With all eyes turned towards director Rian Johnson‘s Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December, and J.J. Abrams’ return for Episode IX, it’s easy to forget that that we’re getting another movie in May 2018. Ron Howard has taken over the Han Solo movie, and we haven’t heard anymore complaints out of Lucasfilm, so hopefully that means the film is back on track. But we have noticed more callbacks since Howard joined the project. First there were rumors of a Darth Vader cameo, and now Howard himself is teasing one of the most famous moments from Han Solo’s backstory. But is this exercise in nostalgia a good thing? Today’s Nerdist News is exploring the question of whether the new prequel adventure will rob Han Solo of his mystique.

Join host, and the New Republic’s ambassador to Kashyyyk, Jessica Chobot, as she throws the spotlight on Howard’s recent hint about Han Solo’s legendary run at the spice mines of Kessel.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZR4awJFyia/?hl=en&taken-by=realronhoward

The implication certainly seems to be that this is the Kessel spice mine mentioned by Solo in a throwaway line during his first scene in A New Hope. “It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.” That was the beauty of Star Wars. Lucas and his collaborators had a knack for making that universe even more compelling by adding details like that. Unfortunately, Lucas was also personally responsible for the prequel trilogy, which took away many the intriguing aspects of the original trilogy. No matter how you feel about the prequels, it’s hard to argue that a whiney Anakin Skywalker didn’t hurt Darth Vader‘s status as a cinema legend.

Lucas resisted the urge to Han in the prequel movies, but there is some Revenge of the Sith production art of Han as a kid on the Wookie homeworld which suggests that we narrowly dodged that laser blast like Gweedo in a poorly edited retcon. The point is that Han still has an air of mystery about his past that wasn’t ruined. That’s one of the reasons why we weren’t happy about the rumor that “Han Solo” wasn’t his real name, which Lucasfilm inadvertently started themselves.

We understand that by its very nature, the Han Solo movie is going to show us parts of Han’s past that we’ve never seen before. And if the spice run at Kessel is a part of that, then so be it. All we really want out of the film is a thrilling two-and-a-half hour ride that leaves Han’s reputation intact. After the prequel trilogy, we’re understandably a little gun shy.

What do you think about Howard’s latest hint for Han Solo? Hide in the cargo bay and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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