There is no spaceship in all of science fiction as iconic as Han Solo's Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. Whether its the vessel's unique design or its knack for falling apart at the worst possible moment, the Millennium Falcon is in many ways a character all its own.
It's only natural then that the famous ship would have a role in the upcoming Han Solo spinoff movie, starring Alden Ehrenreich as a young Solo.
Millennium Falcon Origin Story?
The actual plot of the film remains a closely guarded secret by Disney, but new cast announcements, the timeline during which the film will take place, and a new report from The Hollywood Reporter writer Borys Kit seems to heavily point toward the Han Solo anthology film as also being a Millennium Falcon origin story.
Let's start with a recent tweet from Kit. In the tweet, Kit writes that sources tell him the film will explore how Lando Calrissian lost the Millennium Falcon to Han. This detail, that the Millennium Falcon once belonged to Lando, is first brought up in Empire Strikes Back, and it's an idea fans are very familiar with.
However, the details of how exactly Lando lost the ship to Han remains a mystery. Han only says that he won the ship "fair and square." Of course, Lando does become reunited with the Millennium Falcon in Return of the Jedi, when he pilots the ship during an attack on the second Death Star while Han leads a group of Rebel commandos on the forest moon of Endor.
The Perfect Spinoff Material
The idea of the film exploring the specifics of how a young Han acquired the Millennium Falcon seems like perfect spinoff material. The Han we all know and love is who he is because of the Millennium Falcon, so having a young Han acquire the ship in the first Han solo spin-off film is an obvious way to kick off what will likely become a series in its own right.
What we know about the movie thus far also seems to line up nicely with what Kit reports. Donald Glover was recently cast as a young Lando Calrissian, which confirms that the two characters will be interacting and allows for the possibility of fans getting to see how Lando lost his beloved ship in some sort of wager. We also know that the film will take place roughly 10 years prior to Han meeting Luke and Obi-Wan in A New Hope.
All the pieces are in place, but will Han's acquisition of the Millennium Falcon be the story Disney is setting out to tell in its second Star Wars spinoff? Fans will have to wait and see, but it certainly seems likely. The still untitled Han Solo film is set for a 2018 release.
