Solo: A Star Wars Story - 10 Reasons To Be Excited

2. A Podrace To Remember

Solo A Star Wars Story Millennium Falcon
Lucasfilm

Since 1977, everyone has known the Millennium Falcon as the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve (yes, twelve, not fourteen) parsecs, so it was only natural that the event would come to pass in a prequel centred around Han's life.

A treacherous and fraught journey littered with asteroids, Imperial patrols and now tentacle monsters too, the Kessel Run was the name given to a smuggling route used to transport spice from the planet Kessel. Given how it was used by the Pyke Syndicate, it could be possible that Han himself falls under their employ at one point in the film.

Undoubtedly the main draw, however, lies in seeing the pilot navigate - or circumvent - the route for the first time, and with both the Empire and other forces on his trail, it could end up being the centrepiece to the entire film. And, while wishing upon any comparisons to The Phantom Menace would perhaps imply this author's smoked a death stick too many, if it can build upon the pace and visuals of that film's podrace sequence, then the Kessel Run could make for one of the best Star Wars set-pieces... well, ever.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.