Warning: Vague spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Lucasfilm is developing a Boba Fett standalone movie, and it may just have been set up by new release Solo: A Star Wars Story. Boba Fett was one of the first cult Star Wars characters, earning a fervent fan following despite limited screentime in the original trilogy (and a humiliating death that makes Captain Phasma’s look composed), and as a result has long been the topic of speculation of getting his own entry in the Star Wars anthology spinoff series.

In fact, this has been on the cards almost as long as Disney’s owned Lucasfilm. A Boba Fett film was mooted in the early days and had director Josh Trank attached in 2014. The film was far enough along that a teaser almost screened at Celebration 2015, but then Trank was fired from the project due to creative differences (possibly influenced by the meltdown of Fantastic Four). Since then, the project has been repeatedly reported to still be in consideration, but nothing has been forthcoming… until now.

It’s been reported that Logan’s James Mangold is set to direct a Boba Fett Star Wars Story, putting the project in the crosshairs of fan anticipation. Because the project has been in some form of development for half a decade, it will have been known around Lucasfilm and considered for the various other productions. And so, while little more is known of the project beyond Mangold’s involvement, there is one opportunity for information: Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The news breaks just as the latest anthology film enters cinemas, and given how Han and Boba are linked by destiny and how any Fett movie will surely be set in a similar time between Prequel and Original trilogies, there’s surely clues to be found.

The Boba Fett Clues In Solo: A Star Wars Story

Straight-up, there’s no Boba Fett cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, nor any direct allusion to the bounty hunter (despite speculation to the contrary). However, several indirect relations are mentioned: Val says that instead of Han, Beckett should have hired Bossk, the reptilian trandoshan also present in Boba’s first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back; Lando thanks Beckett for killing Aurra Sing, a prequel-era bounty hunter who became something of a mother figure to the orphaned Boba in The Clone Wars; and, of course, the movie ends with Han and Chewie flying off to Tatooine to work for Jabba the Hutt, the crime lord Boba later finds himself in the employ of.

Each of these is just one degree removed from Boba Fett, with Han brushing alongside people who likely know of the now-adult unaltered clone. Evidently, even in his early days, Solo is moving in similar circles to Fett, and now he’s heading to Jabba it’s inevitably only a short time before they cross paths proper (in fact, given that it’s been previously rumored a Fett film would center on a group of bounty hunters, things might be even closer than that). Most pressing, though, is likely the death of Sing, something that would have a profound impact on Fett and draw him to the man who killed her murderer, Beckett.

What’s important to note is that next to nothing is currently known of Boba Fett’s life in Star Wars canon between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, which means it will be very easy to fit these vague references to whatever’s in store for his movie. However, the question goes two ways: how does Han factor into Boba?

Will Han Solo Appear In the Boba Fett Film?

Solo: A Star Wars Story definitely leaves audiences wanting more of Alden Ehrenreich’s take on the famed smuggler; despite skepticism from many pre-release, the actor delivers a fully-realized extension of Harrison Ford’s iconic scoundrel. It’s known that Ehrenreich has a three-movie contract, and so immediate speculation goes to some sort of Solo 2. However, could his appearances instead lead to sizeable supporting parts in other movies?

Han and Boba definitely have a history from their brief original trilogy interactions, and while the Darth Vader comic has hinted at least some of that post-A New Hope, it’s not inconceivable the pair will have rubbed shoulders in the past during their engagements with Jabba. After all, Solo: A Star Wars Story ends ten years before the original Star Wars, meaning there’s a lot of time for some interaction.

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At the moment, all of this is speculation, and as Mangold has some other projects in development it may be a while until we get to see Boba Fett. However, don’t be surprised if non-movie Star Wars material starts building to it soon.

Next: What We Want to See In The Boba Fett Movie

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