Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story has now been released worldwide and fans have discovered that it contains a quick but significant reference to a character from The Phantom Menace – and no, it’s not the one you’re probably thinking of.
When Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) is first introduced to Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) on the planet Vandor-1, he compliments the criminal for killing the infamous Aurra Sing. Beckett is modest about the role he played in Sing’s death, as he claims gravity’s what led to the bounty hunter’s demise and that all he did was push her.
Of course, to truly appreciate this brief moment in Solo, one must understand who exactly Aurra Sing is. The near-human bounty hunter first appeared for a few seconds during The Phantom Menace‘s podrace sequence. Though Sing didn’t have any dialogue, her unique appearance was enough to pique fans’ interest. People wanted to know more about the pale-skinned individual, and she went on to have a lengthy tenure in various forms of media that are now considered part of the Star Wars Legends continuity.
In The Walt Disney Company’s new canon, meanwhile, Aurra Sing plays a major role in The Clone Wars, a computer animated TV series that was cancelled in 2012. Sing helps free Ziro the Hutt from prison at the end of the show’s first season, and attempts to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala during its second. Most importantly, the bounty hunter is crucial to young Boba Fett’s development in the wake of his father’s death.
The reference to Aurra Sing in Solo may seem out of place, sure, but it is very effective. Not only does it flesh out the character Beckett a bit more, but it also continues and concludes Sing’s story without forcing her to make an appearance. The bounty hunter’s encounter with Beckett is left to the audience’s imagination, too, which is actually quite rewarding – though one wonders if it will ever be seen in a comic book or written about in a novel.
Indeed, this callback to The Phantom Menace is easy to miss, but it is one of Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s better reminders to moviegoers that what they see onscreen takes place in a single, interconnected galaxy.