The reviews are in and Solo: A Star Wars Story is officially certified "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. Ticket sales have been through the roof, and if estimates are to be believed, Star Wars' return to the Memorial Day weekend release date they once occupied will be a triumphant one. But with spoilers still deep undercover, fans are obsessing over what might be happening in the brand new Han Solo based prequel. Some of the Solo: A Star Wars Story theories are so out of this world, they seem to have flown in from another galaxy altogether.
Some things have been confirmed about the film. It's set 10 years after the end of the Clone Wars, and the events of Revenge of the Sith. The Empire is fully in control of the galaxy, there is no rebellion or resistance to speak of. Darth Vader is in his prime ruling years. Han, a young man from Corellia, dreams of escaping with his friend Qi'ra, but something goes wrong. She gets out, he does not. Instead, he joins the Imperial army, in hopes of becoming a pilot.
He fails out of flight training and winds up a ground trooper, one desperate to escape his circumstances. Until one day he discovers two smugglers attempting to infiltrate his unit. Rather than turn them in, he tries to convince them to take him along.
What happens next? Here are five of the most plausible theories out there.
One of the major questions that none of the trailers have given a hint about is "What is the Kessel Run?" Fans have seen glimpses of Han winning the Falcon, details of the train heist, and even when Solo and Chewie met cute. But the Kessel Run details have stayed under wraps.
The biggest theory comes from this shot above with Chewie hugging it out with his buddy Sagwa. Could there be a rescue involved? Is the Kessel Run Han bringing Wookiee friends of Chewie's to freedom?
No one saw this coming, but Mark Hamill accidentally spilled the beans in a recent interview when he talked about Anthony Daniels, who has played C-3PO since the beginning. Daniels is apparently pleased with his unbroken streak of cameos in every single Star Wars movie so far.
So that means C-3PO has been shoehorned into this film? How? Actually, he is in the film, but not as C-3PO. He'll be a completely new character in another full bodysuit, this time as a Wookiee.
Qi'ra, Han's love interest in the film, hasn't had a whole lot of trailer time, other than to show her as a femme fatale and a badass. From what we have seen, she's a friend from back home who managed to get out when Han didn't. She also appears to be part of the Underworld and has connections that lead to Lando and the Falcon.
But fans are suspicious that Han's inability to trust people comes from betrayal and this betrayal will involve Qi'ra. The most practical answer is that she's a spy for the Empire, and she'll betray the entire crew in hopes Han will come with her. Whether or not that's accurate is still to be determined.
This one is more farfetched than a C-3PO appearance. But on the other hand, if Han is getting in with a bad crowd, it would be an easier cameo to make work. Besides, there have been hints from the special effects teams that Jabba will be part of Solo's earlier life stories, and perhaps even a hint of how Han got to the point that he couldn't keep running from his debts.
This one comes directly from a piece of dialogue in The Empire Strikes Back when Han comes up with the idea to go to Cloud City and see Lando.
Chewie: (Wookiee noises)
Han: Yes well, I'm sure he's long forgotten about that.
What has Lando long forgotten about? It's a piece of Wookiee dialogue that's never been translated. With this being Han and Lando's first outing together, chances are this is a time when Han could step on Lando's toes pretty thoroughly. But perhaps not? After all, there are supposedly two more Solo movies to come after this one.
Solo: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters on Friday, May 25th, 2018.
