Dryden Vos

Creation and development Dryden Vos was influenced by the characters Leo from the film Thief (whose actor Robert Prosky also collaborated with Solo director Ron Howard in the film Far and Away) and Don Draper from the television series Mad Men. Multiple ideas for his species were considered; early concept art depicted him as an avian or reptilian alien, as well as a Lasat. In the original script of Solo, Vos' base of operations was an island fortress "like Mont-Saint-Michel but with an elaborate system of canals", Casting and portrayal American actor Michael K. Williams was originally cast as Dryden Vos, portraying him through motion capture as a "half mountain lion, half human" alien. However, Williams was unable to return for reshoots due to scheduling conflicts with the film The Red Sea Diving Resort, so he was recast with Paul Bettany and the character was redesigned to a human-like appearance. He also has been a huge fan of Star Wars since he saw the original film at age six. Bettany described him as a "sociopath" and gangster with an "entrepreneurial spirit" who is "really good at hurting people", has "no foibles" where he hosts parties attended by socialites and high-ranking officials. many of which reference past Star Wars stories. which Bettany described to be "kind of little knuckle-duster lightsabers". ==Appearances==

Solo: A Star Wars Story Dryden Vos is introduced in Solo: A Star Wars Story, as the figurehead of Crimson Dawn. He has hired the thief Tobias Beckett to steal a shipment of coaxium. Vos kills an Imperial regional governor in another meeting, but turns on him and kills him by stabbing him in the chest. After Han leaves, Qi'ra contacts Maul about Vos' death, pinning it on Beckett. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Dryden Vos makes a cameo in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars seventh season episode "The Phantom Apprentice", in which he is among the syndicate leaders in the Shadow Collective that Maul orders to go into hiding in preparation for the impending rise of the Galactic Empire. ==Reception==

Dryden Vos received a mixed reception from critics. In a review of Solo, Rodrigo Perez wrote "Paul Bettany oozes a mix of charm and menace as the rather enjoyable villain Dryden Vos, but he, nor any of the characters have a lot of contours." Johnny Oleksinski of New York Post opined that the character "resembles the worst kind of Pierce Brosnan-era 'James Bond' villains. He's got a bunch of unexplained scars, a vague eccentricity and no menace. You'll forget him by the time you reach the parking lot." Roger Moore of Rogers Movie Nation regarded Vos as "more whimsical and mercurial than menacing. He's just…wrong." Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com commented that he "might be the first major player in a 'Star Wars' movie to make no impression at all, but the actor was probably doing the best he could under the circumstances". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised Bettany for "making Voss [sic] such a seductive psycho", while Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound called him "ravishing" in the role. Liam Gaughan of Collider lauded Bettany's performance, including his "Bond villain-esque elegance" and display of "sophisticated grace" when introducing Qi'ra as his associate, as well as "hamming it up" during his scenes of fighting Han and being killed by Qi'ra. Gaughan also believed Vos "doesn't need a lot of screen time in order to drive the story forward" and considered it a "brilliant choice" for him to not appear until the film's third act, "because the antagonist of Solo is really the realities of the criminal world itself, and it doesn't need to be tied to just one character." ==References==