6
Solo Subtly Paved The Way For That Crazy Cameo
Solo told the story of how Star Wars' beloved scoundrel accumulated all of his defining characteristics and possessions in a surprisingly short amount of time (which is apparently a thing that just happens to Harrison Ford characters). Still, the movie had one huge surprise at the end that had nothing to do with Han getting the galactic facial reconstruction surgery that would have preserved the series' continuity.
No, instead we find out that the head of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate Han has been working for is none other than ... Darth Maul. It's an especially baffling moment for whatever sad adults stopped watching cartoons to live life or whatever. Those familiar with the Clone Wars and Rebels series already knew that Maul, unlike Hayden Christensen's career, actually survived the prequels.
While it may have seemed totally out of left field, Solo does give us a few extremely subtle bits of foreshadowing. For one thing, Maul's subordinate, crime boss Dryden Vos, has a bunch of patterned lines on his face that are vaguely reminiscent of Maul's KISS-Army-like mug.
LucasfilmThere's a deleted scene in which he mentions he was only trying to give his cat a bath.
Also, Dryden's weapon of choice is a two-bladed glowstick knife ...
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
... which is essentially a miniature version of Maul's iconic, glaringly show-offy double-bladed lightsaber.
Lucasfilm
Plus, those who obsessively scoured Vos' office looking for clues that Ron Howard faked the moon landing or something might have noticed that Vos has a Sith Holocron on display -- a reference to Maul's Rebels storyline.
Lucasfilm
LucasfilmYou know that annoying friend who keeps telling you to watch Rebels? Hi, we're a website full of that guy.
42 Comments