This Star Wars Actor Still Hasn't Seen The Rise Of Skywalker
Star Wars is rightly thought of as a family franchise. Families enjoy watching Star Wars together. One of the core concepts seen again and again across the saga is the discovery of found families and the redemption of blood relatives. Of course, in recent years, Star Wars has been affiliated with Disney, a company whose entire brand is built around being family-friendly.
It's safe to say that when a new Star Wars movie comes out, plenty of people who've been involved with the franchise in any capacity are going get together, not unlike a family, to see it. Most people creating Star Wars are, by this point, folks who grew up obsessing over the original and prequel trilogies. And, let's be honest, there's probably a chance that some people appear on the red carpet for the sake of appearing on the red carpet.
However, there's at least one notable Star Wars actor who not only missed the the big opening night for the final chapter of the Skywalker saga, they haven't seen the movie, period. The person who hasn't seen The Rise of Skywalker is none other than young Han Solo himself, Alden Ehrenreich.
Why Alden Ehrenreich went Solo from Star Wars
Solo: A Star Wars Story, designed to explore how Han Solo became the smuggling pilot of the Millennium Falcon, arrived in theaters in May of 2018. Surprisingly, the film made just shy of $400 million worldwide at the box office, making it, by far, the lowest grossing Star Wars film since Disney's acquisition (source: Box Office Mojo).
Solo was rumored to be plagued with problems, not least of which was the dismissal of co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who were replaced with long-time director Ron Howard. For the film's star, Alden Ehrenreich, however, things were still on target prior to Solo's release. In an interview with Esquire back in 2018, Ehrenreich confirmed he was contracted for three Star Wars films in total.
And yet, in a 2020 Esquire interview, Ehrenreich admitted he hasn't seen The Rise of Skywalker, nor does he know the Mandalorian's real name. "It was basically a three-year experience from pre-production to the release of the movie," said Ehrenreich of his Star Wars break. "And I just wanted to be a person, connect with people in my life, spend time and develop as a person outside of those worlds. And then you never know."
Two more films in a Solo trilogy are, it's pretty safe to say, off the table. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean Ehrenreich is permanently done with the Star Wars universe. "It depends on what it is," the actor explained. "It depends on how it's done. It depends if it feels innate to the story."
Ehrenreich did offer an intriguing tease about conversations happening behind closed doors at Lucasfilm. "I've heard some stuff," he admitted, "but nothing concrete."