Solo: A Star Wars Story is a 2018 American space Western film directed by Ron Howard and written by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan. Produced by Lucasfilm, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the second Star Wars anthology film, following Rogue One (2016). The film stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, with Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany in supporting roles. The film tells the origin story of Han Solo and Chewbacca, who join a heist within the criminal underworld ten years prior to the events of the first Star Wars film (1977).

George Lucas began developing a Han Solo prequel in 2012 and commissioned Lawrence Kasdan to write the screenplay. After Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012, Kasdan was hired to write The Force Awakens (2015), leaving his son Jonathan to complete the Solo script. Principal photography began in January 2017 at Pinewood Studios, with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Both were fired in June 2017 following creative differences with Lucasfilm, and Howard was hired as their replacement. Solo is one of the most expensive films ever made, with a budget of at least $275 million.

Solo premiered in Los Angeles on May 10, 2018, and was released in North America on May 25. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, which praised the cast (particularly Ehrenreich and Glover), visuals, score, and action sequences, while some criticized the storyline and screenplay. It was the first Star Wars film to be a commercial failure, grossing $393 million worldwide. It received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 91st Academy Awards.

On the planet Corellia, orphans Han and Qi'ra escape a local gang. They bribe an Imperial officer with stolen coaxium, a starship fuel, for passage on a transport, but Qi'ra is captured before she can board. Han vows to return for her and joins the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet, being given the surname "Solo".

Three years later, Han is serving as an infantryman on Mimban following his expulsion from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination. He encounters a trio of criminals posing as Imperial soldiers, led by Tobias Beckett. Han attempts to blackmail Beckett into letting him join the gang, but Beckett has him arrested and thrown into a pit to be fed to a Wookiee prisoner named Chewbacca. Able to understand Chewbacca's language, Han persuades him to cooperate to escape. Beckett, aware of the usefulness of a Wookiee's strength, rescues and enlists them in the gang to steal a shipment of coaxium on Vandor-1. The plan fails when the Cloud Riders, a band of space pirates led by Enfys Nest, arrive to hijack the shipment. The resulting chaos leads to the destruction of the coaxium and the deaths of Beckett's partner Val and their crewman Rio.

Beckett reveals that he was ordered to steal the shipment for Dryden Vos, a high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Han and Chewbacca volunteer to help him steal another shipment to repay the debt so that Vos will not kill him. They travel to Vos's yacht, where Han finds Qi'ra, who has joined Crimson Dawn as Vos's top lieutenant. Han suggests a risky plan to steal unrefined coaxium from the mines on Kessel. Vos approves but insists that Qi'ra accompany the team. She leads them to Lando Calrissian, a smuggler and pilot, who she hopes will lend them his ship, the Millennium Falcon. Han challenges Lando to a game of cards, with the wager being Lando's ship. Lando cheats to win but agrees to join the mission in exchange for a share of the profits.

After reaching Kessel in the Falcon and infiltrating the mine, Lando's droid co-pilot L3-37 instigates a slave revolt. They steal the coaxium, but L3 is fatally damaged in the confusion and Lando is wounded during the escape. With the help of L3's navigational data, uploaded into the ship's systems, Han pilots the ship through the dangerous and uncharted Kessel Run to elude an Imperial blockade. The Falcon, badly damaged, lands on the planet Savareen to process the coaxium.

Enfys arrives, having tracked the team from Vandor, and Lando leaves in the Falcon, deserting everyone else. Enfys reveals that she and her crew are rebels trying to strike back at the syndicates and the Empire. Han becomes sympathetic to their cause and tries to trick Vos, who reveals Beckett has already alerted him to the double-cross. Vos sends his guards to kill Enfys, but the Cloud Riders overpower them, leaving Vos defenseless. Having anticipated Vos's strategy, Han tries to take the coaxium, but Beckett betrays Vos and escapes with it, taking Chewbacca hostage. Qi'ra kills Vos and sends Han after Beckett. She contacts Vos's superior, Maul, to inform him of the mission's failure, which she blames on Beckett. Maul orders Qi'ra to meet with him on Dathomir.