WARNING: This piece contains spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story.

A sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story may be on Lucasfilm's future plans. Fortunately, the anthology film contains plenty of clues for what's next for Han and Chewbacca. Solo offered fans of the franchise an insight into the origins of arguably its most beloved hero, Han Solo. Despite a troubled production, including the replacement of its original directors with Ron Howard, extensive reshoots, and rumors of chaos behind-the-scenes, it seems that Lucasfilm have pulled it off once again. As Han himself famously said, never tell us the odds.

Under the rule of The Walt Disney Company, the chances are that audiences will get a new Star Wars film every year, with the possibility of that number expanding to include multiple installments in various stories across the galaxy. The possibilities are limitless, even beyond the familiar characters, but with Han, there’s still so much more we want to see. After all, this is one of the most iconic heroes in modern genre fiction, and as one of the great smugglers, he has a reputation to uphold.

Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo, has confirmed that he signed a multi-film contract with Lucasfilm. The opportunity is there for Star Wars to expand Solo into its own compact series, bringing the excitement of gangster and heist movies to the franchise in a way that the central part of the narrative simply can't. The joy in Solo is in seeing this character, cut from the same cloth as old-school Hollywood rogues, pull of astounding feats through wit, savvy and sheer dumb luck. What Solo fundamentally understands about Han is that he’s a far bigger dork than he believes himself to be. He’s charming but never cool (that’s Lando’s job), is usually making up his plans as he goes, and as much as he believes himself to be a devilish criminal looking after number one, his heart always leans towards doing the right thing.

Solo: A Star Wars Story ends with the perfect sequel in place, but there’s so much more we’d love to see.

Han and Chewie Start Their Career With Jabba

Solo: A Star Wars Story ends with Han following the advice of Tobias Beckett and heading towards Tatooine to meet with a gangster who’s putting together a crew. It doesn’t take a Star Wars expert to know that the businessman in question is Jabba the Hutt. This time was explored heavily in the now-Legends Expanded Universe, but has been mostly kept blank in the new, post-Disney canon: the only exploration of Han dumping Jabba's cargo that leads to the contract on his head came from A New Hope retelling A Certain Point of View.

This means there's a lot of adventures to be told. What other jobs did Han, Chewie and the Millennium Falcon do for the Hutts? Jabba has a highly organized cartel of crime at his slug-like fingertips: gambling, slavery, assassins, smuggling, and much more. There's tales of betrayal, deceit and worse in Legends that would definitely fit for Solo 2: stories of Han deeply immersed in the galaxy's crime world would allow us to see more of his descent into cynicism.

More Han and Chewie Bonding

Alden Ehrenreich is easily the break-out star as the eponymous hero, but his chemistry with Chewbacca (now played by Joonas Suotamo) is a particular delight. Their scenes of human-Wookie banter provide some of the film's comedic highlights, and the development of their friendship is the story’s true heart. The dynamic between Han and Chewie is a classic one: the hot-headed charmer who thinks he’s smarter than he is, and the quieter cohort who’s holding the operation together.

Now that Han and Chewie are a pair and no longer part of a larger group, their friendship and professional relationship will be tried and tested. How will it withstand the pressures of working for gangsters and living a life on the fringes of society? Chewie chose Han over returning to his own people and, for now, Chewie is all that Han has. The galaxy’s dynamic duo has many adventures ahead of them, but what matters the most is how it impacts their partnership.

Page 2 of 2: Han vs. Bounty Hunters... And Maul

Boba Fett in Solo A Star Wars Story

Han versus Bounty Hunters

Bounty hunters are a major part of the crime ecosystem that Han and Chewie work in, and as we know from the rest of the series, the pair have had their run-ins with some of its most infamous figures. Everyone knows about Boba Fett and their encounters, but there are many more that could be explored in the films.

It seems inevitably that the pair would bump into Boba Fett a few times before he eventually gets his major bounty in The Empire Strikes Back. Given the character’s status as a fan favorite - and is set to get his own movie from director James Mangold - a first crossings of paths between the pair would be fitting.

Read More: How Solo Sets Up The Boba Fett Spinoff Movie

Han Versus the Empire (and Qi’ra)

Qi'ra in Solo A Star Wars Story

It has now been established that Han briefly served under the rule of the Empire, training as a pilot before being kicked out for insubordination and working as a grunt soldier. He has no loyalty to the cause, using it merely as a way to get off his home planet, but as we know from the original trilogy, he gets to a point where he tries to avoid being involved with the Rebel Alliance. Solo: A Star Wars Story shows Han at his most idealistic, helping the rebels without a second thought because it’s the good thing to do. What happens between that and A New Hope, where Han sees nothing worth investing in with the Rebels?

One of the strongest parts of Solo was in its establishing of Han’s character through the slow evolution of his motivations. Instead of diving into his backstory to provide the foundations for his worldview, the film showed it in action through his often naïve partnership with Beckett. Even when his life is on the line, he pushes to save the day, but that inherent goodness can’t always beat the dark instinct to survive. It’s a struggle that will only become more complicated now that Qi’ra has revealed her true allegiances and become a head of the Crimson Dawn syndicate - underneath a resurrected Darth Maul.

Qi’ra and Han’s relationship would have been difficult enough – how does anyone replace Leia in the hearts of audiences? – before her loyalties took a U-turn. It’s clear that his emotions for her run deep and that not even heartbreak can stop him from believing in her own inherent goodness. Their dynamic has now shifted into a major misbalance of power – the lowly smuggler with a rickety ship and no allegiances versus a crime-lord with ties to the Empire. Even if it doesn’t form the central plot for another Solo film, Han’s tangles with the Empire deserve more screen-time.

-

Solo: A Star Wars Story is at its strongest when it focuses on Han, Chewie and their chaotic exploits as smugglers. A focus on those adventures, and how they cause Han to further become hardened by his life experiences before he meets Luke Skywalker in the Mos Eisley canteen, would make for a thrilling sequel. Lucasfilm pulled off an origin story to one of its greatest icons, but there’s still more of his story to be told.

Next: All The Potential Future Star Wars Spinoffs Solo Sets Up

Key Release Dates