--- description: Paul Bettany talk to TIME about joining the Star Wars universe and pantheon of villains in the prequel "Solo," in theaters May 25. title: Solo’s Paul Bettany on Joining the ‘Star Wars’ Universe and His Villain Dryden Vos image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d7472a4bfd67d56/69892f677cdbac79f8d5cc38/hans-solo-villain-paul-bettany.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Solo_’s Paul Bettany on Joining the _Star Wars_ Universe and His Villain Dryden Vos  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 3, 2018 10:47 AM CUT  Bettany faces off against a young Han Solo in the latest Star Wars saga Bettany faces off against a young Han Solo in the latest Star Wars sagaJonathan Olley—Lucasfilm  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 3, 2018 10:47 AM CUT A good summer movie may be remembered for its hero, but great summer movies are defined by their villains. And most can’t quite measure up to the bad guys from the _Star Wars_ galaxy, including Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett. Paul Bettany talked to TIME about joining that pantheon of evildoers in _Solo_, a [prequel out May 25](http://time.com/5247523/star-wars-top-han-solo-moments/ "undefined"). Set before Han Solo meets Luke or Leia, the movie chronicles Han’s descent into the smuggling world and his encounters with shady characters, including Bettany’s scarred gangster Dryden Vos. **Who is Dryden Vos?** He’s a gangster, a godfather figure. He’s got a long reach, and he demands his tribute before any sort of business deal goes forward. And, of course, Han gets mixed up with him. **Han Solo has always operated in a moral gray area. Is it fair to say that Dryden and the other** **_Solo_** **characters aren’t so concerned with the dark side and the light?** It feels very different tonally from the other _Star Wars_ movies. This is definitely a world where Han shoots first. And that’s as it should be. It’s absolutely what attracted me to Han when I was a little boy. Thinking, Oh my God, he’s so bad. He’s just out for himself. But then he can’t help but show up at the Death Star when you need him. He’s worked out that the galaxy is cruel and you need to be cruel to get by, but he can’t quite do it because he has a heart. **Do you have a favorite** **_Star Wars_** **villain?** I have to say Darth Vader. It’s a beautifully complex character. Look, I could lie and say I became an actor because of Fellini films. But the truth is, in 1977, I saw _Star Wars_ and the whole world changed. The first day on the set of _Solo_, I was walking down a set of stairs on a Star Cruiser and there was an R2-D2 carrying a champagne glass. I felt like a kid in a toy shop. **What makes a good villain?** A good villain has to have a clear philosophy about how the universe operates. They can’t just be doing bad things because they’re evil. They have to be thinking, Everyone else is getting theirs, so why can’t I get mine? **You joined** **_Solo_** **midway through production after Ron Howard took over the film. (Disney parted ways with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller over a difference in “creative visions.”) Were you worried about the production?** It all happened very quickly. I got the call from Ron Howard, and I was on the set two weeks later. I was worried about it going in, but all my fears went away the moment I arrived. I got off the plane, and I was in the makeup chair 20 minutes after that. Ron was like a laser. It was virtuosic what he did in a very short amount of time and in very trying circumstances. It was lovely seeing an old friend be so brilliant. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5264169/han-solo-paul-bettany-on-joining-star-wars-universe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5264169/han-solo-paul-bettany-on-joining-star-wars-universe/"},"headline":"Solo’s Paul Bettany on Joining the Star Wars Universe and His Villain Dryden Vos","datePublished":"2018-05-03T10:47:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:10:06.327Z","description":"Paul Bettany talk to TIME about joining the Star Wars universe and pantheon of villains in the prequel \"Solo,\" in theaters May 25.","url":"https://time.com/5264169/han-solo-paul-bettany-on-joining-star-wars-universe/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","Han Solo"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d7472a4bfd67d56/69892f677cdbac79f8d5cc38/hans-solo-villain-paul-bettany.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d7472a4bfd67d56/69892f677cdbac79f8d5cc38/hans-solo-villain-paul-bettany.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paul Bettany Han Solo","caption":"Paul Bettany Han Solo","creditText":"Jonathan Olley—Lucasfilm","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5264169/han-solo-paul-bettany-on-joining-star-wars-universe/","name":"Solo’s Paul Bettany on Joining the Star Wars Universe and His Villain Dryden Vos"}}]}] ```