**MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY**
Han Solo officially has his own origin movie, and now fans can head off to the theaters to see how his journey began. If you’ve already seen the movie then you now know what Disney and Lucasfilm’s intentions are for the character, and how they plan to incorporate his story into the grander Star Wars mythology. That link comes in the form of a fan-favorite character who made a shocking appearance towards the end of the movie, a cameo the writers recently discussed.
**SERIOUSLY. If you have not seen SOLO, turn back now, go see it, and then come back. You have been warned.**
**Gone? Okay, you may proceed.**
So, towards the end of the movie Han (Alden Ehrenreich) goes after to save his new pal Chewbacca, thinking his beloved Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) would soon follow. Then we learn she has more mysterious plans in the works, calling on the leader of Crimson Dawn to inform him of the situation. We then learn this leader is none other than Darth Maul (Ray Park), fit with robotic legs. The crowd goes nuts. Please take my money for the sequel.
Screenwriters Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan spoke with Uproxx recently about this huge reveal and how they came up with it, with Jonathan saying he was always excited about bringing him into the fold.
I was really passionate about him all the way through. I sort of had planted the seeds early and I wanted it to be built that way. And I wanted to reference certain forms of martial arts that might lead to it. And the presence of someone who was so terrifying in this crime world that you just had to know he was the guy who could control someone like Dryden. So he was part of the DNA of the thing.
He goes even further, saying that the inclusion of Maul and some other weird characters is all about harkening to a classic line in the original Star Wars movie.
The line we love and keep referring to is, “we’ve seen some strange stuff across the galaxy.” And we did really want to honor the line that he’s seen some weird stuff. And that’s why we thought it would be great for him to encounter a Jules Verne-type creature out in deep space, and made his experiences that have made his life rich and pressed the limits of what are possible.
Anyone familiar with Han in the original movies and FORCE AWAKENS (as played by Harrison Ford) knows he’s always been a skeptic of the force. Wouldn’t that mess with some of the character’s beliefs in the original trilogy if in his past he encountered Maul? Lawrence thinks no.
I don’t think so. Because that’s part of what I love about this story. He doesn’t believe in the force and we know that ahead of time. But he doesn’t ever have to! The only acceptance he has – over three movies that I wrote! – is so slim. You know, he never really comes to believe. He’s always the skeptic.
So, Maul is in the game now. What did you all think of the inclusion of the character? He's been seen again in the REBELS and CLONE WARS animated shows, but this marks his return to the live action films. Fans have been wanting him back for years, so are you glad he's making his appearance in SOLO, and most likely, any potential sequels?
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY is in theaters now.