Warning: Spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Solo: A Star Wars Story may have filled in the titular smuggler's backstory, but it also accidentally revealed some of Han's biggest lies from the original trilogy. Everybody always knew that Harrison Ford's iconic character would play as fast and loose with the truth as he would with a blaster, but some parts of Ron Howard's movie reveal it goes much deeper than we thought.
While it tried to do a lot - from explaining how the Millennium Falcon got its advanced hyperdrive to bringing shocking Star Wars TV aspects over to the movies - Solo's primary purpose was to flesh out Han's past, exploring what created such a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder. Learning how he got his lonely surname was why Disney CEO Bob Iger greenlit the project, but we saw how Han formed his lifelong friendship with Chewie, won the Millennium Falcon from Lando, how the ship became the rust-bucket fans know and love (albeit not all the "special modifications"), and even the origins of his signature blaster. With props to screenwriters Lawrence & Jon Kasdan, nearly all of this slotted neatly into what was known before.
Related: Solo: Early Designs & Story Ideas Could Have Led To A Very Different Movie
However, going back through the previous four Star Wars films that feature Han with the context of Solo nevertheless leads to some strange moments where the truth doesn't quite line up. Now,these aren't plot holes per se (mostly), rather they're there to increase Han's all-around roguishness and add layers (albeit somewhat confusing ones) to what seem to be throwaway moments.
- This Page: Han's Lies About The Millennium Falcon
- Page 2: Han's Lies About His & Lando's Relationship
"It's The Ship That Made The Kessel Run In Less Than Twelve Parsecs"
To be fair to Solo, Han's brag about the Kessel Run was always questionable thanks to the use of "parsecs", a unit of distance not time, to sell his ship's speed. This led to a long-standing debate among Star Wars fans, with it unclear if Han was lying, incorrect, or operating on another level. The accepted explanation became that the Kessel Run was a treacherous area of space populated by black holes: the faster or more powerful a ship, the closer you can go to those clusters, ergo keeping the distance as low as possible.
That's pretty much the explanation that Solo: A Star Wars Story plumps for, but it doesn't want to undo the idea of a shyster Han in the Mos Eisley Cantina. After landing on Savareen, Han says to Chewie that they just did the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs, to which the Wookiee objects and he corrects: it's twelve, but only if you round down. Given that in A New Hope, Han says the Millennium Falcon did the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, he's evidently been gradually boosting his achievement. That, or at some point in the proceeding ten years Han & Chewie went back to improve their personal best.
Millennium Falcon: The Fastest Ship In The Galaxy?
An undisputed rule of early Star Wars, one that stuck to the point it was applied to general stats in all manner of EU material (especially video games), is that the Millennium Falcon is the fastest ship in the galaxy. This mainly comes from repeated reinforcement across the original trilogy: Han's Kessel Run claims in A New Hope; Lando saying "she's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy" in The Empire Strikes Back; and Han insisting "she's the fastest ship in the fleet" in Return of the Jedi.
Related: How Solo Explains The Revenge of the Sith Falcon Plot Hole
There's always been cause to doubt this, but after Solo that really may not be the case. The reason the Falcon was able to do the Kessel Run was as much down to the coaxium injection directly into her engine rather than something inherent to the ship, while the blanket "fastest" claims come across as another Han quirk; when playing his first game of Sabacc with Lando, Han wagers a VCX-100 freighter (like Rebels' Ghost) that he too calls the fastest ship in the galaxy (despite it not actually existing). Evidently it was a go-to brag.
Page 2 of 2: Han's Lies About His & Lando's Relationship
"I Know"
Not a lie, per se, but definitely an altering of perception, is Han's use of "I know" in The Empire Strikes Back. The carbon freezing scene, particularly Han and Leia's declaration of love, was a major sticking point during shooting. The script had Han respond, "I love you too", which rang false for the character to all involved. Eventually, they reached a much more fitting - and no less emotional - farewell with "I know". It's since become one of the most emblematic aspects of the pair's long, fraught relationship.
However, it may not have been as intimate as Leia and fans have been led to believe. After the Kessel Run and the Millennium Falcon's decimation, Lando says to Han, "I hate you", to which Solo quips, "I know". It's an obvious callback, but in the context of the whole franchise indicates this response as more of a general Han trait. Now the question becomes if Lando got the callback on Bespin.
"We Go Back A Long Way Lando And Me"
Possibly the biggest aspect of Han's past that the original trilogy established was his long-standing relationship with Lando. He repeats twice that they go back a long way (first when suggesting flying to Bespin, then later when the welcome at Cloud City is less than harmonious), and there are several allusions to what exactly went on between them. Most pointedly is that Han won the Falcon from Lando "fair and square", a line that gains new meaning given how we know Calrissian would typically cheat.
Read More: Solo: A Star Wars Story 'First Classes' Han & Lando's Friendship
The other allusions, however, seem weirder and not tighter after Solo. When Chewbacca questions going to Cloud City, Han responds "Well, that was a long time ago. I'm sure he's forgotten about that", indicating some form of schism. This is echoed by Lando, who - albeit jokingly - says to Han "You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled." The latter may be all part of the ruse arrival, but even then there's the insinuation of a great friendship for a long time, as well as an ignominious parting. Solo provides that but in a very truncated manner - their friendship exists over a matter of days: possible, sure, but challenging to many fans' head canon. It's, of course, possible they meet up again and earn that history and animosity, although to have that poses another question...
"What Have You Done To My Ship?"
This one's on Lando, but if we're discussing original trilogy trickery, it has to be discussed. Lando's response to Han saying he's on Bespin for "repairs" is, "what have you done to my ship?" The line is delivered with a level of awareness by Billy Dee Williams (and is given an "in mock panic" stage direction in the script), but it does seem to establish some of the pair's relationship. In reference to the last point, it suggests they did last part when Han won the Millennium Falcon, although that's not where the mistruth comes.
The Falcon as it looks at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story isn't a far cry from the classic version of A New Hope and beyond. Most of Lando's exterior was stripped away during the Kessel Run, meaning that the ship he finds in The Empire Strikes Back is close to what he last saw. The joke could easily be taken as a riff on that "I hate you" schism, but it's definitely another re-reading.
