For nearly half a decade, life seemed to contain three certainties: death, taxes, and Star Wars movies making ungodly amounts of money at the box office. But a year ago, that all changed when Solo, the origin story of the smuggler-turned-hero of the rebellion, came to theaters and failed to make an impression at the box office, struggling to cross $200 million at the domestic box office. It was an unprecedented financial failure for the franchise, causing Disney to halt several planned spin-offs, including the long-rumored Obi-Wan movie starring Ewan McGregor.
Yet despite flopping at the box office, Solo was a critical hit that clearly resonated with at least some of the massive Star Wars fanbase. And on the anniversary of the film’s release, fans decided to take to Twitter and advocate for a second dose of everyone’s favorite stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder with the hashtag #MakeSolo2Happen.
It’s not entirely clear who started the #MakeSolo2Happen trend but it appears that it began gaining steam when the Resistance Broadcast bumped it on Twitter.
It's #MakeSolo2Happen Day!!!!
Watch the video below to see how you can join today's movement in our call for a follow up movie or series to #SoloAStarWarsStory! We have a good feeling about this!!! #StarWars pic.twitter.com/CFXg9RlxWd
— The Resistance Broadcast (@RBatSWNN) May 23, 2019
Before long, thousands of users were expressing their support for the hypothetical sequel.
Today is the anniversary of @RealRonHoward's Solo picture. It was a great film and deserves a sequel. What do we need to do to #MakeSolo2Happen?
I'm not signing any petitions or anything, but I will express my devoted interest to the concept on twitter.
— Bryan Young (@swankmotron) May 23, 2019
Several fans speculated about a potential plot for Solo 2, such as Han and Lando teaming up to do a dangerous job for Jabba the Hutt.
#MakeSolo2Happen, you say? I can get behind that. The first one was insanely fun, and a sequel could do so much for the world. Plus, it'd be a nice spacer between the D&D/Johnson trilogies. Also, Ehrenreich and Glover, pulling a job for Jabba? How do you not? pic.twitter.com/ZWeNcYx1Mj
— Michael Reyes (@MrControversy83) May 23, 2019
Some suggested making it into a TV show on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
#MakeSolo2Happen because if we don't get anymore Enfys Nest it's a LITERAL crime!!! I'll even take it on Disney+ as a series. Let's do this!!! pic.twitter.com/jqoFMUI2Ol
— Mike "The Holdo Maneuver" Harris (@skymauler) May 23, 2019
A few people even admitted that while they didn’t enjoy Solo at first, they’d come to appreciate it upon rewatch.
I (Jon) really disliked Solo upon first viewing. In fact I called it my least favorite Star Wars Film in one of our commentaries. Now, a year later and about a dozen or so rewatches I absolutely love it, especially AE as Han. Today we join our fellow fans in #MakeSolo2Happen, pic.twitter.com/TUyPhYY2i1
— Beyond The Outer Rim Podcast 🎧 (@outerrimshow) May 23, 2019
And, of course, many people just wanted a chance to see Darth Maul back in action after his surprise cameo in Solo.
Remember when this made the world lose their minds?!? #MakeSolo2Happen pic.twitter.com/ofMlGAwQdE
— Star Wars DieHards (@StarWarsDH) May 23, 2019
Is it likely that this hashtag activism will actually help a Solo sequel get made? Probably not but it’s still nice to see this forgotten Star Wars film get some love from fans and, at the very least, it’s clearly not destined to become a cultural punchline like the highly divisive prequels.
