The Han Solo Film Features The Start Of An Iconic Friendship

Name a more iconic duo than Han Solo and Chewbacca — I'll wait. Sure, the world has seen some pretty awe-inspiring duos in the arts and even in real life, but there's something special about the smugglers' bond. Which is why it's wonderful news that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the Han Solo standalone movie shows how Han and Chewie met. The origin story of one of the most epic duos of them all? What more could I ask for in a movie?

Iger also revealed that the movie, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as young Solo and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, will cover Han's life from ages 18 to 24 and follow the character's discovery of his spaceship, the Millennium Falcon. This leads me to question how soon Chewie will run into the Imperial pilot-turned-smuggler. In the Star Wars novel, The Hutt Gambit, readers learn that the pals first met when Lieutenant Han Solo was an Imperial pilot. Han saved the Wookiee from brutal slavers, and, from then on, the freed Chewbacca followed Han everywhere, swearing a life-debt to protect his savior.

If their meet-cute happens when Han is on the younger side, it would be pretty awesome to see the reluctant (on Han's part) fledgling friendship blossom into the beautiful relationship it is in A New Hope. Meanwhile, the 18-24 year range is a pretty life-forming time in one's life regardless, so no matter when in that age-range Chewie shows up, the events are bound to be packed with some serious drama.

I'm also hopeful that Chewie will be around for the game of sabacc in which Han won his trusty ship from Lando Calrissian (played by the one-and-only Donald Glover in the new standalone). It's nice when besties share victories and maybe we'll find out if Chewie also won or lost something in the game.

This update about the standalone directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller makes the wait seem much longer. An iconic duo is only half as awesome without an interesting backstory, so it's going to feel like the perfect addition to the Han Solo mythology to get to see the character meet his best friend on December 15, 2017.