‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ – 5 Things We Want To See Play Out Fully In The Actual Film

The first footage of the much anticipated Solo: A Star Wars Story came out this week but if trailers for recent Star Wars movies are any indication, not everything we see in the teaser clips may turn out in the actual film that comes out in May. For instance, the last Star Wars standalone film Rogue One (2016) featured many scenes in its trailers which did not make it to the final cut. As for 2017’s The Last Jedi, its trailers often merge scenes that did not appear in the same sequence as in the finished film.

After the original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were dismissed from the film that focuses on everyone’s favorite scoundrel Han Solo during pre-A New Hope days, many fans have a “bad feeling” about how Solo will turn out. However, judging from the Super Bowl LII teaser clip which debuted on Sunday night and a full trailer released on Monday morning, it seems replacement helmer Ron Howard has everything under control. All things considered, Solo: A Star Wars Story does have the Star Wars look and feel all over it, with a treasure trove of fascinating images to boot.

Whether or not every scene from the initial trailers will make it to the final product remains to be seen. So here are five things gleaned from the teasers we hope will be fleshed out fully in Solo’s final cut.

1. Solo’s Career Switch From Imperial Pilot To Space Smuggler

For fans who never follow the Star Wars novels by Brian Daley, learning from the teaser trailer that Han Solo (played by Hail, Caesar!‘s Alden Ehrenreich) actually considered joining the Empire to become the best pilot in the galaxy possibly came as a big surprise. But after a life of crime as a youngster on his birth planet of Corellia, Solo did have a stint in the Imperial Academy, even rising to the rank of officer, before he decided to dabble in illegal smuggling.

Of course, the Expanded Universe (EU) novels are no longer considered canon by Disney, but it will still be fun to see the devil-may-care Solo dressed in Imperial uniform and having to follow orders. But as Ehrenreich’s voiceover goes, it wasn’t long before Solo was “kicked out of the Flight Academy for having a mind of [his] own.” It would be fascinating to see just how the charming rogue cements his status as the galaxy’s best pilot by becoming an up-and-coming space smuggler.

2. How Solo Meets Chewbacca

We know Han Solo and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotam) go way back, so hopefully Solo will show just how these two best buds met each other in the first place. According to the EU novels, Solo saved Chewbacca from Imperial slave masters, resulting in the Wookiee declaring a life debt to the Corellian and becoming his first mate aboard his ship. We just have to wait and see if Solo will provide us with the same backstory.

3. Solo Winning The Millennium Falcon From Lando Calrissian

A cool albeit brief shot of Atlanta’s Donald Glover as a young confident Lando Calrissian, snugly dressed for cold weather, is arguably the most popular character image from the first Solo teaser clip. But then again, a subsequent shot of Solo possibly eyeing the Millennium Falcon for the first time also brought goosebumps for many fans. And hence, how Solo came into possession of the Falcon – by winning a game of Sabacc with his lucky pair of gold dice against Lando the smooth-talking gambler – is a must-have sequence in the upcoming film.

As it is, some eagle-eyed fans noticed that a pair of gold dice can be seen – if you freeze the trailer video – hanging on Han’s dashboard during the speeder chase sequence in the trailer, according to Geekfeed. The cherished items, which Solo hung in the Falcon’s cockpit after taking ownership of the prized ship, would go on to play a significant role in a key scene between Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and General Organa/Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in The Last Jedi.

4. Qi’Ra’s Knowledge Of The Real Han

Played by Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke, Qi’Ra is a new character in the Star Wars universe whose background is still a mystery. From the trailers, we can gather that she knew Solo from way back (as she is seen riding shotgun next to him in the speeder chase sequence) and by the character telling a nervous-looking Solo in a later scene that she “might be the only person who knows what you really are.” Yet, in another shot, we also see Qi’Ra clad in an imposing black and red cape, not unlike those worn by high-ranking officers of the Empire. Is she a trusted old friend or a new Imperial foe? Most importantly, what secrets does she know about Han that the rest of the world doesn’t? We need to know.

5. Making The Kessel Run

Although it is not featured in the trailer, what longtime fans want to see in Solo is the Millennium Falcon making the famous Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Last September, director Howard hinted of the possibility by tweeting a picture seemingly of an entrance to a cave with just one word, “Spicey?” That was taken as a big clue by ardent fans that the Kessel Run will be featured as it is a route that smugglers use to transport spice from the mines on Kessel. It would be somewhat essential for Solo to feature this considering it was this achievement that made Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon the legends that they are in a galaxy far, far away.

Solo: A Star Wars Story opens in U.S. theaters on May 25.