Solo: A Star Wars Story arrives today to tell the story of the early years of everyone’s favorite smuggler as he steals, romances, and generally proves why rogues have more fun in a galaxy far, far away. It’s also filled with little nods to Star Wars movies of the past, from little in-jokes in the dialogue to props to even a few deep, deep cuts. Obviously, spoilers abound ahead.
- The movie actually kicks off with a bit that proves Han and Leia probably had a little pillow talk before he hit the carbonite. Just like Leia in Return of the Jedi, Han tries to bluff his way out of a tough situation with an angry gangster using a thermal detonator. Leia admittedly substantially improves on the plan by the detonator being real, but hey, you work with what you have.
- Also early on, reptilian bounty hunter Bossk gets a shoutout; it turns out that if Boba Fett had financial reasons, Bossk has personal ones to go after Han in The Empire Strikes Back.
- Speaking of Return Of The Jedi, remember Lando’s disguise from the opening sequence? It turns out he’d kept the helmet, at least, in his closet behind the capes, as it turns up here, on Woody Harrelson’s Tobias Beckett. The movie also includes a shout-out to the beloved Star Wars trope of stealing some poor guard’s pants to impersonate him, which goes amusingly wrong here.
- A key plot point is Han being warned not to improvise, which you might remember gets him in trouble quite a bit. Another New Hope shoutout is that Chewie, yet again, is a fake prisoner, but Han is stuck alongside him this time around.
- We also learn why the Millennium Falcon is called “her.” It’s not, it turns out, just a case of giving gender to an inanimate object: L3-37 is merged with the Falcon’s computer, making her literally part of the ship. Which also makes the beating the Falcon takes over the course of five movies a bit more cringe-worthy.
- A running gag for fans is the movie turning classic bits of dialogue and business from the original trilogy on their head. L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) complains at one point that they don’t even serve her kind here, a call forward to the droids being booted from the cantina. Lando, at one point, informs Han that he hates him, to which Han replies, “I know.” Lando is the first recipient of a threat to have Chewie rip somebody’s arms off. We learn that Lando’s complaint over losing the Millennium Falcon, and Han’s response that he won it “fair and square,” has a bit of an edge to it, since, unsurprisingly, Lando cheats at cards. And poor naive Han has a really good feeling about all of this, no less, right before he bashes off the Falcon’s satellite dish, just like Lando in Jedi
- Another nice touch is the appearance of Warwick Davis, who’s not only Wicket from Return of The Jedi, but starred in Ron Howard’s ’80s fantasy movie Willow. This time, though, he gets a bazooka, and also gets to show his face. Howard’s actor brother, Clint Howard, pops up here too, although sadly not as any of his Star Trek characters.
- George Lucas gets a few nods, as well: The opening car chase of Solo is reminiscent of the centerpiece of Lucas’ first film THX 1138 and American Graffiti (starring Harrison Ford and Ron Howard), and the slave uprising that L3-37 kicks off resembles, in more than a few shots, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom.
- For the hardcore fans, there are the deep cuts. Lando, recording what may not be an entirely accurate autobiography, mentions the Sharu; one of the novels detailing Lando’s adventures before Han “stole” his ship is Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu. Han, due to being a smartass, winds up fighting the natives on Mimban, a planet mentioned in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the Alan Dean Foster novel Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye. Tobias Beckett killed Aurra Sing, one of several nods to the Star Wars animated series featured in the movie, including the surprise cameo of Darth Maul, which we’ll discuss in a little more detail. And it turns out Qi’ra is a master of Teras Kasi, an empty-handed martial art mentioned in the fan-beloved novel Shadows Of The Empire, and the, ah, less beloved PlayStation fighting game Star Wars: Masters Of Teras Kasi.
- One more thing: In case the debate hadn’t been thoroughly settled, this movie makes it abundantly clear that yes, Han shoots first.
Any we missed? Let us know in the comments!