Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Solo: A Star Wars Story introduces us to tons of new characters like Beckett, Val, Qi’ra, and Dryden Vos, but the best among them is a sassy, salty droid named L3-37. Played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, L3 might just be the first ever “woke” droid in the galaxy far, far away. She displays a level of sentience and self-awareness that is lightyears beyond what we’ve seen from other droids in the canon previously. Furthermore, over the course of Solo, L3’s character arc answers two major questions we’ve had about the Star Wars franchise. But to explain what we mean by that, we’re going to have to venture into the Outer Rim of spoiler territory, so if you haven’t seen Solo yet, you might want to make the Kessel Run to the theater and watch this video afterwards.
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via Giphy
If you’ve ever wondered why droids don’t rise up against their meaty masters in the galaxy far, far away, well L3’s journey in Solo proves that sometimes…they do. And the culmination of L3-37’s story not only gives important context to Han’s long-standing claims about the Millennium Falcon and the Kessel Run, but also adds some potential subtext to Han and Lando’s fateful encounter on Bespin many, many moons later. To find out what sets L3 apart from other droids, I spoke to Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the film’s red carpet premiere, as well as at a press day in Los Angeles. But to find out what Waller-Bridge had to say about our favorite new Star Wars character, as well as what L3’s storyline means for the larger Star Wars canon, join your trusty co-pilot Jessica Chobot on a brand new episode of Nerdist News Edition.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is in theaters now. Read our spoiler free-review!
Images: Disney/Lucasfilm
Additional reporting by Jesse B. Gill.
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).
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