Continuing his fun social media campaign, Ron Howard recently posted a picture on Twitter announcing the inclusion of fan-favorite ‘Star Wars Legends’ characters Tag and Bink into the new canon, showing them on-set as part of the new ‘Han Solo’ film. Not only that, but we also learned from the comments that the man behind the ‘Tag and Binks’ comics, Kevin Rubio, is stoked about the news, and the inclusion of the characters apparently was the work of Jon Kasdan (son of screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan), one of the writers of the ‘Han Solo’ movie, who also cast himself to play one of the iconic duo. Check out the Tweet for yourself below:
Check out the Tweet for yourself below:
#tagandbink ? pic.twitter.com/1EzUbS3MQs
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) October 14, 2017
#HOLYCRAP Ron Howard just made my comic #OfficialCanon #Thanks Ron! pic.twitter.com/7a3Xe8nOyO
— Kevin Rubio (@TheKevinRubio) October 14, 2017
Thank You, Kevin. I’m a huge fan and I had to get ’em in there, and then had to play it myself (with Toby Hefferman) to do it justice
— Jon Kasdan (@JonKasdan) October 14, 2017
The inclusion of Tag and Bink mean a lot of interesting things for both the ‘Han Solo’ movie and the ‘Star Wars’ canon at large. First, for the ‘Han Solo’ movie, it proves that they are not entirely losing the sense of humor and comedy that Phil Miller and Chris Lord wanted for the film originally, which was a worry when the duo directors were let go and Ron Howard was brought in. Second, it means the film may include a few more surprise cameos from characters Howard has yet to announce, because the story of ‘Han Solo’ spans quite a few years, and already delves into the backstory of Jabba the Hutt, Lando Calrissian, and the Death Star from what we know of the movie already, leaving the door wide open for many more surprise cameos, from both established canon and the old Legends canon.
Which brings me to my next point: this is the first live-action adaptation of a ‘Legends’ character since Disney took over the franchise (I know they are doing Thrawn on ‘Star Wars Rebels,’ but that is not live-action), and hopefully not the last, as there are a lot of cool characters, locations, weapons, ships, etc that they can and should be borrowing from the ‘Legends’ canon that can greatly enhance the new canon. Tag and Binks are just the tip of the iceberg, and a particularly deep reach, as not every casual fan has even heard of them. So kudos for sure to Ron Howard and Jon Kasdan for having the guts to include them and I hope they manage to pull ooffthe comedy well.
What do you think of Tag and Binks being in the ‘Han Solo’ movie? Do you think it will be a brief background cameo or will they have actual lines? Can you see a downside to their inclusion? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
