Solo: A Star Wars Story was certainly not short on connections to the wider Star Wars saga, what with it being a prequel to A New Hope, including references to Jabba the Hutt and, of course, the surprise cameo from Darth Maul. The novelization of the movie finds room for even more crossovers though, including a major one that reveals a direct link to fellow Anthology pic Rogue One.
StarWars.com has shared an excerpt from the upcoming novel penned by author Mur Lafferty and it reveals that Enfys Nest, the leader of the Cloud Riders who’s unmasked as a heroic young woman rather than a feared criminal during the movie, goes on to have dealings with Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker in Rogue One) and his band of rebels.
What’s more, Nest meets with an eleven-year-old Jyn Erso, in the care of Saw after the abduction of her father by the Empire. The Cloud Rider gives Jyn some advice that clearly goes on to inform the shrewd, tough woman she grows up to be. “You’re smart,” Nest tells her. “Still, they’re going to underestimate you. Make them regret it.”
This ties in with the hint in the movie that Nest and her group go on to join up with the Rebel Alliance, which Han and Chewie themselves will become part of in time. The novel explains that Enfys Nest hands over her valuable supply of coaxium to Gerrera, which likely goes toward funding the nascent rebellion.
Though this wasn’t made explicit, co-screenwriter Jon Kasdan has said that it was fully his intention to hint at a connection between Enfys and Gerrera, so Lafferty’s embellishments in her novelization were likely approved or perhaps even suggested by him.
If you’re intrigued and want to know what other revelations are dropped in the novel, you can catch the special Expanded Edition of Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s novelization in stores from September 4th.
