Things We Saw Today: Solo: A Star Wars Story Could Have a Different Name in China Because The Last Jedi Bombed

Has the Star Wars brand become toxic in China?

According to reports, this seems to be the case. We’ve talked about how poorly The Last Jedi performed, pulled from Chinese theaters after just two weeks—likely because Rian Johnson’s film was hard to get into if you weren’t already steeped in Star Wars lore and nostalgia.

So instead of risking another “eh, Star Wars, hard pass” reaction from the world’s second-largest movie market, it appears that the standalone Han Solo movie will be called Ranger Solo. It’s like labeling one food as another food and hoping the people you serve don’t notice what you’re serving. io9 explains the word choice: “As a translation, ‘ranger’ is sort of a fun way to think of the smuggler, renegade, and hotshot pilot that is Han Solo.”

Honestly, I’m pretty into Ranger Solo. Can we rename it here too?

And speaking of Ranger Solo, Birth.Movies.Death just published a timeline of the shenanigans that have plagued the Ranger making it to the big screen, entitled “Alright Disney, Enough’s Enough: What’s Happening With SOLO?” wherein they point out that we still don’t even have a poster for the movie, let alone a trailer.

(via io9, image: Disney)

• FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, a frequent target of Trump’s ire, stepped down today. I don’t know about you, but when I’m innocent of all crimes I definitely I go around attacking and trying to fire everyone who is involved with investigating said crimes. Who doesn’t? (via NBC)
• You need to read about the history of The Green Book, created in 1936 in order to “direct black travelers to restaurants, gas stations, hotels, pharmacies and other establishments that were known havens.” (via The Washington Post)
• Lady directors kicked ass and took all of the awards at the Sundance film festival. (via Pajiba)

What’d you see go by today?

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Kaila Hale-Stern

Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.

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