Day by day, Entertainment Weekly continues to peel back the many intricate layers of Solo: A Star War Story, revealing a somewhat bleak origin story that’s about to introduce viewers to the dark, seedy underbelly of Lucasfilm’s franchise.
Couple this with Monday’s trailer reveal and it’s certainly been a busy week for the galaxy’s most endearing smuggler, but he’s by no means the only character to catch our eyes. Take Qi’ra, for instance. She’s supposedly the “femme fatale” of Solo, a character with a “core of steel” and a long history with Han (spoilers: the two grew up as friends).
But there’s an air of romance surrounding the star-crossed duo, as Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) tells EW:
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.
There mere mention of ‘femme fatale’ also draws attention to Solo‘s noir elements – it’s previously been compared to a heist, gunslinger-type movie by Kathleen Kennedy – and here, Clarke outlines exactly why Qi’ra is a walking enigma.
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 concluded by drawing attention to the leading ladies of Star Wars, and why she signed up to Solo in the first place:
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.
And it all kicks off on May 25th, meaning Solo: A Star Wars Story is poised to release under the shadow of Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. However that may be, The Last Jedi‘s Mark Hamill is certainly excited to see the young Han for himself, while his former co-star Harrison Ford also offered some words of wisdom to the up-and-coming Alden Ehrenreich.