Original trilogy characters who might appear in Solo: A Star Wars Story

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

2. Darth Vader & Grand Moff Tarkin

Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin are primarily in charge of day-to-day Imperial operations at the time of A New Hope. Don’t forget; the Empire is the entity that keeps order in the galaxy. Han and his crew are smugglers, which is merely an eloquent way of saying criminals. When push comes to shove, and the law gets broken, the Empire will be the ones to show up to drop the hammer and reinstate law and order.

The crew we’ll be seeing in Solo: A Star Wars Story will be on some sort of heist. The film’s antagonist(s) could very well be a powerful criminal organization, but the Empire will show up at some point. And thanks to the teaser trailer, we know we’re getting at least one Star Destroyer and a handful of TIE Fighters. My money’s also on Imperial stormtroopers bursting in guns a-blazing at some point to put a stop to any illegal activity.

Commanding those stormtroopers could be the man – err, machine – himself, Darth Vader. We’ve seen Vader in violent action in Rogue One. We could see him in action again in Solo if circumstances call for it. However, it’s more likely we’ll see him from afar, captaining a platoon of stormtroopers or commanding a Star Destroyer attempting to intercept the Millennium Falcon. Vader has, after all, been in, or been mentioned in, all nine live-action Star Wars films to hit the silver screen – from a certain point of view.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

Another infamous Imperial who could make an appearance in Solo is Grand Moff Tarkin. He would likely play a far-off role or could be merely mentioned by those in the criminal underworld who fear Tarkin’s wrath. It’s less likely we’ll see him on screen because of the mixed opinions concerning Tarkin’s computer-generated return in Rogue One, but the timeline allows for Tarkin’s presence to be felt in Solo: A Star Wars Story.