It’s still a little strange seeing the Millennium Falcon all shiny and new(ish) in the promotional material for Solo: A Star Wars Story. After all, this is the craft that was a ‘heap of junk’ in A New Hope and consigned to the scrap heap as a relic in The Force Awakens. But we’d better get used to it, as it seems that the craft – one of the most recognizable fictional spaceships ever – is set to play a big role in the upcoming movie.
Empire Magazine have now marked the pic’s release with a special subscriber cover featuring a design by artist Dan Mumford, depicting the Falcon making an exciting escape from a Star Destroyer and a fleet of TIE Fighters. Said escape looks to be taking place inside some kind of wormhole, too, leading fans to theorize that this is going to be the famed Kessel run mentioned in Han Solo’s introduction back in 1977.
Check it out for yourself below:
Whether it is the Kessel run or not, it looks as if the Falcon is set to receive its due in an excellent action sequence. Looking back at the Star Wars franchise, it’s notable how many awesome scenes the Falcon has made its own over the years; whether it’s being swallowed by an Exogorth in The Empire Strikes Back, barreling through the exploding Death Star in the finale of Return of the Jedi, spinning chaotically through the Jakku junkyard or being piloted through a crimson cavern in The Last Jedi. All of those were among the highlights of their respective films, so all eyes will be on Ron Howard to deliver something that can stand proudly alongside them.
We’ll find in just a couple of weeks, too, as Solo: A Star Wars Story premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15th, after which we’ll hear whether Lucasfilm has managed to turn this troubled production into a bona fide hit. No matter what the critics say though, we’ll definitely be there on May 25th to see for ourselves.
