Actor Matthew Rhys has said he was "too scared" to speak to Harrison Ford about voicing Han Solo in the first Welsh-language dub of Star Wars, describing the experience as "weird" but "surreal". The Cardiff-born, New York-based star made the comments to a New York Times podcast ahead of the project's release, timed to coincide with the sci-fi franchise's 50th anniversary next year. The dub has drawn political criticism in Wales, with the Welsh Conservatives branding a £100,000 Welsh government contribution "out of touch" given ongoing NHS waiting times, while the government has defended the funding as a boost to jobs and the economy.

Rhys, 51, described struggling with unfamiliar Welsh translations of iconic terms, such as "pelydr cyrchu" for "tractor beam", and joked about the daunting prospect of voicing Ford's character. He also named fellow Welsh actors David Niven and Richard Burton as personal inspirations. Other cast members in the Welsh adaptation include Rhys Ifans as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Princess Leia, Osian Morgan as Luke Skywalker, and Mark Lewis Jones as Darth Vader. Welsh Conservative MS Janet Finch-Saunders welcomed the language initiative but argued the Senedd should prioritise fixing healthcare waiting times over such spending.