• Solo: A Star Wars Story: The Official Guide
• written by Pablo Hidalgo
• published by DK (2018)

Solo: A Star Wars Story got a bad rap. It’s a great movie. Fight me.

In the months leading up to the film’s release, doomsdayers were shrieking about Alden Ehrenreich’s performance before they even saw it. Backseat filmmakers took the film’s creative shuffles and reshoots as a sign that the film was going to be awful. And shortsighted “fans” didn’t let them see a place in the Star Wars universe for Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, or Thandie Newton.

They were all wrong.

Heck, even I was one of those who doubted whether we really needed a “young Han Solo” movie. Was it really necessary when there are so many more compelling stories to tell?

Turns out: it’s an emphatic yes!

The only thing everyone was right about from the beginning was Donald Glover as Lando. That was brilliant casting from the get-go, and he didn’t disappoint.

Now that the film is finally out on both digital and Blu-ray, you have no excuse to check it out. If only for Glover. But trust me; Solo is far more than just him.

And once you see it, you’re going to want to explore more of that world. You’re going to want more of not only Han, Chewie, and Lando but also Qi’ra, Beckett, Val, Rio, L3-37, and Enfys Nest. Dear lord, you’re going to want more Enfys Nest.

Thankfully, DK has you covered. DK books are renowned for their production quality and beautifully designed pages. They abound with gorgeous art and photos. And the Solo: Official Guide is no exception.

Written by Pablo Hidalgo, veteran member of the Lucasfilm Story Group (and familiar name on other official guides), this book is packed to the brim with fascinating information about the Star Wars universe in general and how Solo expanded on what we already knew.

Check out my conversation with Pablo Hidalgo here.

These books do tend to be a bit on the side of overkill, but that’s kind of the point. You pick up a DK Official Guide if you want to jump head first into trivial factoids and insane detail.

In other words, if you want to know what material Han Solo’s jacket is made from (nerf leather) or what kind of gun Val uses (BlasTech EC-17 hold-out blaster), this is the book for you. Want to learn more about characters and aliens seen for split seconds in the background? Of course you do. Want to read up on all the settings and get some history of the rival gangs that face off in the film? Yeah you do.

But really, 95 percent of the reason you should pick up any DK Official Guide, but this one for Solo specifically, is to see all the love and attention to detail that went into making the film. Props, costumes, and practical effects that are on screen for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it amount of time are presented here in glorious detail.

The book lets you linger over the details and get washed over with Star Wars love. And for that, I’m extraordinarily grateful that DK continues to put as much care and time into these guides as they do.

Bravo. And kudos. Solo: A  Star Wars Story: The Official Guide is a colon-filled joyride of a book. And I love it.

(Disclosure: DK provided me with a review copy of this book. All opinions remain my own.)