Emilia Clarke Discusses Her Femme Fatale SOLO Character and Says She "Has a Core of Steel"

Even with the trailers that have been released for Solo: A Star Wars Story, we still hardly know anything about Emilia Clarke's character Qi’ra, who has been described as a femme fatale. But, in a recent interview with EW, the actress opens up a little bit about the woman she plays and offers a few new details.

One of the main things that has been revealed about the character is that she and Han Solo grew up together and Clarke expands on the details of their relationship saying:

"Well, they grew up as comrades, essentially. They grew up as pals, as partners in crime. There is obviously the romantic side of things. But they grew up together. So they were kids together. And the beautiful thing about this Han Solo story is it’s highlighting all of the most brilliant aspects of Han Solo the character and characterizing those aspects in characters that he meets on his journey to becoming who he is."

These two characters are obviously going to have a very interesting and heavy dynamic. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this character influences Solo in the film. When talk about that influence, she says:

"You see the beginnings of him, this loveable rogue. You get it fine-tuned throughout these relationships, and Qi’ra is one of those relationships that has an impact on him as a character. I mean, hopefully [ laughs] — if I have done my job. And within that relationship, the thing that that you see with Qi’ra is that she an enigma."

Clarke goes on to say that since we don't see Qi-ra anywhere else in the Star Wars universe, "something has happened! [Laughs] You know what I mean?" When asked if the movie offers us a reason why Han never talks about this character, she explained:

"Something must have happened to affect him as a person, but for us fans not to know about her. Twists happen, and there is this great idea of trust — and who do you trust and how do you trust? And which side of the tracks are either character from — or going to?"

She goes on to talk about the mystery surrounding the relationship saying:

"It is. Mystery. There is a thing throughout the relationship you just can’t put your finger on. And that’s Qi’ra. Every time you think you have got her number you realize you haven’t at all. [Laughs] Which is really hard to play. The goal is that the shadow of Qi’ra is there in Han as a character that we know. This girl is another texture that makes up who he is when we first meet him."

Clarke offers some info on where the film picks up with her character, saying:

"The point where you meet her, she is with Han. They are both doing what they’ve got to do to survive. And that is Qi’ra the whole the movie. The whole way through, she is surviving. And surviving in the underworld that we know to be [filled with] smuggling, aloof gamblers, wrong-side-of-the-tracks nasty ones. It was beautiful they touched on it very briefly [in The Last Jedi] when they are at the racetracks. Do you remember and they were talking about what that world is?"

As I'm sure you may already know, she is talking about Canto Bight and she explains how that is the world in which their characters inhabit:

"And that’s our world. I mean it’s not the racetracks, and not Canto Bight. But we have the main storyline talk about what the smuggling, gambling black market world is like. It’s dangerous and it’s sordid and it’s ugly, and it’s really, really dark. There are loads of different gangster-y elements running through it. It has been really fun to put Qi’ra in that. She has a couple of guises, but essentially she is just fighting to stay alive."

When talking about the strength of the character, Clarke goes on to say that she has a "core of steel."

"Oh hella yeah. [Laughs] I am never going to take a job that doesn’t tell that story, because I think it’s a very important narrative that we are telling all ages at all stages. And whilst it is Han Solo’s movie, this girl gets to be badass. And strong. And has her own journey. Qi’ra’s journey is definitely one of survival and strength. The way that I felt about her was yeah this girl has got a core of steel."

This is seriously some great insight into this character and it will be great to see how her story arc plays out throughout the course of the film.