Jabba the Hutt hasn’t appeared on screen in a live-action Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi in 1983, chronologically speaking. George Lucas did CGI him intoA New Hopein 1997, but we all do our best to try and forget about that. So, did Lucasfilm and director Ron Howard make room for him inSolo? That question perhaps should be directed at Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon Kasdan who penned the screenplay. Regardless of who is responsible for the answer to said question, we now have ourselves an answer as the latestStar Warsstandalone has arrived in theaters.
Warning: spoilers ahead forSolo: A Star Wars Story. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, turn back now or read on at your own risk. Simple answer to the question? No,Jabba the Huttis not inSolo. Sad to say, Jabba the Hutt does not actually appear in the Han Solo movie. Despite persistent rumors that the fan-favorite head of the criminal underworld was going to make his return to the big screen inSolo, that didn’t come to pass. However, he was named dropped and hinted at a reasonable amount, which suggests we may yet see him back in all of his slimy, green glory. The question now becomes, when?
Before we dig into answering that, let’s discuss how Jabba actually does factor intoSolo, despite not having an on-screen appearance. Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) finds himself something of a mentor in Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) during the events of the movie. Beckett first recruits him for a risky heist that goes horribly wrong. That leads them to plan another even riskier heist for Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), which also winds up going bad. Before things go extra sour resulting in Han killing Beckett, he reveals that he plans to head to Tatooine and that Han should find him there once the dust settles since a certain someone is putting a crew together for a major job.
In the closing shots of the movie, we see Han and Chewie aboard the Falcon, finally in their possession, figuring out what to do next. Han reveals to Chewie that they’re heading to Tatooine to take on this job that Jabba has planned. While we don’t actually see them make their way to the planet that we first met the duo on inStar Wars: A New Hopein 1977, this sets up the famed incident that ledHan to be in Jabba’s debt. We’ve never seen the event play out on screen, but it seems like the end ofSolosets those events in motion.
Could it be that we will see Han’s famous job-gone-wrong for Jabba the Hutt play out in a potentialSolo: A Star Wars Storysequel? We know that Alden Ehrenreich is signed to a three-picture deal with Lucasfilm. Depending on how this movie does, it seems highly likely that the studio has potential plans forSolo 2and evenSolo 3. This would also possibly allow forBoba Fett to get some much-needed screen timealongside Jabba the Hutt. This is speculative, but the conclusion ofSolois very much open-ended and leaves a whole lot of room for Jabba to actually show up in the future. While that may happen someday,Star Warsfans who were hoping he would appear here are sadly going to have to wait a while longer Jabba to make his return.
