Every Easter Egg And Reference In 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'
Solo: A Star Wars Story has finally been released and it contains a whole bunch of rambunctious reveals and radical additions to the classic Star Wars canon for fans to delve into. To help you decompress after that wild ride, I've collected every major easter egg from the newest addition to the Star Wars saga.Solo has a surprising number of deep cut references and cool original trilogy nods, as well as some pretty important reveals about some fan favorite characters throughout series canon. So grab your co-pilot, set you starship to hyperdrive, and punch it!
Oh, and beware of spoilers.
The Golden Dice
Han's gold dice first appeared in A New Hope as an almost throwaway gag, but took on a much deeper meaning in Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi, with the dice becoming a symbol of love, legacy, and memory between Luke, Leia, Han, and eventually Ben. Solo establishes the fact that the Corellian dice have always been important to Han and in his youth signified "luck."
Thermal Detonator
During his showdown with Lady Proxima, Han threatens the imposing leader of the White Worms with a rock that he pretends is a Thermal Detonator. He even makes a clicking noise with his mouth to "arm" the detonator. This is not only a great comedy beat, but it's a direct call back to Leia threatening Jabba with a real Thermal Detonator in Return of the Jedi when she's disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh.
Star Destroyer being built on Corellia
When Han and Qi'ra are running across Corellia, we can see large domes being pulled through the sky. If they seem familiar to you that's because they're integral parts of the Empire's huge fleet. To be precise, they look like the shield generators from the command modules of the ever-present and terrifying Star Destroyers, which you can see being built in the sky.
The Imperial March is canon
This is a fun little nod you might have missed that has pretty interesting ramifications in the Star Wars universe. After Han loses Qi'ra at the Imperial checkpoint on Corellia, he sees an Empire recruitment booth that's playing John Williams' iconic Imperial March... meaning the master composer's famous music actually exists as an Imperial anthem.
"Kicked out of the Academy"
When Han meets Beckett and Val, he explains that he was "Kicked out of the Academy," which borrows directly from his Legends origin. In the old Expanded Universe, Han was also in the Empire, but was kicked out after fighting back when he sees the Imperial Army mistreat Wookiees...which, in the old books, is also how he met Chewbacca!
Han's Blaster
Han's iconic DL-44 blaster rarely leaves his side, and in Solo: A Star Wars Story we learn that he got it from Woody Harrelson's Tobias Beckett. During the campfire scene, Beckett tosses a very familiar looking blaster to Han, and the rest is history. After all, in the words of Han Solo himself, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
The Zan Sisters
As the newly assembled crew sits around the fire after escaping the Empire's war, Val is talking about of her dream team for the big job they have coming up. She mentions "The Zan Sisters," which is pretty exciting for fans of the Expanded Universe. She's likely talking about Zu and Zan Pike, twin criminals for hire originally introduced in the Shadows of the Empire novel. They also had a connection to the Black Sun criminal organization run by Darth Maul, which makes their mention even more intriguing considering the film's last act reveal.
Bossk
The other member of Val's ideal crew is the Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk, who you might remember as one of the six bounty hunters sent to catch Han in The Empire Strikes Back. Or if you're a Star Wars: The Clone Wars fan, you'll probably know him even better – the show expanded on Bossk and showed him as an ally of a young Boba Fett and another fan favorite bounty hunter, Aurra Sing (remember that name for later).
Valahorn
For a good crook, it's always "the last big job" and Tobias Beckett is no different. As Val talks about her dream team, Tobias waxes lyrical about how he'll retire to a distant planet and learn to play the Valahorn. This is a deep cut reference to a classic Star Wars video game. First introduced in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies, the valahorn is a musical instrument found on Yavin 4.
Enfys Nest and the Cloud-Riders
Though they're nothing like their comic book counterparts, Enfys Nest's gang takes their name from a group of space pirates seen in the classic Marvel Star Wars comics. In the old school sequential stories, the Cloud-Riders are violent outlaws who raid and pillage local villages, which is what viewers are supposed to think of Enfys and her crew...before we find out the truth!
Mynock Roast
Jon Favreau's Rio exclaims his delight for a delicacy known as a Mynock roast...so what exactly is that? Well, Mynocks are a bat-like parasite that appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and attached themselves the bottom of the Millennium Falcon. They're also mentioned in multiple contemporary canon Star Wars books, including Bloodines, Aftermath, and The Legends of Luke Skywalker. They also regularly appeared in the now de-canonized Star Wars Expanded Universe.
Aurra Sing
This was a big moment for fans of the prequels and The Clone Wars, as Lando thanks Beckett for killing a bounty hunter named Aurra Sing, as he owed her a lot of money. Originally introduced in The Phantom Menace, the character was expanded on in the beloved animated series, which saw her work alongside Boba, Bossk, and other bounty hunters. If we're to believe Tobias (who isn't exactly trustworthy), then Sing's fate is now known.
The Hutt Cartel
Many fans had suggested that Jabba the Hutt might make an appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Alas, the big slug wasn't seen, but his presence was felt, with Qi'ra mentioning the Hutt Cartel early on in the movie, as well as Tobias telling Han about a big score on Tatooine where a notorious gangster is looking for a crew. And, of course, we all know that Tattooine's biggest gangster is Jabba himself.
Clint Howard
Not a Star Wars easter egg, but definitely a Ron Howard one! Howard's brother is usually in all of the Oscar winner's films, and Solo: A Star Wars Story is no different, with Clint Howard turning up as the man running the droid fights that L3-37 so loudly protests.
The Decraniated
First introduced in Rogue One, these strange robotic humanoid creatures have the tops of their heads sliced off, and one is seen serving in Dryden Vos' sky yacht. This is a nod to the original Star Wars Story, but it gets even deeper, as the decrainated were created by Dr. Cornelius Evazan AKA the pig-nosed man who tries to fight Luke in the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope.
Mandalorian Armor
Solo: A Star Wars Story's big bad Dryden Vos had a particularly interesting piece of Star Wars memorabilia in his floating palace – a suit of Mandalorian armor, most famously worn by the bounty hunter Boba Fett and his father before him.
A Hiding Place on the Falcon
As the crew loaded their Coaxium into the Millennium Falcon, you may have noticed a lingering shot onto the cargo hold that they put it into. Well, that would be because it's likely to be the same exact place that Finn and Rey hid when they first hijacked the Falcon and were boarded by Han and Chewie! It's also where Han, Luke and the original crew hid from Stormtroopers during A New Hope.
The Maw
In Star Wars Legends stories, the planet Kessel is surrounded by an almost impossible-to-navigate cluster of unstable black holes called The Maw, which Solo: A Star Wars Story took wholesale for their dangerous surroundings of the planet in the movie version.
Teras Kasi
Qi'ra makes what seems like a throwaway comment when she says that she's a master of Teras Kasi, an ancient martial art utilized by Force Users. The Teras Kasi is a reference to a classic, lesser known PlayStation fighting game called Masters of the Teras Kasi.
Dejarik
This is an easter egg that fans of the Expanded Universe might not be too happy about, but we see Beckett introducing Chewie to the galactic holochess game known as Dejarik. The Falcon's Dejarik table famously appears in the original trilogy and The Force Awakens, but in Legends canon, Chewie is actually a prized Dejarik player and the one who asks Han to install the table on the Falcon.
Benthic "Two Tubes"
One of Saw Gerrera's partisans in Rogue One appears to be a member of the Cloud-Riders. Benthic "Two Tubes" and his brother Endio were a part of Gerrera's separatist arm of the Rebellion, and now we know what Benthic was doing in the years leading up to the Battle of Scarif.
L3-37 is actually in The Empire Strikes Back
Now that we know L3-37 is part of the ship's computer in the Falcon, a line said by C-3PO in The Empire Strikes Back now makes a lot more sense. You may recall that the golden droid states "Sir, I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect." And now we know that peculiar dialect is straight from Lando's beloved droid.
Scarif
Though it's only a quick mention, we get a nice nod to the original Star Wars Story when Qi'ra suggests that Scarif might be a place where they could find enough Coaxium to repay Dryden Vos.
Lando's Return of the Jedi Disguise
This was a great throwback to the original trilogy: Tobias Beckett dons Lando's helmet and armor disguise from Return of the Jedi during the mission to the Kessel spice mines...a moment which also bore more than a slight resemblance to the faux prisoner trade-off in A New Hope.
Anthony Daniels
The only person to appear in every Star Wars movie, Daniels has a small cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story as a human ally of the Wookiees freed from the Kessel spice mines. It's a blink and you'll miss it cameo, but it means that Daniels keeps his record with this sweet moment.
Warwick Davis
Wicket the Ewok is back! No, there aren't any actual Ewoks in Solo: A Star Wars Story, but the man who brought the most famous of them to life is back on the screen again, and this time he gets to be a freedom fighter alongside Enfys Nest. Davis has played 10 different characters in Star Wars canon, and four of those were just in The Phantom Menace!
Darth Maul
The biggest of all the Solo: A Star Wars Story easter eggs is the last act reveal of Maul as the leader of Crimson Dawn. Maul debuted in The Phantom Menace, and was the first apprentice of Darth Sidious. Maul apparently fell to his death (after being, uh, cut in half) during a battle with Obi-Wan...though as fans of the animated Star Wars television shows know, Maul actually survived. This was a massive reveal and it's likely that the future movies will feature Maul as a big bad, running the Crimson Dawn and terrorizing the galaxy.