Is that Chewbacca’s wife in the newSolotrailer? With the upcomingStar Warsstandalone set to arrive in theaters next month, Disney and Lucasfilm finallyreleased a full-length trailer, which gave us far and away our best look at what this young Han Solo movie has to offer. Whether you feel good, bad or just indifferent to it, the footage is certainly revealing and, surprisingly enough, it may be bringing a character from the infamousStar Wars Holiday Specialto the official canon.
During the newStar Warstrailer, there’s a brief shot of Chewbacca standing next to the Millennium Falcon, looking as though he’s about to head off on a big mission with Han. There’s another wookiee in this shot, who can only be seen from behind, but thismystery wookiee and Chewie embracelovingly. While this certainly could be a moment of respect between two wookiees who consider themselves to be bros, many have speculated that this is actually Malla, Chewbacca’s wife from theStar Wars Holiday Special.
The exact plot details in regards toSolo: A Star Wars Storyare still being kept locked up pretty tight, but since this movie is more or less an origin story for Han Solo, it means we’re going to get quite a bit ofChewbacca’s backstoryas well. With that, it would stand to reason that we maybe see some of his family. Then the question becomes, where are they during the events of every otherStar Warsmovie that takes place after the events ofSolo? That could mean Chewie is going to experience a bit of tragedy in this movie, but that may also help to explain his strong bond with the galaxy’s scruffiest nerf herder.
Then there’s the idea of bringing something from theStar Wars: Holiday Specialinto the canon. The special famously aired just once in 1978, because it is legendarily bad. Much of it centered on Chewbacca and his family celebrating the holiday Life Day. In addition to his wife Malla, there’s also his son Lumpawaroo, or just Lumpy. So we may have that to look forward to as well,Star Warsfans. George Lucas famously tried to erase this special from the face of the Earth, given how bad it was, so bringing any element of it into the official canon is pretty interesting.
Ron Howard was rather active on social media while filmingSolo: A Star Wars Storyand, in July of 2017, he shared a behind the scenes photo with Chewie staring at a shot on a monitor. The shot in question is actually the shot of Chewbacca hugging this wookiee, assumed to be Malla. We’re not going to have to wait too long to find out if this element from theStar Wars Holiday Specialmakes it into the movie, asSolo: A Star Wars Storyarrives in theaters on May 25. You can also check outRon Howard’s Twitterpost that may or may not feature Chewie’s wife for yourself below.
