Lots of SOLO "Fun Facts" Released Include INDIANA JONES Easter Eggs and New Character Descriptions
Lucasfilm has officially released a lot of new information regarding Solo: A Star Wars Story. They've shared a bunch of "Fun Facts" about the film that reveal some cool Easter eggs and other interesting information. Some of the coolest Easter eggs that you'll find in the film are some very familiar artifacts from the Indiana Jones film franchise. I also included some new character descriptions that offer some additional information on them.
Let's start out with the Indiana Jones Easter eggs for you to keep an eye out for as you watch the movie. When I saw the film, the only one that I noticed was the fertility idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but now I'll have to keep an eye out for the others next time I watch it!
In Dryden’s yacht there are display cabinets, and among all of the treasures in them are some that might be recognized from another film franchise: “Indiana Jones.” There are the Sankara Stones from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” the fertility idol from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and also the Holy Grail itself.
That's so cool! I'd love to think that this is just more proof that the Star Wars and Indiana Jones universes are connected! Here are the rest of the fun facts:
CREATURES
- Over 500 designs for the creatures were produced in the design process for the film.
- Six Eyes is the most sophisticated mechanical head ever produced. It has 50 servos inside the head with on-board intelligence.
- This is the first film to feature Chewbacca in a lead role, so to achieve this level of onscreen action, production produced eight suits and 10 heads.
- Nine copies of Beckett’s rifle were made. It is the rifle that ultimately becomes Han’s pistol.
- Beckett, played by Woody Harrelson, has two pistols in the film. There are 10 copies of each one for various purposes, such as soft ones for the fight scenes.
- Enfys Nest’s chainsaw pike had 14 copies of it made from a stunt version to ones that open. One version was even made with pyrotechnic capabilities.
- There are 25 pairs of the iconic gold dice that hang in the Millennium Falcon. Three of these were made by Tiffany.
- An R2 unit was turned into a BBQ fire pit for one of the scenes.
- Moloch’s staff features a carving of many faces; one of these faces has glasses on as the designer decided to carve his own face into the staff.
- Over a hundred E-11 mudtrooper blasters were made for the battlefield scenes on Mimban.
- Han’s speeder is dressed with items as diverse as a Morris Minor bonnet hinge, a set of baguette warmers and a re-fuelling nozzle from a Vickers VC10 aircraft.
- The 1960s-style chrome bezels and switchgear for the dashboard were purchased at a second-hand auto parts sale.
- The final design of the white stripes on Han’s speeder were the result of almost 100 variations of width, shape, length, color and position!
- For stunt work, two of Han’s speeders were built on a custom-built chassis with a V8 engine, allowing them to reach over 100 mph!
- During the shoot, more than 80 tires were used on the two stunt-driving speeders due to wear and tear.
- Two of Moloch’s speeders were also built on a custom-built chassis with a V8 engine.
- There is a real air intake from a helicopter incorporated into the Moloch vehicle grille design.
- Three electric tugs were built, incorporating some triangular flood defense barriers for their front bodywork, which were obtained from a government surplus supplier.
- The tugs were christened Huey, Dewey and Louie, after the Disney cartoon ducks because they looked quite like ducks. Their names are written in Aurebesh on the fronts.
- A speeder that appears in the background in Corellia is very well traveled. It first appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Abu Dhabi; it was then revamped and traveled to Iceland for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and was then revamped for a second time and shipped to the U.K. for this film.
- A Corellian factory vehicle and a mining vehicle in Kessel use a similar engine component to that which appears on Rey’s speeder in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- During the kit-bashing process, as part of the skiff design, parts of Anakin’s podracer were used on the concept model. When this model was scaled-up, these design details were also scaled up and can be seen on the finished vehicle.
- The engine surrounds on the skiffs are actually made from the chrome wheel trims from a 1966 Singer Chamois car.
- The bridges in the frontier town of Fort Ypso were made “wobbly” using springs from a Land Rover.
- The exterior Millennium Falcon build weighs 31 tons and has to be moved around using two cranes.
- The interior Millennium Falcon set on C stage took three months to build. It is the largest interior Falcon set ever made on any Star Wars film due to the addition of new areas.
- On the Interior Millennium Falcon cockpit set, rear projection screens have been utilized so that the actors can see and react to pre-designed animations flying and entering hyperspace!
VISUAL EFFECTS
- The visual effects crew spent approximately 44 hours of airtime in helicopters in the Dolomites and Fuerteventura scouting, shooting plates and photo-modeling.
- They also measured and mapped the interior and exterior of Fawley Power Station and most of the surrounding site with sophisticated laser scanning equipment (Lidar). Around 200 acres in total!
- The visual effects team digitally scanned over 500 characters, props and sets.
- The on-set data wrangling team captured photo reference (still images), witness camera data (small video cameras), and set survey data along with other reference information. This data will total about 40TB, which will be sent to Industrial Light & Magic, who will use the data to assist in creating the visual effects shots for the movie.
Now let's move on to the new character descriptions that have been released. These offer us a bit of new information on the characters.
Han Solo - Alden Ehrenreich
For young Han Solo, times are tough under Imperial rule. He makes his way as a reckless street thief, working for a notorious gang on Corellia, which is headed up by an ill-tempered crime boss. After an arduous stint as an Imperial mudtrooper, Han calls it quits and finds that he is very comfortable reinventing himself and traveling in the company of scoundrels around the galaxy.
Beckett - Woody Harrelson
There is no question that Beckett is a survivor. Seasoned, taciturn, and all-business, Beckett quietly works out all the angles to come out ahead. He’s put together a team of specialized thieves to carry out risky but profitable heists, which he carefully plans and executes.
Qi'Ra - Emilia Clarke
Qi’ra is deeply enmeshed in a life of crime as a member of a street gang on Corellia. Streetsmart, calculating and ambitious, she puts her early life as a powerless street urchin behind her and uses all her wits to move up in status within a prominent criminal organization.
Lando Calrissian - Donald Glover
Smooth, sophisticated Captain Lando Calrissian stands ready to retire from his life of a smuggler and become a full-time gambler. His calling is now to shuffle from one high-stakes card game to another across the galaxy as opportunities arise.
Val - Thandie Newton
Val is a trusted member of Beckett’s crew. Cool, bad-ass, and self-assured, Val is a no-nonsense woman who can be prickly at times, to say the least. She is a crack shot with a blaster rifle but may just be the most level-headed and capable member of Beckett’s ragtag crew of scoundrels.
L3-37 - Phoebe Waller-Bridge
L3-37 is Lando’s co-pilot and a self-made droid assembled from astromech and protocol parts. Despite her make-up, L3-37 is an enlightened navigator who cares deeply about droid rights.
Dryden Vos - Paul Bettany
Dryden Vos heads up an emerging criminal syndicate. Under Vos’ leadership, the organization quickly gains a reputation for ruthlessness. But as ruthless as Vos is, he is not a crude cutthroat, preferring instead to surround himself with luxury.
Chewbacca - Joonas Suotamo
The mighty Wookiee is nearly two centuries old, but he has fallen on hard times during the age of the expanding Empire. When fate has Han and Chewbacca cross paths, Chewbacca embarks on a long, loyal and trusting friendship that he could have never expected.