Solo A Star Wars Story: the answers to the questions we didn’t ask ourselves

Why is Han called Solo? Where do his dice come from? His blaster?

With Solo: A Star Wars Story, released in cinemas 5 years ago, and back this evening on TFX, Ron Howard sets out to tell the story of Han Solo’s youngster (his beginnings as a smuggler, his first love story…) and takes the opportunity to answer a whole bunch of questions that no one was asking (or else secretly, in the strictest privacy). Warning, what follows is obviously full of spoilers on the film.

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Why is Han called Solo?
Well yes, why is this good old Han called Solo? The film tells us that it is in fact the Empire that gave him his surname. Arriving at the counter to enlist, the character played by Alden Ehrenreich only gives a first name to the imperial officer who receives him. He then decides to call her “Solo” because he is alone and has no family. It was obviously enough for Han to later decide to keep this name. In the old Expanded Universe Star Wars (became Legends since the takeover of Lucasfilm by Disney), Han learned late that he came from the Solo house, originally from Corellia.

Why is he obsessed with the Millennium Falcon?
Because his father worked on the assembly of ships, including the YT-1300 (the model of the Millennium Falcon). Han confesses to Lando that he was not very close to his father but says that the latter had shown him around the factory when he was a child. Papa Solo wanted to use a YT-1300 to leave Corellia and actually dreamed of being a pilot. The fact that Han finally gets his hands on such a ship seems like revenge on life for him.

Where does Han Solo’s gun come from?
If his weapon of choice is a DL-44 blaster in the first trilogy Star Warsit’s because Tobias Beckett (played by Woody Harrelson) gives him that gun before the train robbery. Solo: A Star Wars Story. Impossible to know if Han kept exactly the same weapon thereafter, or if it is simply about the same model. We also know that he himself modified the gun to allow him to draw faster.

Han Shot first?
The big dilemma for hair-splitting Star Wars fans: Did Han shoot first? In A New Hope, the smuggler is indeed confronted by Greedo in the Cantina. And if in the first edition of the film, it is obvious that Solo shoots before his opponent, George Lucas later added digital effects in the special edition which indicate the opposite. Solo: A Star Wars Story chose sides: Han shot first, without a shadow of a doubt. At the end of the film, he shoots Beckett before he finds time to draw his weapon. Enough to end the speculation.

How Han won the Millennium Falcon?
By winning a game of Sabacc, a sort of poker from the Star Wars world. If we knew it from theEmpire Strikes Back, Solo: A Star Wars Story tells us that Lando tried to cheat by keeping a trump card up his sleeve (with an extremely well thought out special system). But Han having spotted his scheme during a previous game, he managed to steal the card before sitting down to eat. ” fair and square “, he will say later.

Where did Han meet Chewbacca?
Shortly before Han leaves with Beckett’s group, he is captured by Empire soldiers and thrown into a hole where “The Beast” is. It’s actually Chewbacca, who seems destined to die unless he devours the poor souls thrown at him. But Han manages to communicate with him and come up with an escape plan.

How did Han learn wookie?
We cheat a little because this question remains unanswered in the feature film. On the other hand, we discover that Han knows how to speak the language of Chewbacca, and not only to understand it. What gives besides some a little strange scenes, Ehrenreich trying to imitate the phrasing (obviously inimitable) of the character.

Did Han Solo complete the Raid of Kessel in 12 parsecs?
Yes ! Finally, something close. Taking all the risks, he therefore managed to make his way in 12 parsecs on the hyperspace route taken by the smugglers, passing by many black holes (and with a very unstable cargo). An absolute record, far from the previous one which was set at 20 parsecs. Solo had therefore not lied in A New Hope.

Do Star Wars characters listen to Star Wars music?
Obviously… yes. In an Empire recruitment video, you can very distinctly hear The Imperial March by John Williams. For the first time, the music of Star Wars gets diegetic and we’re not sure if it’s hilarious or completely silly. Now it remains to clarify a point: is there a guy called John Williams in the universe? Star Wars who composed this music? We’re not going to sleep anymore.

Where do the golden dice come from?
First appeared in A New Hope, Han Solo’s golden dice are his lucky charm. Still hanging in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, they even return to The force awakens And The Last Jedi. Their origin is revealed in this spin-off: Han and Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) regularly exchanged them when one or the other went on a dangerous mission. The smuggler now seems to be the sole owner, unless a sequel tells us otherwise. It should also be noted that (tell us if we are wrong) Han did not have them when he won the Millennium Falcon, which contradicts what seemed established so far.

Solo: A Star Wars Story, spoiler-free review