Solo: A Star Wars Story - Trailer Review

Star Wars is kinda my thing. Ever since I watched the Original Trilogy on my brother's old VHS tapes as a kid, I have been in love with that universe. The themes, the emotion, the action, the comedy - it's my favourite film series, bar none. So, naturally, I was super excited to see the Han Solo stand-alone trailer drop this morning.

I have been a big-time canon junkie since Disney reset the Star Wars expanded works: I read the books and comics, and play the video games. This trailer was full of (possible) relations to the new canon, as well as a few fun call-backs to Legends material. Let's dive in.

This film really hinges on Alden Ehrenreich. If he can portray a convincing younger Han Solo, that alone could be enough to put Solo over the top. If this trailer is any indication, his performance will be spot-on. That final scene is the highlight for me, with the "we're fine" line greatly echoing the detention center from A New Hope. The turn Han does at the :11 second mark is nearly identical to Han turning and telling C-3PO off in Empire Strikes Back. Ehrenreich has me sold.

This film seems to draw great inspiration on Han's backstory from Legends material, particularly Han as a former Imperial pilot. We hear Han recalling how he got kicked out of the "flight academy" for having a mind of his own, which could certainly explain how he met Chewbacca, as they seem to know each other quite well by the time of this film. The 2000 Legends comic Chewbacca #2 shows how Han saved Chewie from slavery, and I would bet this movie draws from that heavily.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway for me is the character shown at :35 seconds into the trailer. I am going to assume (and hope) that this is Sana Starros, Han's sorta-kinda wife from the new Star Wars mainline comic. All we know is that Han and Sana got married as part of a scam, and I could definitely see Woody Harrelson's mentor character putting them up to that as part of the heist they seem to be attempting to pull off.

A few final notes:

-The Falcon is so clean. This gives even more weight to Luke calling it a piece of junk: Han literally let it become that during his ownership.

-Donald Glover, without saying a word, IS young Lando Calrissian.

-The odd-woman out in this trailer is Emilia Clarke. I'm not too sure where she fits into Han's backstory, and it will be interesting to see what impact she has on turning Han into the jaded scoundrel we know and love at the time of A New Hope.

Solo: A Star Wars Story comes out in ONLY 3 AND A HALF MONTHS...Let the countdown begin! Did this trailer get you excited for Solo? Let me know in the comments below!