Not unlike Rogue One before it, Solo: A Star Wars Story exists in that small pocket of space between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope – between one generation and the next.
Such a clearly defined timeframe may seem quite restricting on paper, but it also lends creators the chance to introduce Star Wars enthusiasts to never-before-seen planets and other space oddities – think of the Deathtroopers from Rogue One, or the tropical planet of Scarif. And when it comes to Solo, it’s looking increasingly likely that Ron Howard and the team plan to expand the Imperial fleet quite dramatically thanks to the Arrestor Cruiser and Imperial Hauler.
The first is quite similar to your typical Star Destroyer, only with three giant satellite dishes lining its exterior walls. In fact, as reported by /Film, the design is strikingly similar to the old concept art shared by Colin Cantwell, the artist responsible for the Death Star, X-wings, TIE Fighters, and many other space vessels populating the Star Wars universe.
See for yourself:
Here’s a passage pulled from Cantwell’s recent Instagram post, which outlines his creative approach to the so-called Arrestor Cruiser and its WWII aesthetic:
The creation of the #Stardestroyer – I asked George about the scenes. We had a few words in which he described the scenes. I then asked “Is it bigger than Burbank?” to determine the size of the Imperial Cruiser and the opening scenes of the movie. The hatch concept was developed in terms of the need for actual scenes later in the movie. In the opening, I was describing something WWII-ish of a concept with a gunner in the fuselage. The ship was designed with a lot of thought on what the viewer would experience related to the massiveness of the ship. This involved thinking of things and creating relationships between all of the ships and their interactions with each other.
Pretty cool, don’t you think? Chances are we’ll not see either of these ships in action until Solo: A Star Wars Story releases another trailer, but it’s still fun to learn more about the vehicles of Ron Howard’s Anthology flick regardless.
