WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Solo: A Star Wars Story
The launch of Solo: A Star Wars Story may be set years in the past compared to the main Skywalker saga, but it's bringing a new batch of Easter eggs and original trilogy connections all the same.
Where The Last Jedi moved the universe forward with shocking twists, and Rogue One began the larger anthology by revealing the truth of a story fans thought they knew, Solo sits in the middle. With the Star Wars prequels it takes place beside and the original trilogy that it's building towards, the filmmakers made the most of their opportunity to forge new, fantastic connections.
Even though the development of Solo didn't go as smoothly as any movie producer or fan would have hoped, the finished product has arrived to expand the Star Wars universe and mythology in incredible ways.
We've collected the best Solo Easter eggs, secret homages to extended universe "legends," references for hardcore fans, and tiny details that every fan can appreciate, and are breaking them all down here.
So with one final SPOILER warning, let's get started.
Here are the 30 Things You Completely Missed In Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Chewbacca Permanently Breaks The Dejarik Board
By now every fan of Star Wars knows to look for a nod to Holochess when the Millennium Falcon is involved.
Thankfully, Solo expands on the classic throwback more than any fan would have expected. For those in need of a quick refresher, we're referring to the game officially known as Dejarik, played with eight pieces on a medium-sized, circular checkerboard.
It was briefly introduced in the original Star Wars (1977) as a means of showing how angry a Wookiee can get over something trivial.
Dejarik made a return in The Force Awakens, with the effects team animating the very next move, allowing the vanquished piece to get its revenge. However, Solo takes that even further, showing how Chewie first learned the game -- and broke this exact version.
When Beckett earns Chewie's ire while teaching him the game, the Wookiee tries to swipe the pieces from the board. They don't move, but the board sparks and glitches in response. Watch closely, and you'll see two pieces blink out of the board as a result.
The two pieces are ones that original animator Phil Tippett made for the first movie, and George Lucas scrapped since the board wasn't big enough.
Tippett later showed off the two figures -- Bulbous and Scrimp -- as part of a 2017 Kickstarter, and now Solo has revealed why they were really written out of the original movie.
Han's "Custom" Blaster Pistol Finally Explained
There were some who claimed from the beginning that an origin story for Han Solo was unnecessary, since few fans ever bothered to wonder where his story really began.
The same goes for his signature weapon, since fans live to love Han Solo's blaster pistol, not wonder where or when it came into his possession. Audiences can decide whether that initial dismissal was right or wrong, but Solo does show who the original owner of Han's firearm really was.
Officially, it's known as the BlasTech Industries DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. In Solo, the gun is tossed to Han by Beckett so he may be armed in their coming mission.
Beckett isn't hurting for powerful firearms, so he can afford to give it up. However, make no mistake: the weapon is one of the most coveted in the Star Wars galaxy -- even before Beckett and Han make their customizations.
The movie shows why the Empire actually outlawed the DL-44, since its massive power was quickly favored by criminals, smugglers, and any other outlaws in the Outer Rim.
Knowing that it belonged to Beckett first finally helps explain one of the weapon's stranger features.
Fans can debate the believability of removing barrel sights and replacing it with a scope -- even in pistol form -- but its placement on the right side of the gun seemed a mistake.
Knowing that Beckett favors his left hand, the scope's location makes sense, since it would be Beckett's left eye used for targeting.
The Movie Moment George Lucas Helped Create
Given their history, both Han and Qi'ra are more than used to keeping up appearances. However, the pretense is allowed to drop when they have a more private meeting onboard the Millennium Falcon-- in Lando's soon-to-be-famous cape closet, of all places.
While he's been removed from the movie series for years now, Lucas did have one bit of advice to offer about a change the scene needed.
In the original version of the scene in the script, Qi'ra dons one of Lando's capes, which Han removes and returns to its hanger before giving her his full attention.
According to Ron Howard (courtesy of Variety) Lucas felt that the script was a little too "polished" for a hero like Han.
"He said, ‘You know, Han wouldn’t bother to hang it up... And then he sort of did it. George became Han Solo for a second. The body language was there and the attitude. Not only was it a nice accent on the scene, but it was also a reminder that George created this character and really understood him. He was so reluctant [to offer his opinion], and yet the choice was so right that it was fun to use it," he stated.
Lando Dreams of His Future Cloud City
It's impossible to ever separate the character of Lando Calrissian from the inherent cool of actor Billy Dee Williams, and Solo doesn't even try.
Donald Glover may technically be playing a younger version of Lando, but the movie makes it clear that his taste for the finer things, class, and supremely polished finery was there from the start.
It's no surprise then that the team's arrival to Kessel in all its gritty, grimy glory causes Lando to state that "mining colonies are the worst." It's a joke, for those who know what is in his future.
However, there's much more going on here than a simple laugh, since the audience knows that Lando will wind up running a mining colony in Empire Strikes Back.
To know Lando's real path from gambler to Baron of Cloud City, fans will need to keep their eyes peeled on the chrome models in Lando's personal collection on board the Millennium Falcon.
A gleaming model of the Falcon can be seen, but below it sits a miniaturized version of Cloud City, its silhouette unmistakable in the upper atmosphere of Bespin.
It would seem that Lando's distaste for mining colonies is why he envisions a truly beautiful, elegant, and lucrative mining station like Cloud City. He gets it, too... if only for a little while, before the Empire forces him out of the mining station he won in a card game before transforming into his masterpiece.
Lando's Coffee Maker is an Alien Easter Egg
While it's often Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982) that get credit for popularizing the less glamorous, less sleek, "used future" look to spaceships and equipment, much of it belongs to George Lucas and the original Star Wars.
However, inspiration is a flat circle, so it's only right that the visual style favored by Lando Calrissian would conjure memories of the Nostromo's cleaner, white, plastic sections. And yes, there are more coffee maker props to search for because of it.
For those who might not know, it was Alien that started this running joke by outfitting the spaceship's kitchen with appliances that seemed "futuristic" at the time.
The most famous being the Krups Coffina Coffee Grinder affixed to the wall (later made famous as Back to the Future's "Mr. Fusion"). However, ing it was a Braun Aromaster KF 20 coffee maker, which is easy to spot thanks to its twin, chrome legs suspending the water reservoir and filter over the carafe.
Those chrome legs are facing out on the version seen in Lando's kitchen, and the set decorators appear to have done Alien one better. Fans can spot the larger model -- the Braun Aromaster KF47 -- on the opposite side of his counter.
The Millennium Falcon's Nose Finally Explained
If the filmmakers thought that audiences would be too excited to see an "origin story" for the Millennium Falcon to notice the continuity errors it would introduce, they were sorely mistaken.
This was not just because the pearly white, immaculate interior and exterior of Lando's ship leads fans to ask if Han just dunked the entire ship in mud to turn it into his "piece of junk." No, the Falcon's history throughout the Star Wars saga extends well beyond its own movies -- and with Solo, it seemed the filmmakers had truly messed up their own timeline.
The culprit? That signature notch in the Millennium Falcon's front end... or rather, the lack of it in this movie.
The problem isn't that the Falcon changed its appearance in the years between Solo and A New Hope. The problem isn't even that the ship contained in the nose-notch apparently disappeared in the same time. The problem is -- or was -- that the Falcon appeared in Revenge of the Sith in that same white-and-blue color scheme... with that nose-mounted ship already missing.
Thankfully, all of the confusion is cleared up in the movie itself, as Han points out the auxiliary ship that Lando has added to the design.
In the process, making the Falcon look exactly like the concept art first drawn by Ralph McQuarrie. Now it seems canon that the notch is standard, used for moving cargo containers, and returned to that design with the loss of Lando's upgrade.
Han Mentions The Rebels' VCX-100 'Ghost'
If the image of a smaller, auxiliary being launched from a light freighter sounds familiar, it definitely should to fans of Star Wars: Rebels.
That's a perk made available to the heroes of the show aboard their own signature ship, dubbed Ghost. In a universe where the Corellian Engineering Corporation is one of the best in their industry, it's no surprise that two of the most well-known ships in Star Wars history should both be manufactured by them.
In Solo, Han actually calls out the Ghosts model by name.
The line will certainly be missed by anyone who doesn't known to listen for it -- or anyone who doesn't know offhand that Ghost is officially designated as a CEC VCX-100 light freighter.
That's the very model that Han claims he owns before playing sabacc to gain the Falcon from Lando.
Rebels fans have gotten more love sent their way than most tie-in stories after Ghost showed up at the Battle of Scarif and Hera Syndulla was name-dropped in Rogue One to boot.
Hopefully, this extension of respect to the team's vehicle of choice is a sign of more to come (and don't worry, there are more Rebels nods in Solo).
Aurra Sing Was Destroyed by Beckett
While the larger fan base may grimace whenever Episode I - The Phantom Menace is brought up in conversation, the true fans know that there was more added to the Star Wars universe in the background of the first prequel than in the main plot.
Believe it or not, Solo actually makes several direct connections between that prequel movie and the ones that came later.
That's something that the movie has in common with the animated Clone Wars series, and one of the best references to both comes in a throwaway bit of dialogue between Beckett and Lando.
The reputation of Han's first gang leader precedes him, when he's greeted by Lando, he mentions the rumor that he was the man who took down Aurra Sing. Beckett corrects him with his tongue in his cheek, pleading mock innocence since it was "the fall" that claimed Aurra Sing's life.
Laughter aside, fans should Aurra Sing as the unforgettable spectator of the Boonta Ever pod race on Tatooine in The Phantom Menace.
The seconds-long cameo was enough to earn her a starring role as one of the antagonist bounty hunters in season 2 of Clone Wars, playing something of a mother figure to the young Boba Fett.
Until Beckett claimed her life, which he can't really be blamed for.
Weazel From Phantom Menace is a Cloud-Rider
This is another connection to Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, and one almost too good to believe. Over the course of his first incredible adventure, Han goes from street-rat to Imperial soldier, all the way through to a battle-hardened pilot and thief.
However, he isn't ready for the scene-stealing Cloud-Riders led by masked gangster Enfys Nest.
The masked, feathered, robed, acrobatic criminals punctuated Solo's marketing from the start, but for the movie's best Easter egg -- or one of them, at least -- audiences will need to look beyond Enfys Nest to one of their underling -- particularly at one masked Cloud-Rider standing just a few feet tall.
The role marks actor Warwick Davis's place in Solo: A Star Wars Story after becoming a Star Wars regular following his Ewok debut.
However, Warwick Davis also played a brief role in The Phantom Menace, betting on the pod race with Anakin Skywalker's owner, Watto. As "Weazel," Davis's character won big when Anakin came through as the winner, much to the chagrin of Watto.
According to the official guide to Solo, the masked member of the Cloud-Riders is also named Weazel... and "previously worked with the Hutt gang out of Mos Espa on Tatooine."
This is the same city Anakin that called home in Episode I, confirming this is almost certainly intended to be the same character roughly two decades later.
The (Red) Mandalorian Rally Master Armor
Finally, we arrive at the collection of artifacts and Easter eggs contained throughout Dryden Vos's personal yacht. Even if audiences can't settle their eyes on any one idol or valuable in the room, it's hard to ignore the wealth of references and connections to the expanded Star Wars universe -- and believe us, the results do not disappoint.
However, let's start with the item most likely to get people's attention: the large, red, Mandalorian armor on full display.
Some fans assumed that its presence was a hint towards Dryden's Mandalorian heritage, but the armor's placement in the wealthy alien's trophy room shows that this is not the case.
In fact, this armor is a callback to the Knight of the Old Republic fiction previously assumed to be non-canon after Disney purchased Lucasfilm.
Fans will it as one variation of Mandalorian Neo-Crusader armor, adopted by the warrior race by the Great Sith War (thousands of years before the Star Wars movies).
The standard troops wore blue armor into battle, Field Marshals wore gold, and frontline veterans wore silver. However, the crimson was reserved for Rally Masters, meant to stand out in battle and untie the infantry surrounding them.
This history is confirmed in Solo: The Official Guide, referring to the suit as "Rally Master Armor."
