What You Need to Know About the Origin of Han Solo and Chewbacca's Lifelong Friendship

Get the Full StoryWarning: a few adorable, BFF-related spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story ahead!

Thelma and Louise. Bill and Ted. Romy and Michele. And now? Han and Chewie.

The galaxy-traversing smugglers have been a part of the Star Wars universe since the first film, A New Hope, hit theaters in 1977, but it's taken over four decades to finally get their origin story. Now, thanks to Solo: A Star Wars Story, we have it.

In Disney's latest standalone film, which boasts an all-star cast and is already prompting talk of spinoffs, the story mainly focuses on the rise of young Han Solo's career as one of the galaxy's greatest pilots and most astute smugglers. We see him fall in love with both a woman and the Millennium Falcon , get stabbed in the back, and even discover how he earns his iconic last name spoiler alert: it's not the one he was born with . But, arguably most importantly, we're clued in to how he and Chewbacca initially crossed paths.

Related:

After Solo's 143-Minute Run Time, Should You Stick Around For a Postcredits Scene?

The film begins with a fresh-faced, younger version of Han Alden Ehrenreich desperate to escape the dismal Corellia, a grim industrial planet with Imperial troopers around every corner. When his first attempt at sneaking out of the planet with childhood pal Qi'ra Emilia Clarke goes awry, he manages to escape by enlisting in the Empire's army, with hopes of becoming a fighter pilot. The next time we meet him, the film has jumped forward in time a few years, dropping us into the trenches of a chaotic battlefield; Han is still a grunt, having been kicked out of the flight academy for being insubordinate. When he's caught by his commanding officer while trying to defect - with con-men Val Thandie Newton and Tobias Beckett Woody Harrelson - Han is tossed into a giant enclosed pit filled with human bones that supposedly houses a "beast" of some kind.

And you know who that beast is? Drum roll, please . . .

Yep, Chewbacca!

After Han is dropped in the pit, a very muddy, angry Chewie starts to attack him. The pair tussle for a bit, until Han reveals that he can speak Wookiee. He tells Chewbacca, who is chained in the pit himself, that he can get them both out of there and the Empire's clutches for good. Together they fool the guards watching them and are able to meet up with Tobias and Val before their ship takes off. We later discover that Chewie holds a grudge against the Empire for enslaving his people.

From there, Han and Chewie go on an adventure with Beckett's team to steal a rare, expensive material called Coaxium, and their beloved friendship is born. Solo might be a wholly unnecessary entry into the Star Wars franchise, but let's all be grateful that we finally got to witness their epic meet-cute.

Share: