This article does include spoilers for ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’. If you care about such things and have yet to see the film, bookmark this and come back. We’ll wait.
Hey, don’t say we didn’t warn you…
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‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ included a number of appearances by established ‘Star Wars’ characters. Some, we complete surprises, most notably Darth Maul, who despite his revival in the ‘Clone Wars’ animated series, has not been seen on the big screen in nearly twenty years. Others, like Lando Calrissian, were anything but, with their presence serving as a major part of the film’s marketing (such as it was). But there were a few characters who were conspicuously absent, despite fans assuming (not unreasonably) that they would in fact appear.
Chief among that latter group is none other than Jabba the Hutt. After all, the “slimy piece of worm-ridden filth” isn’t just an iconic ‘Star War’s character, he’s an iconic ‘Star Wars’ character who is inextricably tied to Han Solo’s past. So why wasn’t he featured? Well, it turns out he very nearly was. As director Ron Howard explains to Empire:
“Jabba was on the list, but they kind of knew they didn’t want to go that way because it would be sort of funny, and maybe a little bit too much like sequel baiting.”
The list Howard refers to is a list of characters who were considered to be revealed as the shadowy leader of Crimson Dawn. That role ultimately went to Maul, though without some lobbying on Howard’s part and not before a number of other possibilities (including the creation of an all-new character) were considered for the identity of the mysterious mob boss. And of course, Jabba is alluded to towards the end of the film, as he is presumably the gangster Beckett tells Han is putting a crew together on Tatooine.
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on ‘Solo’ and other upcoming ‘Star Wars’ films as it becomes available!
‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ is now playing in theaters everywhere. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Joonas Suotamo.
