Star Wars: Han Solo To Go It Alone In Spin-Off

Han Solo, famously played by Harrison Ford in the Star Wars franchise, is to get his own film, Disney has confirmed.

Slated for release on 25 May 2018, the as-yet untitled project is the second stand-alone Star Wars film to be put into production.

It will follow the release of Rogue One next year.

The film, focusing on Han Solo's backstory, will be directed by the duo behind The Lego Movie, filmmakers Chris Miller and Phil Lord.

"We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us," the pair said in a statement.

"The story focuses on how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley," Disney said in a statement.

The cast of the film has yet to be announced, although writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, best known for co-writing The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, has signed up to pen the screenplay with his son Jon Kasdan.

The announcement is likely to thrill fans who still have six months to wait before the release of the hotly-anticipated new Star Wars trilogy.

The first of the three, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will hit screens in December.

They are the first to be produced by Disney since it purchased the franchise from Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4bn (£2.6bn).