Now almost an unofficial addendum to any talk of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the idea of Disney and Lucasfilm giving far too much away and explaining everything ad nauseam is a common one. Still, it was a nice surprise to discover a hidden detail that links to the Original Trilogy and feels like added value rather than mansplaining.
The standalone pic had some surprising character success in the shape of L3-37, a custom built droid comprised of other units, which in the process, seemed to have picked up a whole load of sass and some progressive ideas about droid diversity. Although a little too K-2SO for some tastes, L3 turned the heads of many a Star Wars fan (and Lando, too!).
Shame then that the droid got blasted into who-knows-what, and barely just managed to get her navigation database uploaded to the Millenium Falcon itself. Adding to the aura of the Falcon, L3 was the reason for the ship’s advanced navigational skills as well as an emotional connection for the crew.
The added value though, comes via The Empire Strikes Back, when C-3PO attempts to communicate directly with the Falcon and came back with, “I don’t know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect.” Weaving L3 neatly and subtly into the overarching narrative, the official Star Wars Twitter account (h/t Screen Rant) recently posted the following, confirming that the droid is certainly part of the Original Trilogy.
MilL3nnium Falcon. #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/FVbkqCJIu5
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 31, 2018
It seems like such a tiny, throwaway line of dialogue but it’s now evolved into something meaningful that expands the mythology in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Impressive. Most impressive.
What perhaps isn’t so impressive is the pic’s box office performance, with this weekend finding Han’s solo outing crashing once again, leading many to wonder if it’ll break even at this point. We’ll have to wait and see if it does, but in the meantime, enjoy this neat little connection to the Original Trilogy and let us know if you spot any others.