Solo: A Star Wars Story. First trailer for prequel unveiled

The first trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story has been unveiled. The latest in a series of standalone efforts released alongside the current Star Wars trilogy, Solo depicts the fledging career of space smuggler Han Solo, played famously in the original films by Harrison Ford, and is set prior to the events of 1977 effort A New Hope.

Alden Ehrenreich stars as Solo, joined by a cast that includes Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Donald Glover, who appears as a young Lando Calrissian.

The trailer introduces many of the film’s major players, as well as Solo’s long-time partner-in-crime Chewbacca. As one might expect, there’s plenty of evidence to back up Solo’s claim that he will become “a pilot ... the best in the galaxy”, with several action-heavy scenes of Han at the wheel of his starship the Millennium Falcon.

Like the previous standalone instalment in the franchise, Rogue One, Solo has been beset by production troubles, with original directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller replaced midway through filming by Ron Howard. Despite this, the film is expected to be one of the year's biggest box office hits.