53 Canon References and Easter Eggs In Solo: A Star Wars Story

*Spoiler Alert for Solo: A Star Wars Story*

Solo: A Star Wars Story is the first of the most recent Star Wars films that finally rewards fans who have diligently delved into the entirety of the Star Wars Canon (including novels, TV series, comic books, and video games). Not only are there dozens of easter eggs and nods from the entire canon, the major surprise reveal of Darth Maul leading Crimson Dawn can only really be understood by those who have followed Darth Maul’s story in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Sons of Dathomir Comic.

Below is the most complete list of easter eggs and nods to the entire Star Wars Canon for your reading enjoyment.

Obvious References

• Solo’s name — Han got his infamous last name from an imperial recruiter on his home planet Corellia after revealing Han “has no people.” This actually reveals a significant theme in Han’s life. Rio Durant’s last words to him were “It’s no good to die alone.” He took that to heart and learned to find family with his various crews. This is probably why Leia’s initial insult in A New Hope, “I wonder if he cares about anything, or anyone” stings so much, perhaps enough for him to reconsider and come back to help Luke in the Battle of Yavin.

• The Golden Dice — Han’s dice (or chance cubes as they are referred to in the canon) had a significant role in The Last Jedi as an artifact Luke uses to remember Han and remind Leia of Han at the end of the movie. The origins of Han’s lucky dice are seen several times in Solo, and are actually used in Corellian Spike, a version of the Sabacc Card Game.

• The Kessel Run — Kessel was perhaps the first planet ever mentioned in the Star Wars Universe. C3PO imagined where he and R2D2 would be sent if they were captured on the Tantive IV (in the beginning scene of A New Hope). Completing the “Kessel Run” in less than 12 parsecs is one of the first things Han boasted about when he met Obi Wan and Luke in Mos Eisley, and has since been mentioned in dozens of other pieces of canon. In Solo we got to see the famous spice mines of Kessel, along with Han’s feat of completing the “Kessel Run,” even though according to Chewbacca it was closer to 13 parsecs, but who’s counting?

• Maul (formerly known as Darth) — Most fans thought Darth Maul was killed by Obi Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace, so his appearance as the leader of Crimson Dawn was surprising and confusing. But Maul has appeared in multiple story arcs in The Clone Wars, Darth Maul & Son of Dathomir Comics, and Rebels. Maul has a considerable history with the various crime syndicates, briefly leading an “alliance” of various groups called the Shadow Collective, including the Pykes and Death Watch, a band of Mandalorian (like Boba Fett) mercenaries.

• Han Shot First — The question of “who shot first” between Han and Greedo is a fiercely debated topic in Star Wars, exacerbated by the fact the Lucas actually had the scene edited a few times in various editions of A New Hope. But in the confrontation between Tobias Beckett and Han, Ron Howard didn’t leave room for any debate.

• Sabacc — While this infamous card game is littered throughout the Star Wars canon, Solo is the first Live-action film where we actually got to see it played.

• Chewbacca’s Age — We knew Chewie was old, given his appearance and prominent position assisting Yoda on the Battle of Kashyyk in Revenge Of The Sith, decades before we saw him as Han’s copilot and first mate. In Solo we learned that Chewie was actually 190 years old when Han and Chewie first met.

• Dejarik — The Star Wars version of chess was first seen in the original trilogy aboard the Millennium Falcon, but also as a physical game in Saw Gerrera’s lair on Rogue One. Chewie’s interest in the game, and playing against Beckett in Solo was great to see.

• Han’s DL44 Blaster — It is no secret that Han’s blaster is one of the most powerful blasters we’ve seen in Star Wars. In Solo we learned that Han’s blaster was a gift from Tobias Beckett, but not in its original form. We saw Beckett taking what looks like a high-powered sniper rifle, removing the barrel and the stock and then handing the modified blaster to Han. This could explain why it is so powerful.

• Chewbacca Ripping Arms Off — In A New Hope we weren’t sure if we should take Han’s threat about Chewie “pulling arms out of their sockets” literally. Well, now we know. It was quite literal.

• Jabba and Tatooine — When we first met Han in A New Hope, he had a tenuous relationship with Jabba that nearly costs him his life. In Solo we learned that Han first heard about the smuggling jobs for Jabba from Beckett. In addition to the obvious nods and connections in Solo, there are dozens of more obscure references that are a bit harder to catch.

• Lando’s Pronunciation of “Han” — Han initially mispronounced “Sabacc” in an effort to feign ignorance and hustle Lando, but Lando saw right through this ploy. He subtly let Han know he was on to him by mispronouncing his name the exact same way Han mispronounced “Sabacc.” Lando’s continued use of the mispronunciation was a constant reminder/insult.

• Han’s “Friends” — In Solo, Han went out on a limb telling Chewie he had “friends” waiting for them to rescue them from Mimban; the very same “friends” that just minutes earlier sentenced him to death by labeling him as a deserter and feeding him to a beast (Chewbacca). Old habits die hard, and in Empire Strikes Back Han was still liberally using the term “friend” when referring to Lando, even though he had no idea how Lando would react to meeting him again.

• Han and Chewie’s Reunion — After Han’s hibernation in carbonite, he was thrown into a dark cell with another creature making menacing noises (who turned out to be Chewie). Han and Chewie’s reunion here mirrored their first meeting in the dank pit on Mimban.

• Han and Lando’s Reunion — Lando’s anger, fake punch, and pulling Han into a hug in Empire Strikes Back mirrored almost exactly how Han greeted Lando right before he swindled the Falcon from him.

• “Fair and Square” — When Han claimed that Lando lost the Falcon to Han fair and square, he put extra emphasis on the phrase. It is a jab at Lando, whose attempts to cheat at Sabacc backfired when Han bested him and won the Falcon.

• “Not a Scratch” — After Han encouraged Lando to pilot the Falcon during the assault on Death Star 2, Lando promised “she won’t get a scratch.” The inside joke is that earlier when Han was permitted to fly the falcon while Lando owned it, he caused much more than a scratch, including knocking off the satellite dish.

• Han’s Vertical Maneuvers — Twice in Solo Han made desperate escapes by turning his ship vertically to fit through tight spaces. So by the time of Empire Strikes Back, Han had already perfected the maneuver and executed it perfectly during the asteroid chase.

• “I Hate You” “I Know” — Han and Lando’s conversation on Savareen was an obvious nod to Han and Leia’s famous “I Love You,” “I Know” conversations.

• “I Don’t Have It With Me” — Han had a habit of using this excuse to lie about having something he didn’t. First in Solo when he lied about having a VCX-100, then again with Greedo about having Jabba’s money.

• Corellian Shipyards — In A New Hope Han referred to Star Destroyers as “big Corellian ships.” In Solo we saw multiple Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters under construction and assembly as Han navigated the streets of Corellia. Additionally, his experience with the YT-1300 freighter (The model of the Millenium Falcon) came from his father’s job assembling them while working at the Corellian Engineering Corporation.

• Special Modifications — Han told Obi Wan and Luke that he had personally made several special modifications to the Millenium Falcon. After seeing the state of the Falcon at the end of Solo, those modifications included: upgrading the single ventral cannon to ventral and dorsal quad cannons, installing a new, larger satellite dish, upgrading the hyperdrive controls (instead of pushing up on a lever, Han now pulls down). But some of Lando’s original modifications remained, such as the alluvial dampers and smuggling compartment.

• “Moof Milker” — In The Force Awakens, Han called Unkar Plutt a Moof Milker for installing a compressor on the Falcon’s hyperdrive, the same insult he told to Chewie to enrage him to break them out of their pit on Mimban.

• Weazel — Enfys Nest’s right-hand man is none other than Weazel (played by Warwick Davis, commonly known for playing “Willow”), the same outlaw we saw in Watto’s box during the Boonta Eve Classic pod race in The Phantom Menace. Apparently, something happened to him to make him join Enfys’ rebellion.

• Millennium Falcon Homing Beacon — Tarkin used a homing beacon to track the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope, which was the exact same method Enfys Nest used to track the Millennium Falcon in Solo.

• Funding For The Rebellion — Solo would have us infer that the coaxium Han was able to steal from the Pykes was a substantial portion of the initial funding used to establish the Rebel Alliance.

• Glee Anselm — Tobias Beckett mentioned this world twice as his destination for retirement. The world is home to the Nautolan race (the race of Jedi Master Kitt Fisto).

• Aurra Sing — Sing is a bounty hunter seen first in The Phantom Menace observing the podrace, and also shown in The Clone Wars TV series. Apparently, she met her demise after a confrontation with Beckett that involved a deadly fall.

• Pyke Syndicate — The Pyke Syndicate is well known in the “non-film” cannon for their illegal spice (the Star Wars opioid) operations. Seeing them in live-action was definitely a treat.

• Alton Kastle — Alton Kastle was the voice of many of the Imperial propaganda videos that were released as promotions for the Rebels TV series. The Imperial recruitment video that Han saw in the Corellian spaceport sounded like it was narrated by the very same Alton Kastle.

• “Chewie, we’re home.” — Han’s statement to Chewie in The Force Awakens was more meaningful after seeing Solo and realizing that the Millenium Falcon was quite literally the first place Han had felt “at home.”

• Indiana Jones References — In Dryder Vos’s yacht, a fertility idol and a crystal skull were displayed, nods to Indiana Jones.

• VCX-100 — When Han bluffed to Lando about his imaginary ship, he claimed he had a VCX-100, the very ship that Hera Syndulla captained in the Rebels TV series.

• Teräs Käsi — When Qi’ra took down the Pyke leader in the Kessel control center, she told L3 that she used Teräs Käsi, a martial art form taught to her by Dryden Vos. Teräs Käsi was made popular in the Playstation game Masters of Teräs Käsi and has been a part of Star Wars lore for years.

• Valichord — Tobias Beckett mentioned multiple times his retirement plans of learning to play the valichord. It is no coincidence that the “valichord” starts with “Val,” the name of his partner and his love.

• Bossk — The giant lizard bounty hunter, first seen in Empire Strikes Back was mentioned by Val as a potential crew mate for the Vandor heist.

• C3PO and R2D2 — Solo was the first star wars film without the presence of these two droids (even though original C3PO actor, Anthony Daniels, did debut as one of the wookies that Chewie helped free on Kessel).

• “I have a bad feeling about this” — This iconic phrase, spoken in some form or another in each star wars film, for the first time didn’t make an appearance.

• Millennium Falcon’s “peculiar dialect” — C3PO mentioned that the Falcon had a “most peculiar dialect” during Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps this was due to L3’s connection to the Falcon.

• “We don’t serve their kind here” — L3’s comment to Lando about her disgust of the treatment of droids in the outpost on Vandor was mirrored during A New Hope when Luke’s droids were kicked out of the Mos Eisley Cantina.

• Dathomir — The planet to which Darth Maul beckoned Qi’ra is none other than his home planet, a planet very connected to the dark side of the force and the origin of the Night Sisters (from The Clone Wars animated TV series).

• Dropping the Shipment — In A New Hope we learned that Han was in debt to Jabba because he dropped his shipment “at the first sign of an imperial cruiser”. Han’s literal dropping of the bounty or Coaxium that he and Beckett obtained on Vandor was a mirror of this situation.

• Gifts for Darth Maul — Among Dryden Vos’ collection was a Sith holocron and Mandalorian armor. Both of these were direct links to Vos’ leader, Darth Maul (and possibly gifts for him).

• Tantel Armor Helment — Tobias Beckett wore the same helmet in disguise on Kessel  as Lando wore as he was infiltrating Jabba’s Palace in Return Of The Jedi.

• Decraniated Servant — Dryden Vos’ “decraniated” servant (the one missing half of a head) was the same as one first seen in Jedha in Rogue One.

• Thermal Detonator Bluff — We thought that Leia was bold in Return Of The Jedi when she bluffed detonating a thermal detonator in Jabba’s Palace. But this was nothing compared to Han’s early detonator bluff with a rock and some smooth sound effects.

• Mynock Roast — Rio Durant mentioned how nuts mynock roasts are on his home planet of Ardenia. It must be an acquired taste because the mynocks we first saw during Empire Strikes Back inside the asteroid worm didn’t look very appetizing… at all.

• Fake Prisoners — Han immediately liked Luke’s plan of pretending to take Chewie captive on the Death Star in A New Hope because he had already successfully implemented nearly the same plan years earlier on Kessel.

• Han’s Yell — Han’s iconic yell when jumping head first into the Death Star garbage chute was apparently a habit. We saw Han offer a similar yell when he jumped off the AT-hauler onto the train during the Vandor heist.

• Colo Claw Fish — The fish that Dryden Vos was eating on his yacht was the same “goober fish” that nearly made a meal out of Qui Gon, Obi Wan and Jar Jar near the planet core of Naboo.

• “I’m a nice man” — When Qi’ra accused Han of being “the good guy” he adamantly refused and claimed that he was an outlaw, but later in Empire Strikes Back when Leia told Han she only likes nice men, he quickly asserted that he was a nice man. Either Han has accepted that he really was a good guy, or was good at telling women what they wanted to hear.

• Han Couldn’t Catch a Break — At least twice, Han was deprived of “a good kiss” in the Millenium Falcon because he was interrupted, first by Tobias Beckett and later by C3PO.

• “Move along” — The stormtroopers used the same jargon in the Corellian spaceport that they later used in the Mos Eisley spaceport in A New Hope. Protocol must not have changed much.

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