars movies and *Rogue One*, PLUS a Weekend Marathon! Playing in chronological order from August to October, BOOK NOW!🤩”

Intriguingly, Odeon is including *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

(2016) in both their weekend marathon and longer re-release, making the exclusion of *Solo* even more deliberate. It is likely that this snub is either a decision made by the cinema chain or a deliberate act of suppression by Lucasfilm (or Disney) in an attempt to bury the film.

The *Star Wars

franchise is currently undergoing a reset, with Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni working diligently to move the series forward while avoiding alienating fans. However, it seems unlikely that any *Solo* fans are particularly bothered by this snub.

Is *Solo: A Star Wars Story

deserving of its current fate? Share your thoughts in the comments below.