Han Solo Movie May Feature Two Classic Star Wars Planets

The young Han Solo spinoff movie may take viewers to two planets they have never seen on the big screen before: Corellia and Kessel. In addition to introducing new faces to the galaxy far, far away, a tradition of the Star Wars films is to add to the franchise’s growing collection of locations. Every installment to date has depicted at least one new planet to explore. For example, this December’s The Last Jedi marks the debut of the world Crait and casino at Canto Bight. It’s one way the filmmakers to keep things fresh each time out and show off more of the ever-expanding universe.

Han Solo already has the character department taken care of thanks to the likes of Woody Harrelson’s Beckett and Emilia Clarke’s Kira, but all’s been quiet on the planetary front for a while. Ron Howard’s set photos have teased fans with cantina brawls and rough corners of the galaxy, but the names of the worlds young Han will visit are largely being kept under wraps. Rumors and images are pointing to another trip to Tatooine, and now it’s been revealed what other planets moviegoers will see.

On the latest episode of their Now This Is Podcasting podcast, Making Star Wars (via Reddit) reported both Corellia and Kessel will factor into Han Solo‘s narrative, which is said to span a six-year period and cover Han’s life from the ages of 18-24. Longtime fans of the series know those two planets have some importance to Solo. The former is his home world, while the latter is the site of the famous Kessel Run that the Millennium Falcon did in less than 12 parsecs. It isn’t surprising Howard and company are planning on incorporating them into their film. Their inclusion reads as a logical fit, especially since this is supposed to be an origin story of sorts.

Making Star Wars theorized the speeder car pictures and videos that have made their way online over the past few months are from scenes set on Corellia. It’s likely the first section of the film takes place there, showing Han as a devilish racer before he gets into smuggling. Perhaps this is where he crosses paths with Beckett, his mentor, and the two go off on adventures together. As for Kessel, if audiences are going there in a young Han Solo movie, the mystery of the Kessel Run could finally be revealed. Many fans would prefer this aspect of the character’s past remain an enigma; answering questions nobody asked is a common pratfall of prequels. However, it all depends on the execution. Rogue One expanded upon a sentence of A New Hope‘s opening crawl and delivered an exciting tale that enriched the original trilogy. Han Solo is poised to pull off a similar trick, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

The Star Wars series went through some changes this past week, with J.J. Abrams stepping in to helm Episode IX for a December 2019 premiere (instead of the previously scheduled May). Han Solo, however, remains on track for next summer, and there have been no signs a delay is in the cards. With only eight months to go until the spinoff reaches theaters, the studio will have to rev up promotion at some point in the near future. The Last Jedi is top priority right now, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for the first Han Solo teaser to be attached to Episode VIII.

MORE: Han Solo Needs To Be Delayed To December 2018