Entertainment

Fans May Find Out How Han Solo & Chewbacca Became Friends, According To This New Teaser

by Ani Bundel
Lucasfilm

Solo: A Star War Story tells the story of Han's world before he ran into a farm boy and a daft old man who followed some crazy religion and changed his entire life. The trailers so far have shown fans hints of the night he won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian, how Han got his trusty blaster, and maybe even why he made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. But one thing fans haven't seen a focus on is how Han Solo met Chewbacca.

Han and Chewie were an essential pairing in the original Star Wars films. Though viewers couldn't understand what the Wookie said in most scenes, it was obvious he was the older and the wiser of the pair from the beginning. Chewie has now outlived Han in the new trilogy, and has even gone on to become Rey's co-pilot in the new films, which serves as a reminder of how short human lives are in comparison to other species in the galaxy.

Solo's second trailer established that Chewie is 190 years old when the events of the movie take place. Now, in a new TV spot, they give us a few more clues of what happened when Han met Chewie.

Some of this is out of order. Han is hired to be part of the heist on The Conveyex, which opens the trailer, by Woody Harrelson's character Beckett. When Beckett is hiring him, Han and Chewie are already partners, and it's Chewie's agreement that seals the deal.

The scene which then follows in this new trailer must happen far earlier, when Han asks Chewie "What's your name anyway?" In fact, it probably happens not long after Han leaves Corellia.

In the now un-canonized novels and comics, Han originally met Chewie when he saved the Wookie from imprisonment. Chewbacca was so grateful he declared he had a "life debt" to Solo, and proceeded to become Han's first mate on the ship he owned before the Falcon.

It is not clear how much of these original stories (now "Legends") are going to make it onto the screen. But Han is already working on the wrong side of the law in the scenes on Corellia, and tells Beckett he's been waiting a long time for a chance at something like this. Keeping his fellow smugglers out of the slammer is not all that far-fetched. Fans also know that for all Han plays the badass, he's really a softie under the hard shell, and would totally help someone out in times of trouble, and wind up with a walking carpet as a friend for life.

Meanwhile, it's also noteworthy that Solo seems to be taking some of the traditional Han Solo lines and using them as a callback in new and interesting ways in this new trailer. For one thing, it sounds like the Wookie line Han is reacting to in the cockpit with "You think everything is a bad idea," is "I've got a bad feeling about this." This is a line someone seems to always say in every Star Wars film.

In comparison, Han, who is still young and dumb, and far more optimistic than he will be a decade later when he meets Luke and Obi-Wan, turns the line on its head. He announces at the end of the trailer that he has a good feeling about this. Too bad that good feeling doesn't extend to the hand of cards he's been currently dealt.

It's about time someone had a good feeling about what was going down in a Star Wars film. Solo: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters May 25, 2018.