These Fan Theories About 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Will Really Make You Think

If you're just biding your time until you clock out of work and the babysitter arrives so you can check out the latest Star Wars movie, you've probably combed over every trailer looking for clues about the plot. I order to keep you mind occupied until showtime, why not take a moment to consider these theories about Solo: A Star Wars Story, which were dreamed up by some pretty clever fans. Some are a little out there, some draw on details most of us may have overlooked, but they're all pretty damn entertaining, and I wouldn't be disappointed if any one of them were accurate.

Here's what we know going in: this is Han Solo's origin story, and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan told GameSpot that it's set "about 10 years before Mos Eisley," meaning it's around the year 10 BBY. The official blurb, per Solo's IMDb page, is frustratingly brief:

During an adventure into the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.

We can surmise from the trailers that Han dabbles with both Imperial and underworld careers before finally choosing to make a go of it as a smuggler, but how does he get there? And what burning questions might be answered by this glimpse into the past? Here are a few cool ideas:

Han The Spy

How is it possible that the Han we know wanted to be an Imperial pilot? And what happened to make him change his mind? One Reddit user has some thoughts:

Soooo, my guess is that the movie will be some kind of SW heist film, which seems to be the popular consensus, but! I think the twist is going to be the reveal that Han was sent by the Empire to bring down Woody Harrelson's character (and anyone else he can rope in) and arrest them. Stuff will happen, Han's Imperial tendencies will be challenged and he'll go the way of the scoundrel in the end.

Han working for the evil government seems so off-brand, but Han being a spy for the evil government? That, I could get behind. It might also explain why Lando calls him a "slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler" when he first sees him in The Empire Strikes Back. I mean, besides all the smuggling and gambling and whatnot.

There's A Good Reason Why The Falcon's So Ugly

Hey, I love that ship as much as the next fan, but I wouldn't be the first person to call it a "piece of junk," and after the Solo trailers revealed it actually used to be white, you've gotta wonder, why does Han take such lousy care of that thing?

A lot of people find it odd that the Millennium Falcon is in such good condition in 'Solo: a Star Wars Story' but I don't think it's odd at all. Han is a smuggler of illegal spices who tries to fly under the radar of the Empire at all costs. My theory is that a souped-up Falcon would draw a lot more attention and that's why it looks like sh*t in the OT and ST. Thoughts?

They'll Finally Fix That Kessel Run Plot Hole

Even the most casual fan is familiar with Han's boast that he and the Falcon "made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs," but parsecs are a unit of distance, not time. Was he testing Obi-Wan and Luke's knowledge of piloting? Did he go through a wormhole? Was George Lucas just kinda dumb? Another Redittor has a neat way to clear that up:

If you've ever seen hotrod racing, or even basic road testing like Road and Track, you know that sometimes it's not about how fast you can go, but how fast you can get to that top speed. We know the Falcon can do '.5 past light speed', and I'm sure that's pretty standard for most intergalactic cruisers. Maybe the Kessel run was actually more of a 0-60-0 test, but in light speed. Maybe he was able to get to .5 past light speed in under 12 parsecs, where the next fastest ship took 12.2 parsecs. If I've picked up on anything from the new Solo trailers that we've seen, it's that Han is a hotrodder, he just has faster and cooler toys than your grandpa has in his garage.

Han Is Force-Sensitive

Han pokes a lot of fun at the ways of the Jedi, but what if he's just deflecting? Think about how incredibly "lucky" he is, how he can talk people into anything, and how he has more "bad feelings about this" than anyone. It sounds ridiculous, until you check out the 12 examples Cracked managed to round up. Guess I'll be re-watching Episodes IV through VII tonight...

The Falcon Is Low-Key Sentient

So, this is already A Thing, and somehow, throughout all my Star Wars viewings, I never caught it. The Millennium Falcon has a brain. Three brains, actually, and they can talk and think and feel. Huh? Screenrant reminds us that in The Empire Strikes Back, Han asked C-3PO to "talk to the Falcon" to figure out why the hyperdrive wasn't working. Later, the protocol droid tells our favorite pilot, "I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect." The novelization of The Last Jedi went even further, describing the Falcon as "cantankerous, its three droid brains quarreling endlessly," and noting that the brains got along well with R2-D2 thanks his endless supply of dirty jokes. Oh, come on, you knew he had some.

So where did those brains come from? One, or maybe even all three of them, could have been sacrificed by (or cannibalized from) L3-37, a self-modified droid who functions as Lando's right-hand woman. She's certainly not present in Empire; maybe that's what Lando was so pissed about. Not only did Han take his ship, he took his buddy, too.

That last theory is my favorite, to be sure, but I'd gladly watch any of them come true. And if not, hey, they can always make more movies!