Darth Vader Might Appear in Young Han Solo Prequel

You know that scene in The Empire Strikes Back, the one where Han quick-draws his blaster and unloads it on Vader in the dining room trap set for him by Lando on Bespin? If you’re like me, you likely thought from Han’s reaction that it might not be the dashing scoundrel’s first time coming face-to-face with the Dark Lord of the Sith. That potential relationship has never been explored before, but it just might be in Ron Howard‘s Untitled Han Solo prequel movie.

Back in July, the first rumors of Vader’s involvement in the Solo solo movie popped up when the Kentucky Fandom Fest website announced that Spencer Wilding, the actor who physically portrayed Darth Vader in Rogue One, would not be attending because “he will be filming the newest film in the Star Wars Universe.” Now, ThatHashtagShow claims that a “source close to the production” has confirmed that someone wearing a Darth Vader costume has been seen on Howard’s set as recently as two weeks ago, apparently filming reshoots for the movie.

Obviously, Vader was active during Solo’s formative years, but the likelihood that the two would meet up by chance are as astronomical as the odds of someone beating Solo’s 12-parsec Kessel Run. As much as we loved seeing Vader in Rogue One, his inclusion in Young Han Solo needs to be as organic as possible to avoid feeling shoehorned into the plot.

Lawrence and Jon Kasdan wrote the script, which focuses on the formative years of the young smuggler and scoundrel (Alden Ehrenreich), his gambling buddy (Donald Glover) and a big walking carpet who owes him a life debt (Joona Suotamo). Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Emilia Clarke and Pheobe Waller-Bridge also star.

The Untitled Han Solo movie is slated for release on May 25, 2018.