Solo: A Star Wars Story goes deep into the Star Wars universe. Writers Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan incorporated dozens of references, connections, and callbacks from canonical stories and Legends into the film about Han Solo’s early years. They connected the standalone movie to characters from other stories, locations, video games, and more. After two viewings, I caught over 40 Easter eggs in Solo to the rest of the Star Wars galaxy:
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Felucia
Lando references handling some business for Dryden Vos on Felucia. The planet appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and at the end of Revenge of the Sith; it’s where the Jedi Aayla Secura was killed after Palpatine enacted Order 66.
Cloud-Riders
Enfys Nest’s Cloud-Riders are named after a Legends swoop gang that appeared in Star Wars comics published in the late ’70s.
Teräs Käsi
Qi’ra mentions learning Teräs Käsi from Dryden Vos; the combat discipline was introduced in the Legends title Shadows of the Empire and highlighted in a PlayStation fighting game called Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi.
Aurra Sing
Beckett might have been responsible for the death of Aurra Sing. You can see the bounty hunter in the stands watching the Boonta Eve Podrace in The Phantom Menace, in the Darth Maul comic, and in The Clone Wars.
Glee Anselm
Beckett’s homeworld is Glee Anselm; it’s home to Nautolans such as Kit Fisto and was seen via hologram in The Clone Wars.
Dathomir
Darth Maul tells Qi’ra to come to Dathomir. It’s his home and where we first meet the Nightsisters in season three of Clone Wars.
Darth Maul
Then there’s Darth Maul himself. The intimidating former Sith Lord and current crime boss has roots in Episode I; his story continued in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Learn more about his history.
Tubes and Weazel
One of the Cloud-Riders in Enfys’ gang is one of the Two Tubes brothers seen in Saw Gerrera’s partisan group in Rogue One. The Cloud-Rider played by Warwick Davis (who has played multiple roles in the Star Wars universe, including the Ewok Wicket) is Weazel, an arms dealer and gambler shown on Tatooine in The Phantom Menace.
Pyke Syndicate
The Kessel spice mines are operated by the Pyke Syndicate, an underworld organization canonized in The Clone Wars. They were part of Maul’s Shadow Collective (more on that here) and also responsible for killing Sifo-Dyas, the name the Kaminoans give in Attack of the Clones for the person who ordered the creation of the clone army.
Sharu, Oseon, StarCave Nebula
While Han and Beckett work on the Kessel heist, Lando stays aboard the Millennium Falcon to record the Lando Calrissian Chronicles, tales about his adventures. He mentions Sharu, which is a nod to the title of The Lando Calrissian Adventures Legends book Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu. Mentions of Oseon and the StarCave Nebula are also references to this book trilogy.
Valachord
Beckett teases Val about learning to play the valachord, the musical instrument she’s named after. Snap Wexley, a.k.a. Greg Grunberg’s character in The Force Awakens, played the instrument in the Aftermath books.
Chewbacca ripping arms off
Chewbacca rips a guard’s arms off on Kessel. In A New Hope, Han teased R2-D2 that Wookiees rip arms off when they lose, but this is the first time we’ve seen it happen (though The Force Awakens novelization had Chewbacca tearing limbs at Maz Kanata’s castle).
Colo claw fish
When Han goes to Dryden’s ship to hand over the coaxium, the crime boss offers a claw fish snack. The creature is the gigantic fish we saw attack Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on Naboo in The Phantom Menace.
The Maw
The swirling danger surrounding Kessel in Solo is The Maw. The name is pulled from Legends, specifically from The Jedi Academy trilogy.
Portions
Lady Proxima’s scrumrats on Corellia talk about getting portions in exchange for their discoveries, which is reminiscent of how Rey got portions from Unkar Plutt as payment for scavenged material on Jakku in The Force Awakens.
“Move along”
Stormtroopers at Corellia’s spaceport tell people, “Move along,” just like the stormtroopers in Mos Eisley in Episode IV.
Coronet City
Han and Qi’ra head to Coronet City to get off the planet. The major Corellian city appeared repeatedly in Legends, in series such as Legacy of the Force and in canonical novels like Aftermath.
Music Ties
John Williams composed a single track for Solo, but composer John Powell pulled from Williams’ established library for the soundtrack, including motifs from “The Imperial March” and “Asteroid Field.”
Carida
Han flunks out of the Imperial Naval Academy on Carida in Solo. In Legends titles, the planet was home to a major military training establishment.
Mimban
When Han’s kicked out of the Academy, he becomes part of the infantry on Mimban. Mimban’s history goes back to 1978 to the Legends title Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, one of the first Star Wars books ever published. In canon, the Mud Jumpers of the 224th on Mimban received a call-out in The Clone Wars.
AV-21 landspeeder
Han stole an AV-21 landspeeder during his youth, and if you played Star Wars Galaxies in the early 2000s, you might remember how hard it was to acquire the rare vehicle in the game.
Moof-milker
When you hear “moof-milker” in Solo, it should sound familiar because of this line in The Force Awakens: “Some moof-milker installed a compressor on the ignition line!”
Bossk and the Xan sisters
Val is annoyed with Beckett for bringing in amateurs for the Conveyex job and laments not calling Bossk or the Xan sisters. Bossk is the Trandoshan bounty hunter first seen in The Empire Strikes Back and later in The Clone Wars. Xan sisters is likely a reference to Legends’ Zan Pike of the Pike sisters; they were criminals hired by Black Sun in Shadows of the Empire.
Viper droid
Viper probe droids take out Val, and we’ve seen them before in a variety of settings, most notably on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.
Scarif
The name Scarif comes up when Han and Beckett are trying to sell their coaxium plan to Vos. It’s where a small team of rebels stole the Death Star plans in Rogue One.
Black Spire and Dok-Ondar
L3-37 mentions Lando couldn’t get to Black Spire without her, and Qi’ra comments on making sure Dok-Ondar, a guest of Dryden’s, is taken care of. Both are references to the upcoming Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge areas at Disney Parks; Black Spire’s the name of the village and Dok-Ondar is an Ithorian collector who will have a role in Galaxy’s Edge.
Si’Klaata Cluster
The route to Kessel includes the Si’Klaata Cluster. The star cluster was created for a Legends guide published by West End Games in the ’90s, Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens – Enemies and Allies.
Beckett’s Disguise
Beckett wears a disguise on Kessel, and it’s the same outfit worn by Lando when he infiltrated Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi.
Tatooine Gangster
Speaking of Jabba, Beckett talks about departing Savareen for another job set up by a bigshot Tatooine gangster. He’s referring to Jabba the Hutt.
A Roast
Rio Durant mentions a mynock roast; mynocks are the creatures that latched onto the Falcon while they were inside the space slug in Empire Strikes Back.
Crystal skull and Mandalorian armor
Dryden Vos’ office on his yacht is full of treasures and artifacts. Among them is a set of Mandalorian armor and a crystal skull. The skull is a nod to Xim the Despot from the Legend novel, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy.
Sabacc
Han wins the Falcon from Lando in a game of sabacc. The card game was introduced in Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu and has since been referenced many times in Legends and in canon.
“I know”
After their misadventures, Lando says to Han, “I hate you.” Han replies, “I know.” It’s a play on his infamous I love you/I know scene with Leia in Empire.
Mining colonies
When discussing Kessel, Lando comments, “Mining colonies are the worst.” He goes on to serve as an administrator of Cloud City, a Tibanna gas mining colony.
A price
Beckett tells Han about how he doesn’t want to end up with a price on his head, which foreshadows Han’s life. Han leaves the rebels in Empire Strikes Back because of it; he tells General Rieekan there’s a price on his head.
This is far from a complete list. There’s Dejarik, the thermal detonator, the Decraniated, Han being kicked out of the Imperial Academy like he was in Legends, and more. And other non-Star Wars nods in the film include a tie to Back to the Future and the inclusion of the Golden Idol and the Sankara Stones from the Indiana Jones films.
Did you notice these references? Did you catch any others? Share them in the comments.
Images: Lucasfilm, Del Rey, Ballantine, LucasArts
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.
