If you were wondering what the must-have toy of 2018 will be, your question has now been answered – and it seems almost obvious when we think about it. Making Star Wars has reported that, while the upcoming Han Solo movie will – by virtue of being a prequel spinoff film – include a much newer Falcon than we’ve ever seen before, it will also involve ‘attachments’ to the iconic vehicle that will transform its look entirely.
Lucasfilm may well be dealing with a whole new director-based crisis right now, but the Han Solo movie seems to be sailing along smoothly at last, under the direction of replacement helmer Ron Howard. We’ve been glimpsing images and highlights from his shoot over the past few weeks and now we have details of what we can expect from the most iconic ship in the Star Wars universe. The fact that it will be far less worn means that we’ll apparently be able to enjoy its paintwork, with a white coating adorned with blue stripes – akin to that seen in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith, when the Millennium Falcon was seen docked at the Galactic Senate.
But, it’s the new attachment that will undoubtedly cause the biggest consumer frenzy in terms of merchandising, and the biggest excitement in terms of audiences. The shape of the Falcon is well known for its ‘forked’ front end, and now we’ll get a good idea of why those prongs exist, as an attachment will be seen which enables the ship to handle cargo externally – which will effectively give the whole thing an “elongated” profile.
While it’s always been associated with Han Solo and Chewbacca (and has been passed on to Rey as a result of the events of The Force Awakens), the Falcon is known to have come into Han’s possession as a result of a card game he played with Lando Calrissian, long before we first saw it in A New Hope. The Han Solo movie is expected to include this story in its plot, since Donald Glover’s young Lando will appear alongside Alden Ehrenreich’s Han.
The Millennium Falcon is perhaps the most beloved of all the fan-favourite vehicles in the Star Wars franchise – so much so that it was this ship bursting onto the screen to the famous Star Wars theme tune that made the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens such an emotional and thrilling experience back in 2015. We can only hope that the legendary freighter is afforded the same reverence in the Han Solo movie – which is due for release on May 25th, 2018.
