What do you get if you combine an uncanny talent with a sensational script? You get Han Solo – A Star Wars Story – A Smuggler’s Trade.

There are lots of Star Wars fan films, but there aren’t very many this good. The arduously long title aside, this short film is breathtaking. The actor playing the title role is Jamie Costa, a voice over artist who made waves last year with his impression of Robin Williams, and who also happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to a youthful Harrison Ford.  A successful IndieGoGo campaign raised about $21 thousand last April, and they banged the film in a bit under nine months.

Another feather in the cap of the filmmakers is that famed actor Doug Jones, now cast as a regular in the new Star Trek Discovery television series, appears as the film’s antagonist (yes, Jones plays yet another alien).

The danger that all fan films must deal with is clothing their actors in enough of the trappings of the original source material that they’re accepted as the characters they’re trying to portray. With a film based on a character like Han Solo, though, it all hinges on that one actor’s performance. There just aren’t that many actors out there, in the fan production circuit or the professional one, that could even attempt to pull this off. I think Jamie Costa is the one guy they could have found to do this. When I first saw Costa on screen it was one of those “oh my god” moments as he brought Han Solo to life for me, much like that sharp intake of breath I experienced when Grand Moff Tarkin had his surprise reveal in Rogue One.

Every tiny piece of it is pitch perfect, the attention to detail is stunning. So much of it works at this level, in fact, that it reaches that magical tipping point that all fan films try to reach. When you’re watching it, any doubt that you’re watching something authentically Star Wars is swept away in seconds. Costa carries scene after scene, and we are transported, transfixed, and everything else good storytelling should do.

Hollywood tends to make casting decisions based on previous market draw rather than specific suitability for a specific role. Disney, if you’re listening, have a look at Jamie Costa as Han Solo in this remarkable film. I’m sure the makeup department could do something about adding that little signature scar on Han Solo’s chin.  Work with him, and take our breath away.

 Credits

Directed by
Keith Allen – youtube.com/user/KFaceTV

Executive Producers & Produced by
Jadon Gauthier – instagram.com/jadononthego
Jamie Costa – www.jamie-costa.com

Starring

Jamie Costa – www.jamie-costa.com
Doug Jones – www.facebook.com/actordougjones2
Kristine Gerolaga – www.facebook.com/kristine.a.gerolaga
Cory Daniel – www.facebook.com/CoryVader501st

Story by
Nathaniel Nauert

Screenplay by
Nathaniel Nauert
Jared Bell & Kieth Allen

Produced by
David Oakes – instagram.com/droakes
Keith Allen

Director of Photography
Kristopher S. Kimlin – kriskimlindp.com

Production Designer
Addi Esson – www.imdb.com/name/nm5517452

Original Music by
Andrew Gerlicher – andrewgerlicher.com

Lead Character Costumes by
Mercedes Roberts

Makeup Artist
Jessica Vergon – instagram.com/jessicavergon

Edited by
Keith Allen
Jadon Gauthier

Sound Design & Mixing by
Michael Winters

Stunt Coordinator
Matt Mullins – www.istunt.com/matt-mullins

VFX Supervisors
Aaron Sorenson – vimeo.com/aaronsbot
Brandon Johnson – vimeo.com/brandonrjohnson

VFX Artists
Wesley Campbell – Compositor
Ryan Printz – Hologram UI
KiJeon Nam – Compositor
Lukas Rooney – 3D Artist

Alexa Mini Camera Provided by
Redefine Rentals – redefinerentals.com

Associate Producers:
Kristopher Caetta
Megan Wren
John Hepner
Ken and Sue Allen

Collaborators

Redefine Rentals
BrainBox Cameras

Director
KFaceTV

Music
Andrew Gerlicher
Andrew Gerlicher Music

SCIFI Radio Staff

SCIFI Radio Staff

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