This week we've been blessed with our first look into Solo: A Star Wars Story. This included the release of a TV Spot during the Super Bowl, an official teaser trailer on Good Morning America the next morning, and a lot of insight provided by Entertainment Weekly. I began writing this at the beginning of the week, but I knew I had to wait a little longer to actually publish it once the EW info started trickling out in so I could share more accurate information. I'll include links to the full EW articles at the end if you'd like to read more into anything, but I've cherry-picked the more interesting tid-bits and spread them throughout this post. Also, I'm calling this "Teaser Takeaways" as opposed to a "Trailer Analysis" because it's really just a compilation of the biggest takeaways from the teasers and EW issue.
1. Corellia- I'm just guessing here, but it seems to me that this speeder chase will take place on Corellia. Why? Because it's Han's home planet and where many Star Wars ships are manufactured (Millennium Falcon and Imperial Starships). The industrial environment around seems to add credence to my theory.
2. Kessel- I'm thinking this will be Kessel because, as I stated earlier, this sequence looks to be the Kessel Run.
EW Articles referenced:
-Harrison Ford was a covert adviser
**Keep in mind that this is all my interpretation of the scenery. I could be way off mark in regards to speculation, but provided I'm correct, potential spoilers lie ahead.**
'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Teaser Takeaways
Characters
1. Alden as Han- If these teasers had one job, it was to ease fans into the idea of someone else playing Han Solo other than Harrison Ford. I've already seen several complaining about the casting choice because Alden Ehrenreich didn't sound like Harrison Ford, but I'm kind of glad his performance doesn't seem to be based on an impersonation. In fact, according to his interview with EW, Harrison Ford was an adviser on the film to a slight degree and even gave Ehrenreich some invaluable insight into the character. While I still need to see more footage of Ehrenreich before making a fair judgement, what was shown of him in the teasers didn't concern me.
He had a smug grin on his face while calmly delivering the "Thought we were in trouble there for a second, but it's fine. We're fine" line though, so he seems to be capturing the genuine spirit of the character.
Many have pointed out that the line also is quite similar to Han's dialogue in A New Hope where he says "Uh, had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all finer her, now, thank you."
2. Chewie- It just wouldn't be a Han Solo movie if everyone's favorite fuzzball didn't show up! Solo will likely address how Han and Chewbacca met as well as the origins of Chewie's life debt to Han. In Legends (the old canon), Han was a member of the Imperial Navy and saved Chewbacca from slavery after being ordered to kill the Wookie. We're not really sure if that story element will carry over or not, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something along those lines happening in the film. Another thing worth noting is that Chewie's got two bandoliers instead of the traditional one he usually wears. It probably won't be a BIG deal in the context of the film, but I'm curious to see what happens with that.
3. Lando- The film also features Donald Glover as the ol' smoothie, Lando Calrissian. Glover seemed like a perfect casting choice from day one and I think he's got sufficient swagger to possibly steal the show.
Eagle-eyed fans have noticed that Glover's got Lando's salute down at the very least. The droid seen in the image above will be Lando's female droid and side-kick, L3-37, who is portrayed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge via motion capture. L3-37 is described to have a sophisticated working relationship with Lando and is a self-modified droid who's utilized various parts from other droids to improve upon herself over time.
4. Qi'ra- Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke will be portraying Qi'ra, one of Han's childhood friends and the film's femme fatale. In the EW interview, Clarke says that the two grew up together, there's a romantic element to their relationship, and she is one of the characters who will shape him to become the lovable scoundrel we're familiar with. Also, she hinted that her glamorous appearance seems to hide "a few rough roads."
5. Tobias Beckett- Woody Harrelson is playing Tobias Beckett, a mentor figure to Han who probably helped him become a smuggler to begin with. He's shown to be recruiting Han and Chewie for a heist we see later on.
6. Val- Here we have a brief glimpse of actress Thandie Newton's character, Val. She's one of Beckett's "business" partners who will probably partake in the big heist. She's also said to be skeptical of Solo.
7. Dryden Vos- This character was nowhere to be seen in the trailer, but he's been teased numerous times by Ron Howard on social media. He was originally supposed to be played by Michael K. Williams before Ron Howard took over directorial duties from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, but Williams schedule conflicted with the extended production so Paul Bettany was brought in to play the part instead. Anyways, the EW article says that Vos is a crime lord who's clearly more clean-cut than sleazy slug, Jabba the Hutt, and is more immersed in the galactic criminal world than anyone else Han encounters over the course of the film. He's described as a man who's found great success breaking rules, but isn't the kind to get his hands dirty. Fans have also taken notice of a familiar helmet in the back lefthand corner of the above picture Howard shared on social media... Take a peak if you dare to spoil that surprise.
While Vos wasn't seen in the trailer, I suspect he'll be the owner of this high class cantina seen in the trailer because the setting seems to match the background environment of that image.
8. Four Armed Space Monkey- I know literally nothing about this creature, but it looks cool! There's appears to be an Imperial in the background, so it's difficult to tell exactly what side this guy's on.
My random far-out guess would be that he's driving this awesome roller coaster-looking train, called the Conveyex.
The vehicle is carrying some unknown cargo that will be the target of the film's heist. My wild, out-there guess would be that this heist makes Han a more recognizable name among the galaxy and draws the attention of a certain Hutt who may be enticed to have Solo start smuggling for him... I'm also going to guess that the Imperial Officer is there to guard the cargo along with several Stormtroopers. However, the character I'm about to mention is also seen fighting Beckett on-top of the train in the teaser, so it won't just be Imperials in their way.
9. Potential Antagonist(s)- Once again, I know almost nothing about who these people are, but I'd like to think they're some crime syndicate in pursuit of Solo or something along those lines... Regardless, they appear to be the central antagonists as the unidentified character in the center can be seen in multiple locations throughout the teasers.
Backstory
1. The film will incorporate Han's Legends Background- As I mentioned earlier, Solo seems to be keeping some elements from Han's previous background in Legends intact, such as him joining the Empire. He mentions that he was kicked out of the flight academy for "having a mind of [his] own," but we'll have to wait and see if that is due to his inherent recklessness or because he freed Chewbacca.
2. We'll see how Han obtains the Falcon- The Millennium Falcon will play a huge part in the film for obvious reasons. I'm guessing that we're going to witness Han winning the Falcon from Lando in a game of Sabacc.
For those wondering, Sabacc is a card game in the Star Wars galaxy often played by gamblers. The image above shows Lando playing with an interesting two-headed alien.
We can see Lando piloting the Falcon here, so we know it will be in his possession for some portion of the runtime.
3. The Infamous Kessel Run- Ahh, yes! Remember when Han Solo claimed that the Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs? Well, it looks like we'll finally find out if Han's boasting was well-founded or an over-exaggeration. Things to note are that there's a tentacle monster in the nebula and the Falcon looks a bit more complete towards the front center with an additional metal piece. Whether that piece is a modification made by Lando or the ship's original design remains to be seen, but I feel it could go either way.
On that note, Lando clearly kept the Falcon much more tidy that Han and Chewie have. This observation's already lead to an overabundance of jokes, but I felt it was still worth including a comparison to emphasize how filthy it's become.
4. Golden Dice- Remember those golden dice from The Last Jedi?...
Well, here they are hanging at the front of this speeder!
They didn't just come completely from nowhere though because they were hung up in the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope. I suspect they'll be the dice Han uses to win the Falcon in his game of Sabacc against Lando because they're clearly of some importance to the smuggler, or else he wouldn't hang them up in the Falcon.
Locations
3. Beach planet?- Well, it's not Scarif... This looks like a brand new planet with possible spiritual significance to the Jedi Order due to the engraved pillars. I doubt we'll actually see any Jedi because Han makes it very clear he believes the Force is a bunch of mumbo jumbo at the time of A New Hope, but it might be similar to Jedha from Rogue One.
4. Mountainous, snow planet- This seems to be the setting of the big heist because the Conveyex is only shown in a snowy environment, but for those suspecting it's Hoth, I feel like it will be a new, previously unexplored planet. We'll probably have more info on it, along with the rest of these locations, in the next month or two.
5. Mimban- I'm not really sure if this planet has been shown in the trailer or not, but the above photo was included in the EW breakdown and is the only confirmed look at Mimban. Mimban is described as a swamp world with an overcast atmosphere full of thunderstorms. Now, it's very possible that this is the same planet as one of the others I've already mentioned because this is the only confirmed image of it. This planet was primarily showcased in Legends material and was originally introduced in the very first Star Wars novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, but the planet was made canon by a casual mention in an episode of The Clone Wars and this will be our first actual look at it in canon.
6. Where Han wins the Falcon- I'm past planets now and am purely speculating on scenery. This scenery matches up with the shots of Lando looking smug while playing Sabacc, so I suspect this will be where Han wins the Falcon.
7. High class cantina- Sort of like Canto Bight, this setting seems to be a high end cantina for the wealthy. However, this looks more like a traditional club than a casino. Oh, and there's some Twi'lek's dancing so that's kind of cool.
Here's a picture of Oola, Jabba's Twi'lek dancer from Return Of The Jedi, for those unfamiliar with the species.
General Thoughts: These teasers managed to get me much more excited about the film. Previously, I was much more skeptical due to the behind the scenes drama, but Lucasfilm has won me over as of now. I'm really digging the visual look of the film and Bradford Young's cinematography unsurprisingly looks incredible so far! There's plenty shown in these teasers that look like nothing I'd ever seen before in a Star Wars film, so I'm all for that!! I'm ready for May 25th.
-Harrison Ford was a covert adviser
-As always, May the Force be with you!
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