Han Solo and Boba Fett could be next Star Wars characters to go it alone

Star Wars characters Han Solo and Boba Fett are to get their own standalone movies as part of Disney's new series of films in the long-running space saga, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Disney confirmed on Wednesday that it will make a number of spinoff films to sit alongside its previously announced sequel trilogy. Ain't It Cool News reported earlier in the week that the first standalone project will centre on Jedi master Yoda, and Entertainment Weekly now claims to have the inside track on two other characters in line for their own outings.

The Han Solo film will reportedly portray a younger version of the sardonic space smuggler, and will be set in the period between 2005 prequel movie Revenge of the Sith and the film that introduced the character, 1977's Star Wars. The timing would require a new actor for the lead, though Entertainment Weekly suggests original star Harrison Ford might appear in a framing device, and believes the film will not be based on Scoundrels, the recent Star Wars novel by Timothy Zahn, which saw Solo setting up an Ocean's 11-type heist in an effort to steal a gangster's fortune.

The film about Boba Fett, who appeared in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi, would be set during the timeline of the original trilogy. Casting should not be an issue, since the character never removed his helmet in those films: Disney could in theory cast Temuera Morrison, who played Fett's clone-father Jango in the prequel films. Joe Johnston, who worked with Disney recently on the Marvel superhero movie Captain America, has in the past expressed an interest in directing a Boba Fett movie. The director has some attachment to the character, having designed his armour more than three decades ago while a young LucasFilm effects artist.

With both films set during the original trilogy, other popular characters such as Darth Vader or Jabba the Hutt could appear.

Star Trek's JJ Abrams was last month revealed as the director who will take on Star Wars Episode VII following Disney's $4.05bn purchase of all rights to the series in October. The new film is set to arrive in cinemas in 2015, with plans to release sequels every two to three years after that. Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt is overseeing the screenplay for the debut instalment, while Disney has revealed that The Empire Strikes Back's Lawrence Kasdan and Sherlock Holmes' Simon Kinberg will write two of the standalone films.

The stars of the original trilogy, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Ford (Han Solo), have all been tipped to return to the series.